engine building questions
 

Hey, im starting to build my 302, and have a couple of questions. First, its a 79 302 out of a truck that is goign into my mustang, and i was wondering if anybody knows what the end ring gap is supposed to be. Also, whats the best way to go about making them wider, if they need to be. When putting in the pistons, do i have that little notch/arrow facing toward the front of the engine, or pointing toward the front of the engine? (the wide end of the arrow, which looks like a triangle, is on the edge of the piston) And, when putting in my camshaft, it shouldnt have any kind of pins in the back of it right?? What i remember is that the old one didnt, and it just goes against that plug in the back. When i put my timing chain on, do i have the little dots next to each other or 180 from that? Thanks for any help, kinda the small things i over looked that could really screw up my engine in the end, so thanks for the help.

Re: engine building questions
 

Top .015 bottom & oil .012 use a ring trimmer ONLY. Measurement is ring inside of bore, not on piston. Do each cylinder separate and do not mix rings up.

Pin on cam is what the turns the gear. Dots go as close as possible together, cam dot toward the bottom, crank is at the top.

Re: engine building questions
 

Where do i get a ring trimmer at?? When i measured my top ring end gap, (one of them) it measured at .018. My pistons say to use 20-40% more than stock. Im guessing with my oil ring i just measure the two small rings, and leave the zig zaged ring alone, right? Just want to make sure. thanks

Re: engine building questions
 

also, how much movement should my camshaft have? It seems to be sitting in the middle of the camshaft bearings right now, but it can move forward quite a bit, so the part of the camshaft that sits in contact with the bearings sticks out about 1/4". I put in my distributor, and moved the cam back and forth, and that much movement would definately screw up the timing. thanks for any and all help.

Re: engine building questions
 

My best advise to you would be to buy a book on rebuilding small block Ford engines. It will provide all the clearances and specs needed to build your engine.
BTW, I think the cam shaft endplay clearance should be .005in.