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I have had a little extra time to work on the truck since I was furloughed this month.

I have concentrated on the engine assembly, I have gather all of the parts together that I have sourced over the past few years.
With the block machined and prepped, the 327 was bored .030 over-sized and align bored, the block was decked as well. The crank shaft is an original steel GM part and was turned .010 under size on both the main and rod bearing journals. The entire rotating assembly was balanced by my Machinist.

I mounted it to the engine stand and spent the better part of a morning cleaning it and chasing all the treads with a tap.

I wanted to add a windage tray to the bottom end to aid in oil control, this required the use of studs for the main caps. I purchased an ARP stud set for the 2 bolt mains, I feel that even though this isn't a 4 bolt block the studs will help in adding strength. I installed the main bearings and caps, torqued them to specs and measured the clearance. Once I had verified all the measurements I removed the main caps and and set the crank in using Melling assembly lube.

After re installing the main caps I torqued them to 80 Ft LBS,in 3 stages as recommended by ARP, all threads were coated with ARP's thread lube. The crank turned freely and and no noticeable drag, I measured the end play and determined it to be within tolerance.