Rebuilt before or after he's giving up the ghost?

[CarolsGriff]

My lovely Mk1 has now about 44k miles on the clock and doesn't show any sign of requesting a rebuilt which is rather nice on the one hand but a bit nerve wrecking on the other... Even though I keep my ears pricked and having a slight panic attack whenever I hear any unusual noises, engine is running smoothly, no major problems so far.

We have planned a rather long trip to Europe in Summer and were wondering if it would make sense to have the rebuilt done before we go or shall we wait until we sit next to a road waiting for the AA to rescue us?

Thanks in advance