thanks for the help so far people... lots of things on the list then that would need to be done

New big end and main bearings plus the above

bearings, seals, no need to skim block really, reface the head, maybe rebore the block, new pistons crank grind if needed...... list is long depends how much you have to spend and what you want to do with the engine

may be worth just getting an exchange motor from a main dealer

Gaskets, Piston Rings, Water pump, Oil pump, Belts, have the block skimmed, valves re-seated.

Maybe have the block re-honed, which would mean using oversized rings.

and have everything cleaned up.

I would do thermostat, waterpump, all gaskets etc, piston rings and oil stems.

on a fact finding mission here

when people have a full engine rebuild what exactly do they replace with new parts?

I know people often do it after something has gone pop in their engine but quite a few do it before things go wrong but when their mileage is getting what is deemed to be high