Okay, so it's been a while since I've updated...
Haven't particularly had a chance to come down from Panic Status 1, with having just getting set up in the new unit and getting an email from the agent saying that the landlord doesn't like me having my truck parked in the bay for that unit.
Their chief complaints are that it sticks out too much (It's 5 feet
out from the fence because the tenant next door has a bunch of curse
word dumped in the back of the bay, that the agent has already said
they'd been previously told to move.), and that they don't want me
working on anything outside (Which is fair enough. Automotive guys
tend to leave a mess everywhere... 
)
I've emailed back my rebuttals and whatnot on Thursday evening, but
apparently the agent doesn't work Fridays so I won't know until
tomorrow at the earliest. curse word joy, not.
Apparently, the landlord would rather the industrial estate look like
the outdoor equivalent of an ikea catalogue kitchen, rather than
actually ... having things in it. We shall see how that goes, but I do
not have high hopes for a reasonable response.
Anyway, continuing onwards...
Since starting to get set up...
I've given the bores another good honing out. No. 4 still isn't going to clean up without a lot more work that I'm not going to put into it at this time; and there's still a hint of a ridge at the top of the other cylinders, but only the slightest hint.
I started on knocking the cam-bearings out. Or, rather, I knocked the first one out and then realised I have nowhere near enough reach with the tool to do the rest; but I have a plan for continuing forward. It remains all under control.
I've put the new rope rear main seals in, and bugger me it got
tight. 
Disassembled it all a few times, checking things, threatened it with
hammers, left for the night in disgust. Some further research online
has suggested that this is normal for graphited rope seals, whereas it
would be a very bad sign on the older asbestos rope seals; and that
the engine should free off when running in.
...Still seems dodgy to me, but once the initial "oh my god, this is siezed" level of initial tightness is overcome, I can rotate the crank smoothly, albeit with noticeable drag.
I do recall seeing -- in an ooooold issue of Commercial Motor, iirc, as well as online -- mention of a jig that some garages used to set freshly-rebuilt engines up in to run them in with an electric motor. So clearly something was up.
Anyway, forging on with what I can, I've checked ring end-gap for all the pistons
Factory spec from 1958 is:
Top compression ring: .012 - .023 2nd comp, oil rings: .007 - .021
| Cylinder | C1 | C2 | O1 | O2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .024 | .023 | .021 | .018 |
| 2 | .022 | .020 | .020 | .019 |
| 3 | .023 | .020 | .021 | .019 |
| 4 | .024 | .022 | .023 | .022 |
| 5 | .023 | .021 | .019 | .021 |
| 6 | .027 | .019 | .019 | .020 |
Not quite sure what's gone on with that top compression ring on No.6, and I might check it again just to see if I've goofed somewhere. While I was at it, I checked, with the bottom oil ring, clearance at the bottom of the bores too; and the worst one closed up by 1 thou, so I think I'll call it good on taper there.
Assuming the top ring on no.6 isn't actually that much wider than the rest, I'm happy enough with those clearances. They're wider than the older manual specifies, but this is a higher compression engine and it certainly isn't enough extra to hurt it. Hell, it pulled strong enough with most of the rings stuck, and it should be better than that after the rebuild!
I'll just class it as "boost ready" In a
more ideal world, I'd probably have the block bored out to the next
oversize and get a new set of pistons to match. But I'd rather get
this engine built up this decade.
Oh, yeah... Also found the circlips.
Tentative plan -- assuming the world doesn't come crashing down around me and I end up needing to move the truck again -- is to get the head up to Weir St for little a skim (as a treat) and see if they can't get me a correct head-gasket, during the week I've booked off from work.
Anyway...
Party mode.