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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Chris Stephens" data-source="post: 1480019" data-attributes="member: 24095">Welp...this is gonna put a damper on my season. I was using my time off work Thursday to pull the engine to seal some oil leaks and things, as discussed above. We decided it was the perfect time to go ahead and refresh the engine. [ATTACH=full]8819[/ATTACH] My cousin thought the ring gaps may be a little loose and wanted to go through it. Well, he was right. The ring gaps were .035"ish. But that was less of a problem than this...[ATTACH=full]8818[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]8820[/ATTACH] The beautiful Keith Black hyper must've decided 2020 wasn't the year for him, and cracked under the pressure. I'm just really glad I pulled this apart on New Years Eve. This would have been a really crappy way to kick off 2021, but it's a fairly fitting way to end 2020. On the plus side, I spent my New Year's tearing down the engine trying to plan the next steps. When I got home, I started looking at finances. I'm really wanting to buy my first home this year, so I have to be careful what I do. BUT the way my job works, we get a fairly average base pay, and a decently sizeable bonus check once a year. I knew they overtaxed us on the bonus check and then it got fixed the next year, but I did NOT know how much we were overtaxed. Apparently I paid $10,000 into the IRS in 2020, when I should've owed closer to $3500. So my tax return should mostly pay for whatever I want to do next. I think the next step is a <a href="http://fordstrokers.com/fordstrokers-short-blocks/dart-351-short-blocks/dart-351-short-blocks-393-408-418-427" target="_blank">408 or 427w based on a Dart block</a>. Forged Scat crank, rods, and Wiseco pistons. This has been on my Christmas wishlist for a while, but apparently Santa can't fit it in his sleigh, because it hasn't shown up under the tree yet. I'll be shooting for 10.5-11:1 compression. I'll need to CC my heads next week to find out exactly what I need and then start getting it in the works if I even dream of making it to an AutoCross before April/May. I'm going to keep the heads I have for now, they're aluminum 200cc with 2.02/1.6 valves and I've just found out they have had some bowl work done that looks pretty good. I think I'll also be converting to <a href="http://www.flowtechinduction.com/fti-solid-roller-camshaft-basic-kit-sb-ford/" target="_blank">solid roller with a kit from Ed Curtis</a>. FTI is a solid name in custom cams, and the kit is pretty convenient since I don't know toooo much about valvetrain tech and things. I may be able to shop around for better deals and lower prices, but AutoCross kicks back off on March 13, so I don't have a ton of time to come up with an alternate plan. We may not even make it until April. Anyway, long story short, a nail in the coffin that was 2020, but a decent start to my 2021 finding out I have money hanging around out there that may fix the situation. Hope everyone had safe and happy holidays (and better luck with your engines and other winter projects, of course). Happy New Year to all!</blockquote>