1. I had a nagging feeling that I had not offset the gaps in the piston rings in the second cylinder I installed. So I bit the bullet and took apart that side of the engine, took off the cylinder, and took out the piston. Sure enough, two of the gaps were aligned, and the third was only offset by about 15 degrees. So it was worth it, but it took me 40 minutes to do it.
2. Next I started on the rocker arms. The manual says to check for interference with the head studs. INTERFERENCE is an understatement! In photo #1 you can see one of the studs hitting the rocker assembly. In photo #2 you can see a minimum 3/8" gap betwen the rocker block and the seat! The manual says to "trim" the studs.
TRIM?! I had to tape up all the orifices and get out the Dremel cutoff wheel. In a shower of sparks I cut off one of the studs a full 3/8" (photo #3). That's a little more than a "trim" in my book.
Three out of 4 of the studs on EACH side of the engine (6 total) have this interference. So I need to carefully cut 6 studs this way. Unfortunately as I started the second of the 6 studs, I bend the shaft of the cutoff wheel. So I will have to get a new one at Home Depot tomorrow to keep going.
My question is: why the heck are the studs do darn long to start with?! The only get hand-tightened into the block, so it's not difficult to figure out how long to make them. At the very least there should be a process to measure and cut the studs BEFORE the heads, and really even before the cylinders, are installed.
Head stud contacting the rocker assembly.
A full 3/8" gap to make up.
I cut a full 3/8"+ off of the first stud. 5 more to go!
