Well, Wetwilly and Blanch53, I appreciate your advice. I have to say that taking the engine that far apart would make me a bit nervous with my current mechanic skill set. I agree it would be fun, but I tend to have a "if it ain't broke, dont fix it" attitude and I think I could do more damage than good. I have yet to put things back together as the temps have been in the single digits lately so I could still check torque on con rod and main caps when it warms up a bit. I assume that procedure is in the manual. I did check side play of con rods by hand...all seemed similar to each other with almost no movement.

1951 Chevy 3800 ~ "Bella"
In the Stovebolt Gallery
More pix in Photobucket