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On my rebuild, I got the crank in, but then had trouble with the cam installation. This is the second time I have found new cam bearings that are too small for an original worn cam. I had to use a brake cylinder hone to enlarge it enough to install the cam. The crank went in with no problem. After the regrind to 0.020 under, plastigage showed 0.0015 clearance. Endplay was about 0.005. This is a 59AB crank in a 38-41 block. Vanpelt had the retainers to convert to the later rear rope seals. This block had already been bored 1/8" over and the walls were too thin, so we sleeved every cylinder to 1/8" over. I was hoping to use the original full floating rod bearings, because it was supposedly a recent rebuild (heard that before?). It had too much clearance, so I had the crank pins reground to 0.020 under. The rods showed only about 0.001 wear on the ID, so I had them resized back to standard. I'm using NOS copper/bronze rod bearings I found on ebay. I did a test installation of the rods. I was expecting this to be a long process, but they seem to turn fine with slight drag on both the ID and OD, so I think I'm ready to install pistons. I'm using the original 4 ring pistons. Is there a front and back to these pistons? After that I will move to the valves. I am using 8BA valves and adjustable lifter, so that should be easy.
Larry Young