[JoePetruff]

I would have never gone this far without the support of many kind people such as yourselves and local hobbyists; I sincerely thank you!

My cylinders are in good shape, only going to hone them but I received advice to use oil from some, water by others when honing the cylinder heads. What should I use?

I also got different advice on the use of standard (iron) rings and Molly rings. Decided on standard but today when I picked up my parts at the post office, another person said I should have went with molly! Go figure…

Still waiting on the crank shaft… almost paid as much for shipping as I did for the shaft itself but living in Japan has some setbacks.

Tomorrow begins the rebuild (about 18 hours from this post); really need advice on the honing and just curious about the type of rings I bought or should have bought.

Thank you all,

Joe, Yokota Air Base, Tokyo

 

[Hemikiller]

When honing cylinders for a re-ring, I use ATF and a FlexHone. The ATF tends to float the particles and helps lubricate the honing stones. Fill a coffee can half full of ATF and dip your hone in before each cylinder. The resulting crosshatch should be about 60 degrees from vertical. You can vary the angle by how fast you "stroke" the drill. The faster you stroke, the wider the angle. Built many engines this way and they always work out fine.

Iron rings are the way to go in a homebuilt re-ring. The Moly's usually need a specific surface finish to seat properly.

 

[Ron_D]

I historically used STP engine lubricate (the heavy sticky oil) when I rebuild as it sticks to the parts and doesnt run down into the pan until I start the engine up. I used it everywhere, main and rod bearings, piston rings, timing chain etc. I did use the recommended camshaft break in lube on the cam though.

I stopped doing that and just used regular oil once I got a oil pump priming shaft.

 

[Roddster]

Don't forget to check, and/or adjust the piston ring end gap at a point in the cylinder where the bore is the smallest.
Prelube the oil system by turning the oil pump shaft, You can do it by hand, it's just takes longer.
Double check every thing.
Use a good torque wrench. Lube the threads on the fasteners or the torque will be off.

 

[Art]

I think you mean glaze breaking, either with a spring loaded K&D or Craftsman thingy or a flex (ball) hone.
Use plenty of 20W oil and move fast enough to achieve a crosshatch.
Don't stay on a cylinder longer than necessary to get the cross-hatch, they do remove metal pretty quickly.

 

[DaveSanborn]

All good advice thus far. Who's installing the cam bearings? Make sure you take your time. I've built a butt load of engines and when I get in a hurry still make stupid errors. The last engine I built I noticed just prior to installing a cylinder head that I had installed a piston backwards (not facing front). Duh... Stupid mistake. I wasn't paying attention and it cost me time to correct it. Keep everything as clean as possible and ask questions here as they arise.
Have fun,
Dave

 

[Cobra6]

Clean everything meticulously.
Use a lint free rag during assembly, and wash your hands frequently so you don't get lint on an engine parts. Dirt is an engine's worst enemy. Thoroughly clean all residue of the heads, valve covers, oil pan, etc. If you can't blast them, get a wire wheel and get all the old oil gunk off the parts.
Personally, I would use iron rings if the cylinders were worn, but go with chrome or molly on good cylinders. I have heard of people having trouble with chrome rings seating, but I have never had that problem.
Take your time - use plenty of lube.
If you use the automotive shop on base, don't leave any bolts laying around - they will disappear.
Did I mention to clean everything?