Umm... do they have needle bearings or ball bearings?? and what are the bearings made of??? You mention both types of bearings...and I'm guessing that the blocks have ball bearings, since I can't think of any blocks made with needle bearings off the top of my head, especially on a boat as small as a Capri 25.
BTW, depending on what you're using the blocks for, ball bearings may not be the best solution. For relatively static lines that are highly loaded, you'll probably want blocks with sleeve bearings, like the Lewmar Synchros. For lines that are under a heavy dynamic load, like sheets, you probably want blocks with ball bearings. Torlon bearings are preferable to stainless steel in most cases, as they're lower maintenance and can't rust.
If the bearings are a brownish color, they're probably torlon, which is a high density plastic designed for use as bearings. The only real maintenance torlon bearings need is rinsing with fresh water occasionally. But, seeing as you're in Missouri, sailing on fresh water, there probably isn't any need to rinse them other than what the lake does for you naturally.
Garhauer makes excellent blocks, which are now the OEM blocks on several brands of boats, including Catalina, and are very reasonably priced.
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