Is it an easy enough process? Any tricks? The guides are in good nick and I want to use again, possible? Doing a DIY port/polish and it's going really well, just areas around guides I'm having issues with.

Not an easy process, I removed mine using a soft steel bolt (not hardened) that just fitted inside the guide and rounded the head to just under the outside diameter of the guide so you can keep bashing it through the head. I used a sidchrome drift and a gimpie hammer to drift them out. I would suggest getting them pressed out buy a engine shop I had mine refitted by an engine shop and it cost $52.

Yep, I agree with what WagonDad has said there. They can be removed, but they they don't give up easily. I ended up taking my head to ECR (East City Reconditioners - same place you took your block too) and got them taken out for $20 i think.

Not sure what process was used to remove them, but Dan said that the guides would be destroyed regardless which i was alright with as i had no intention of re-using them. I'm guessing they were drilled out to a bigger bore half way down the guide, had some sort of punch inserted in the bore then smashed out or something??. He did tell me the head had to be heated up to get the guides to come out as they had rusted a bit (head had been sitting around for quite a long time), one was stuck in so bad that when it was removed it ended up taking out half of one of the exhaust guide bosses out with it. Luckily i was porting the head so i just re-shaped what was left of the boss and all was good.

Hmm damn was trying not to spend more $$$

Might leave it for now.