Engine Assembly - Part 1

After 5 weeks we finally got the engine parts back from the machine shop. They bored the block 0.020" over, cleaned the block, polished the crank, rebuilt the cylinder head, replaced the cam bearings, resized the connecting rod journals and installed the new pistons. They also sourced all the parts we needed for the rebuild: gasket set, bearings, rings, oil pump, lifters, timing chain and gears. See photo.

Step one was to install the crank bearings, and crankshaft, then plastigage the bearings to check for clearance. The clearance for all the main bearings was 0.002" - perfect. Once the crank was in, we checked the ring end gap and side clearance, then installed them on the pistons. With the rod bearings in the rods, we aligned the end gaps of the rings and installed the pistons. Jason did a great job of installing the pistons. Then went in the camshaft, timing gears and chain and timing cover. Next was oil pump and oil pan. Today we will work on the cylinder head, lifters, push rods, and rocker arms.