84 fieor-- 94 N* swap (Page 20/24) Will JAN 06, 07:52 PM 0.002" is twice or more than the factory spec. Aluminum pistons in an aluminum block can be fit *VERY* close. Thunderstruck GT JAN 06, 08:32 PM And I heard these engines were good. mcfrandon JAN 06, 11:40 PM They are good engines once you know all the hangups and how to handle them correctly. At the time i had it honed, i had no idea that GM recommends just slapping new rings in it without touching the cylinders. Im just going to run this setup until I can afford to put better parts in it. the car is still awesome to drive Thunderstruck GT JAN 07, 08:41 AM LOL Their history has "time bomb" written all over them. Good luck with your build. mcfrandon JAN 07, 06:26 PM thanks. turns out that 6 of the 8 rods were no good as in the bore when torqued down was too large. luckily i had extras laying around and they were ok! back together we go Will JAN 15, 10:50 PM quote Originally posted by mcfrandon: They are good engines once you know all the hangups and how to handle them correctly. At the time i had it honed, i had no idea that GM recommends just slapping new rings in it without touching the cylinders. Im just going to run this setup until I can afford to put better parts in it. the car is still awesome to drive The Northstar liners are centrifugally cast grey iron. They are extremely hard. Silicon carbide stones just polish them. A machine shop needs aluminum oxide stones to actually hone them. The chance that they're worn is extremely small. mcfrandon JAN 19, 07:15 PM If i would of known all that in the first place i wouldnt of honed it, but too late now till i get a new block to build. all back together and running pretty smooth mcfrandon JAN 21, 03:59 PM been trying to drive it more often to try and get things seated nicely before i run it hard. seems to use a quart every hundred miles. holy cow. in that case i might be looking for a new short block sooner than later if it doesnt slow down. after doing some searching looks like either GM or hastings rings are best with no hone of course, and might as well put rods and maybe pistons in it Thunderstruck GT JAN 21, 05:58 PM quote Originally posted by mcfrandon: been trying to drive it more often to try and get things seated nicely before i run it hard. seems to use a quart every hundred miles. holy cow. in that case i might be looking for a new short block sooner than later if it doesnt slow down. after doing some searching looks like either GM or hastings rings are best with no hone of course, and might as well put rods and maybe pistons in it Can I ask why you are putting yourself through this misery? Is there a particular reason you feel the need to use those time bombs? I would have had a SBC or an LS engine in there by now with a lot more power and a lot less cost and headache. I feel for you man but let this be a lesson learned. Caddy owners don't even want those things. mcfrandon JAN 21, 07:56 PM i get that question all the time.. just personal preference really. I dont want to be another SBC or LS guy we have handfulls of them running around... its nice to have something different even if it is a pain. I do like the fact that its DOHC and mates up with the tranny easily. I will get it right eventually but for now im going to get a thousand miles on this motor and see where we are.