Assemble, disassemble, repeat...

Assemble, disassemble, assemble, disassemble, assemble, disassemble...

That's the mantra right now. Desperate to make progress, I started making a final assembly run on the block.  Bad idea.  We placed the crank into the block, and after a dozen or so maddening attempts at making sure the bearings dropped on to the bearing pins correctly (they finally did with some foul language and tense moments between me and the boy), we dropped in the cam shaft and lined up the dots.  Crank in. Check. Cam in check.  OK, let's drop in the distributor drive shaft - supposedly easier to do it now. Check (After a run to the auto store for white lithium grease).  Book says we should do some dry runs on assembly...nah...what do they know!  Full steam ahead.  Apply gasket goo. Place rubber gaskets around the bearing crush bolts.  Lower case half, and start to tighten bolts, being dutiful to follow the book's advise (not sure why I chose to listen now, but I did).  Tighten to 25 lbs/ft.  Go to rotate crank.  Nothing. Nada.  Stiff.  I quickly realize a number of things:

1. I'm an idiot for even contemplating rebuilding an engine.
2. That's not entirely true.   I can do this, just need patience.
3. The guys who write these books do indeed know what they are saying. I should heed their advice.
4. I'm going to have to take this case apart, and spend an hour hunched over this freakin' thing cleaning that damn gasket goo because I was impatient.
5. I really, really hope I didn't screw up that brass gear on the crank shaft.  Forcing this with the distributor drive shaft in place may have screwed me.

Anyway, some pictures from the war:

All parts in, ready to go? Right...

Ian leaning in to take a look.