Reviving this thread so I can finish it... Got the motor done, just catching up on posting progress.
Next installment: Pistons...
1: follow the FSM for assembly orientation. lube the wrist pins with assembly lube, and insert part way into piston...
2: clamp a long 3/8" socket extenison in the vice and slide the piston and pin onto the extension by sliding the hole in the wrist pin over the socket extension. This allows you to tighten the clamp bolt without any chance of twisting the rod if you had clamped it by the big end...
3: tighten wrist pin clamp bolt(with a dab of locktite) when pin is centered in piston and gap is even on either side of the rod.
4: remove and repeat five more times.
5: rings... what a pain. I lube the rings in engine oil, and start with the squiggly oil ring followed by the two oil control rings. you can install all of these with your fingers.
6: get your ring expander and get to work on the 2.5 mm bottom comp ring and then the 2mm top ring. Every ring t\has a top and bottom so pay close attention to the instructions, making sure that the orientation is correct.
7: Place in the piston box upside down and start the next one. Dont worry about gap orientation yet.
8: Open the box of rod bearings and ensure they are sized per the machine work you had done. IE a .010" crank rod journal should have a .010"(.25mm) U/S bearing, 90% of bearings will say the undersize on the backside of the shell. Wouldnt be the first time something ogt mis boxed, so check it out.
9: All the rod bearings halves are the same in every kit I have used, so dont sweat orientation UNLESS only 6 have holes. If thats the case, these go in the rod half, not the cap half. Install the bearings dry on the backside and lube with assembly lube on the babbit side. keep the cap with the rod, and only hang the cap on one rod bolt(easy to kift off cap without getting the bearing surface dirty.)
10: Time to prep the block/crank. I normally roll the crank 360 degrees slowly checking to make sure NOTHING got on the rod bearing journals. Dust, dirt, spiders, or whatever. Once thats good, lube only the journal you are working on at that time, that way there is less chance something sticks to the assembly lube on a journal you arent paying attention to.
11: Break out the ring compressor and line up the gaps per the FSM. Some 2F FSM's dont specify oil control ring gaps, but F manuals do, so follow those if you have one. Some one posted a scan of it and its in a thread so search if you dont have it.
12: once you have the gaps set, compress the rings... I try to get the ring compressor at least 1.5" down the skirt so it squares up better and holds the rings tight.
13: I like to have the bores horizontal and the crank at the bottom of its stroke, but its up to you on that. It allows me to easily tap in the piston(with the non business end of a plastic handled hammer) and guide the rod into place. Do not forget to use some sort of tubing on the rod bolts to prevent them from scratching the crank. I have found that clear 3/8" ID tube from the hardware store is thinner walled than fuel hose, and works better.
14: Make sure you have the notch facing forward and get to work. Install the rod cap in the correct orientation after the rod is seated and torque the rod cap to spec. Roll the crank to the next hole and repeat.
I will post some pics tomorrow...
For now, here is the finished product.
