i think you can do it, gather all the information you can and be prepared to make mistakes, cause there will be some. everytime i get in one of these projects i remind myself about a wall a million chinese people built.
you could buy a running 5.0 and do the same thing outside of the car.... i also have a bare 302 block you could have for practice if you lived closer.
couple good books:
how to build max performance ford v'8s on a budget
ford windsor small-block performance
official factory guide to building ford short-track power
now i see you are in ca, you can have all these books to your door for $25
just another shade tree mechanic