How to tell if engine longblock is good
 

I recently got a 2.2 longblock in a chassis I bought. The engine is still in the car and looks very clean but dusty and I suspect it has been siting for years. The carbs must have just been robbed off it because where they sit is still clean. I figure I can pop of the valve and chain covers to have a look inside to see the condition.

I can turn it over by hand.

What should I be looking for in terms of less evident damage ?

What can I do to view the inside of the block without taking it completely apart to check for damage and what do I need to look for.

If it ends up looking decent after the inspection I thought I would put some carbs on it and see it it runs ?

It has ancient oil in it.

Tips tricks and knowledge wanted

Thanks

It would be good to change the oil and cover the intake first thing, but you could still do a compression test which will (without sticking rings/valves) give some indication of the sealing capacity.

The magnetic oil plug without silver is much better and strain the oil/cut open filter for bronze flakes (used in side clearance shims?). I think aviation mechanics send it out for analysis but that seems a bit much in your case(no pun intended;) ).

The cams can be checked through the covers, but the main bearing are a toss-up. They are supposed to be pretty reliable engines because of low compression so you may be alright there.
Good luck.

You can also remove the valve covers and look at the valve stems,
see how much oil is caked on the stems this could indicate bad valve guides. The valves should have a nice golden brown color

I had the exact same thing but my carbs were still there. A 68 2.0 I could turn it over but no compression, I put some marvel mistory oil in the spark plug holes, and used my leak down tester, Pressurised each hole, You can hear the air going past the valves, I took a plastic dead blow hammer and taped on the top of the valves it realy pops good and cleans the little bit of rust that is on the valves and seats it went from 90% leakdown to 3% and was 3to5% across the board.The motor is in my 66 right now and runs Double Sweet, I have to fix a few oil leaks like drain tubes But it was nothing short of a core before I started :D :D