The cranks/rods/pistons are identical.

As for having the block cleaned and honed...not a bad price especially since you won't have to get dirty ha ha...

If you are getting it cleaned and honed through napa why are you worried about what type of brush to use to clean it?

Also, I wouldn't paint the block...I think that bare aluminum clean blocks look good. If you do paint it however...prep very well and use like header paint so it will last forever.