Tips on finding a good mechanic for a performance build?

[Gibson]

A little while back I had a friend of mine who used to build race engines and drag a '72 C10 help me get my engine sorted on my '78 C10. He ended up building me a 350 (60 over) with a performance cam, aluminum heads, roller rockers and a Holley 650 double pumper. This was all new territory for me, and he pretty much did all the work (I'm just a tinkerer). The engine runs great, and we were about to move onto the rear end which needed to be rebuilt. We have the new gears and everything, we just haven't gotten around to installing them.

Unfortunately he is having some serious health issues and can't continue on the project. You guys got any tips for searching for a mechanic in my area that would be a good fit for this type of project? Should I go to a speed shop or something?