Piston ring/engine break in procedure

[Waterloo]

No reman parts if you can help it, especially the head/cams. And, a new head comes in the big crate, the reman come in the skinny crate. If it is a reman, it will have rx on the head, welded at the backside of it. Just order a new head, that way you are sure of what you are getting, and when I bought mine at the dealership down at Rawze's house, there was no core required.

Break in, drive it like you stole it!

The oil, we poured in the oil that originally came out of the motor and added a few gallons to top it off. We also used a pump to pump the oil into the motor down by the oil filter, we waited to see the oil coming up into the head, and then we topped off. We then drove it around for a bit, and then took her down to Speedco and had them change the oil, I used what I always used, regular old Rotella. I drove it for around 4,000 miles and changed it again, and then went to normal service intervals at around 15,000 miles.

No clue on the rod bolts, quick serve should have the answer. If in doubt, get new ones.

The head bolts are stretch bolts, I replaced all of mine prior to installing the new head.

Rockers, just get new ones, don't gamble on this stuff.

New wrist pins too, do not skip those.

I would put new piston cooling nozzles in too, you are in there, do it right. One of those older ones break or fail... Not worth the gamble.

You said you had the tool to cut the ledges, but do you have the tool to measure the liner heights? You will need one of those too. The shims, we used brass, some use stainless and yes you can stack them. If you need a certain thickness that is not available, a good machine shop should be able to make up a set for you.