Egge uses the Jesse James business model. The only difference is that Jesse had to use a gun to rob people. On any particular day on Ebay, I can buy a truckload of new 235 parts, at very reasonable, or downright cheap prices. That goes for pistons, rings, bearings, gaskets, valves, and even crankshafts, cams, and connecting rods. The resto-ripoff places like to claim that stovebolt stuff is scarce and gold plated- - - - -not so by a long shot! If you're not willing to do a little internet shopping, there's always Rock Auto- - - -good brand name parts at fairly reasonable prices! Now, for scarce, custom made stuff like GMC pistons, you might have to bite the bullet and pay Egge's prices, but not so for regular stovebolt rebuilding parts!
What's wrong with a .050" ring end gap? When the rings heat up to normal operating temperature and expand, the gap will be virtually zero, and at 2K RPM they're only having to seal compression and combustion pressure for 1/60 of a second at a time. Measure the pistons and/or the bore size with an accurate inside micrometer, and order the proper size rings to fit.
Jerry
