Before getting the airplane mechanic to teach me the proper way to assemble an engine,I had done a few, some with o-k results and some with really bad results, that's when I asked this guy to teach me how to "do it right".....
It was around 1995 and I was ready to assemble a 351-W for my 65 fastback....He told me to bring all the parts and pieces to his shop, enough motor
oil to fill the crankcase and one extra quart of the same
oil and one tube of Lubri-Plate (aircraft engine assembly lube, get it at NAPA).....
All the machine work had been done on the block/crank/heads and everything was clean and ready for assembly when I brought it to him....he began washing everything,again, starting with the block, I asked "why", he said he does not trust anyone else's work and goes over everything with a fine tooth comb and he did....while he was doing that, he gave me a box full of tools (socket/wrenches) and told me to wash every piece in the parts washer and dry them and they had better shine when I finished and they did.......
he put a clean cover over the work table (he does not use an engine stand)(I think it was on old quilt, but clean) and laid out all the parts and then we began the assembly, as he did something he explained to me why he did it the way he did it and it all made since to me.....
Another thing, is he is very slow, double/triple checking everything as he goes, says he likes to do a job only once and not have to take it apart again cause he missed something....
When the engine was finished, we double bagged it and put it in my truck,he told me to install it in the car and then when I thought it was ready to be fired up, call him and under no circumstances should I attempt to start the motor without him there, so I did as he told me. He came and showed me the proper way to pre-lube the motor and get everything ready for the intial start-up. once it fired, he had me sit in the car and watch the gauges holding the rpms at 2000 for 20 minutes....he was looking for leaks and listening for any unusual noises, thankfully, we had no leaks and no bad sounds...
Then after about an hour of total run time, we changed the
oil/filter and he told me to hold the rpms to no more than 5000 for about 100 miles or so and then after that drive it like I want to.. and I did just that, now 12 years later that very same motor is still in that very same car and does not miss a beat and has had a fairly rough life along the way..............
Cleanliness and attention to the little details are a must............
David