1973 Dart Sport

And the saga continues:

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Mystery solved. I used 1/16" rings in a piston made to use 5/64" rings. Explains the intermittent blow-by issues. Looks like I didn't damage anything other than the cross-hatch in the cylinders. Gonna slap some new 5/64" rings in there, make sure the tolerance is acceptable, rehone the cylinders and run it. I got a 360 block to begin a 408 build so I'm not too worried about how this may affect engine life way down the road. Sucks seeing yet another self-inflicted stupid mistake but live and learn. Does feel good to be at a point where I can confidentially get the engine out and torn down with no real fear of messing anything up.

Hopefully I got all the idiocy out of my system and everything goes together right this time. With the engine out I'll be able to revisit the wiring routing and brake lines in the engine bay. I will likely pull the trigger on a hydroboost unit as well now that the install couldn't be easier.