276 stroker from 35 years of parts

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by cadillac512

Sure sounds like piston time. If you can hear and feel the cam end play without a gasket then that's the way I'd do it for sure. The nice unpiloted distributor sounds like my first choice, and the nice iron cover of course. Might check ring end gaps just to be sure all is correct there.

I'll do that Terry, and I made a very careful inspection of the inside of the pistons to look for aluminum chips etc and they are all surgically clean. It's easy to see in there. I did my cam end play test with one of the two aluminum covers. The nice clean one. The other aluminum one and the cast iron one are HEAVILY caked on both sides with hard grease/oil. If the iron cover is the way to go, I will heat it on the woodstove in the morning, scrape with a putty knife and set it in a bucket of solvent while I get started on a set of rift-sawn white oak cabinet doors in the woodshop. The solvent is of unknown origin as many leftover solvents find their way into that bucket. I do like cast iron....
On the crank, still just snugged down as I wanted to make sure split lockwashers are good and 60,80,100 ft.lbs sequence. The crank shows .003 endplay. With all schooling on the 8ba, I found some really good parts today. Maybe best is a perfect, rebuilt model 94 1 1/16" version. The bores look so much larger side by side with a 15/16". I will pull it apart for deep inspection and a fresh kit. I hadn't realized the 94 came in different sizes.The other thing I found mixed in a full 3lb coffee can of 5/16" bolts was four what must be the special cam gear bolts. I cleaned one up. Short on threads, but a deep shoulder. Been a great day in the engine shop.