[Verdoro 68]

I'm starting off by checking the oil clearance on the rods and mains.

The Butler-supplied Clevite/Mahle CB-743HN bearings measured surprisingly consistent giving me .0019-.0020 clearance across the board. Consensus is that's good.

The mains aren't going to be quite as easy.

The dial bore indicator was showing only about .0015 clearance which is not enough. It takes substantial effort to spin it by hand too. I reached out to Butler, their suggestion was to forgo the Clevite MS-496P bearings they sent with the kit and try a set of King .001 extra clearance bearings, so I have those on the way. If those don't work out, I suspect I'm in for a trip to the machine shop.

Originally Posted by 25stevem

A suggestion I have would be to deburr the lifter valley and pop for the added bucks for a lifter valley brace.

Yes, I know your not running a solid lifter race roller, but the tall hydro lifters still add more stress to the thin stock lifter bores , so why take a chance on loosing a nice block!

I deburred the block in a past rebuild so it's good to go in that regard. I considered a lifter brace, but it didn't seem necessary with this size hydraulic roller. Curious if folks think it's risky not running one.

Originally Posted by turbo69bird

So awesome but curious why you went with RAII heads (someone could use for a resto) as opposed to alluminum edelbrock? You can do what you want not giving you a hard time but curious.

Aluminum heads are the logical thing to do, and I'm leaving a bunch of power on the table by sticking with iron. I'm also boxing myself in for future upgrades if I ever wanted to go with aluminum heads since I need a big dish in the piston to keep the KR down. However, I wanted something that looked original. Like, what if I raided the Pontiac parts counter in late '68-early '69?

Originally Posted by b-man

So much goodness here.

But ditch the PRW rockers for something better like Harland Sharp aluminum or Crower Enduro stainless.

I appreciate that - especially coming from one of the masters. I've been thinking about these rockers. Kauffmann sent me the PRWs. I questioned it at the time, but Jeff seemed to be a fan. I'm so deep $$ into this build anyway another few hundred for good rockers isn't off the table.