November 11, 2023, Engine Update - So after struggling with the shims on my main bearing caps, I pulled the bearing cap off that was causing the crank to lock up. The bearing seemed slightly damaged, so I pulled it out of the bearing cap to have a closer look. It was then that I realized I had kept the old bearings in while I was measuring piston to valve clearances so as not to damage the new bearings. The new bearings were still sitting in the box the came in (picture 1)!
Turns out my engine is a '56 which I understand is the year they did away with main bearing cap shims, although the casting date is Dec 27, 1955. Thankful for all the advice direction I received in the forums to help me with this.
After replacing the original bearings with the new main bearings, all clearances as measured with plasti-gauge were between .002 and 0.0015 with the crank turning freely (pictures 2 through 5). Lot of wasted work, but made for a good chuckle.
I then followed up thoroughly cleaning the block with a wire wheel and painting it (pictures 6 through 9).
The engine is ready to start going back together now.
