Ok, so I have this flatty that I got off ebay last fall for $41. I took it all apart and got to looking at it, and everything is in pretty good shape. So I said to myself, why not run this motor while I rebuild my other block up? What I plan to do is... put new cam bearing in it (had a little bit of scoring on them, camshaft is fine though) hone the cylinders put new rings in it set it up for an oil filter plasti-gauge everything lap the valves new valve guide seals, keepers, The engine was rebuilt at one time, because it has +0.030 pistons, and 0.020 bearings on the rods and mains. Also has adjustable lifters in it too! The rod and main bearings look almost new, with hardly any wear at all, so I am going to just leave them. Am I missing anything? -Jordan
I'd suggest you make sure your ring gaps are right and maybe put an oil pump in it just for drill. A flathead I did some time ago had a fairly fresh bore, decent pistons marked .010" over....the bore mike showed it to be just a little on the big side so when I checked the ring gap it was THREE times the spec. Apparently the builder honed it a bit too much. Just a suggestion.
The ring gap is a minumum, to prevent them expanding so much they break. A little extra is OK. You have a good plan. Clean the water jackets with a long screw driver and hammer. Use new Speedway water pumps, or Skips pumps. Mill the heads just enough to clean. Straight edge the block surface. Clean out the head bolt holes with a cleaning tool, not a tap. Clean the bolts on a wire wheel and oil them well for even torque. Torque the heads four times at least.