So, I recently pressure washed the block and heads with hot water, dried them with air and heat, and coated everything in WD40 to keep the rust at bay. I then reinstalled the pistons into the block, reinstalled the crank, and when I started torqueing the connecting rod bolts, my torque wrench apparently was crapped out because I broke one of the studs. Furthermore, the gamble I took on ordering standard stock connecting rod bearings didn't pay off because the crank had already been ground once. Should've taken the 10 mins to measure but like a big dope, I didn't!!
What to do?
Well, I decided to retrieve the spare 301 that I pickled, pulled the crank and pistons from it and much to my amazement, the crank looks great. Also this crank has never been ground...I measured so the connecting rod bearing I already purchased will fit this crank. I also punched out a rod stud and replaced the broken one with one of the 16 spares I now have!
We shall see how all of this pans out!!
BTW...Torque wrench went into the scrap metal bin!!
