do the rodbolts while the oil pan is off. its cakework. someone on ls1tech is selling used ARP2000s for like $60 if you want a link let me know.
and the ls2 chain is much much stronger then the ls1. i dont know how they stack up to the aftermarket double rollers but that is something i would like to know as well.
ls1tech search is amazing, looks like im goin ls2 chain-
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showth...ight=ls2+chain