lo-fi

Yep, Fridge nailed it. Clings to whatever you put it on, doesn't run off or out while you complete the rest of the build. Not essential, but great knowing you've given the bearings the best chance possible as the oil system primes. Sounds like you're all set!

Ring pliers. Valve spring compressor (I have a couple of sets, happy to post you one). Assembly lube. Plastigauge. Dial indicator with magnetic base. Should be all you need above the stuff you already have or need for a head gasket job

I feel your pain there. Jodie at welding tips and tricks gives solid, no nonsense advice. A much under rated channel.

I got one of these, it's excellent: https://www.gloforce.com/eye-light/ The mig light looks brilliant, I'll be buying myself one of them!

Nice seeing progress. Light is key. I often pop a torch pointing right at where I'm welding. I've been tempted to fit some LED cob units to the front of my mask on occasion... You literally can't have enough. A decent hood isn't to be overlooked. I've gone from a £20 fixed shade ebay thing, through some mid range jobbies (R-Tech) and landed on a Lincoln Viking 3350 (~£200). I can honestly say the Lincoln is worth every. single. penny. I'd expect the same quality of the ESAB A50 or similar in that price point, though. Its clearer, brighter when not activated, allows me turn the shade down to a shade below where it would have been comfortable in other helmets without eyes feeling strained (not the same as flashed!) after a heavy welding session, very light, and it's damn comfortable to wear. Also triggers when it should 100% of the time, which is more than can be said for the not-cheap GYS... I think if I'd had a hood of similar quality when I started, I'd have climbed the learning curve a bit quicker. Don't skimp on the covers either. If its dirty or scratched, bin it and fit another. The inside one is often overlooked and well past it too.

Gasless mig for bodywork is absolute garbage. Stay away. What seems to have happened is low end tool manufacturers have found a way to bodge "flux core" MIG welding, which is used in some industrial processes (though often with gas as well), into "you don't need to buy gas for it, innit mate". I'm pretty good with MIG - currently coded - but really struggled to get what I'd consider a "good" weld out of a gasless machine helping a mate fix a chassis. It's nasty. Really, really, really nasty. Easier to blow holes, harder to fill them. Harder to get decent penetration, very easy to get porous, slag filled, weak snot. Funnily enough, his welds improved immensely when I persuaded him to rent a gas bottle and switch over. TFS is excellent - he essentially runs a welding school, so knows how to teach, as well as what he's doing with a torch. Welding tips and tricks and weld.com are my other goto channels for welding education. Great explanation, quality arc shots, generally cover stuff a hobbyist is interested in.

I find breathing through my nose pretty much fixes that. Also, pop a dust mask on on days its really bad for steaming up. It seems to hold enough of the moisture and diffuse enough to stage off the fog

Plus 1 on the foot pedal. I'll get some torch time in. My first tries with filler rod: It ain't easy!

Fixed that for her Very cool. A friend of mine looked at booking but it was already over subscribed. I need to get some torch time with the TIG. I'm still at the stage where its awkward, frustrating and unrewarding. I think being pretty good with other welding processes makes it even harder going back to sucking at welding!

Without going into the long, short and curlys of it, the only way you'll increase the speed they go at will be feeding them more voltage. A speed controller can only slow them down, unless it's got some kind of clever dc-dc inverter and bumps the output voltage. You're onto a loser with changing the gear ratio too if you want to maintain the same force applied. Running at higher voltage has its perils, meaning more current and more heat. Your options here are to live with the slowness, bump the voltage by series-ing in another battery to that circuit, or dishing out for better actuators. The Chinese ones essentially just use horrid little low power motors (as that's the expensive bit) geared so low that they get a decent amount of push/pull. I think I'd put it down to experience and find something better myself. You're essentially paying for the motor, so look at the motor specs when choosing. More current = more power = more better, and should be faster assuming not geared crazy low for uber force. Hope that makes it a bit clearer!

Worth adjusting the rods to the correct length too. Its never "right", being something built to tolerances even a stone wall builder would laugh at, but gets you close to within an inch or so.

From the BGB:

I think mine came as a kit and I don't remember thinking it was expensive. Absolutely essential if you care about what's happening with your engine IMHO, though! I can even tell when the oil level is getting lower, and I could probably guesstimate the outside temp based on the gauge behaviour! Lol

My setup on the V8: More in the album.

Sometimes it's the little things that make life so much easier. The pressure gauge will be quite revelling. I can even tell on mine when the oil is getting hot! I have that exact setup and I'd not now be without it.

Turn up a chunk of metal on that old lathe of yours. It doesn't need to be fancy, just a ring about 1.5" long with a smooth shallow taper on the inside, having the smallest end the same size as the bore. The bigger end needs to be slightly bigger than the rings in uncompressed state. Those old giant jubilee clips are horrid to use.

No. That's a myth perpetuated by those who claim there's nothing wrong with cheap parts, continue to buy rubbish and drive the entire parts supply chain into the ground. Lift pumps seem, for some reason, to be notorious for failing lately. However, my own experience recently has been that lift pumps have failed in installs or conversions that are "less than ideal". Restricted return line, or no return at all, for example. To be honest, I'm no fan of mechanical lift pumps anyway. A good electric pump is a far better solution. I mean, you're attaching a fixed displacement pump with a rubber diaphragm and no pressure regulator to a power source that wildly varies in rpm and demand independently? Good luck with that... Been a year or two since I bought a master cylinder, but the Bearmach ones I've got seemed decent and have lasted. What's happened?

If you fancy a small die grinder job that will make a nice difference, grab a gasket do some port matching between head and manifolds. I'm in the "leave everything else be" camp too otherwise.

Yoda?

I've been caught out so many times that way myself... Just ease them up gently and evenly, they're quite robust as long as you're careful. Rotate and pinch works too, but put one end over the other to keep it all stable and ease the pressure and go easy. You'll soon get a feel for it. If you don't have already, I highly recommend a set of ring pliers BTW

That's my working theory, yes. Turners have a great reputation, but even the best technician is not 100% infallible. Modern rings are usually pretty good, but it absolutely needs checking and adjusting. The ring manufacturer doesn't know exactly what the bore sizes are going to come out at or how much a hone will take off, so it's impossible to make a ring that's guaranteed to fit straight out of the box with the correct gap. Too short and blow by will be excessive; too long and they'll bind. Better to have a little extra which can be trimmed to get it spot on during the build, so out if the box they're usually on the tighter side of the spec. Worth remembering that a single thousandths change in diameter makes Pi times that change in circumference. Regardless of what has or hasn't gone on before, I hadn't seen ring gap mentioned in the thread, so thought best to bring up before you put the fresh ones in.

The ring gap is far more important than the clearance in the groove. The damage on number 2 and your description are consistent with rings being fitted, not gapped correctly and lacking sufficient clearance. That clearance is vital when they heat and expand, or they deform, bind up, scuff the bore and damage the ring grooves, all of which can be seen on your cylinder 2. Some rings come "pre gapped", but not something I'd trust to luck. Shows the process nicely:

Ah, I mean the gap between the ends of the rings when installed.

Forgive me if I've missed it, but did you check the ring gaps on number 2?

Lovely, should be smashing with a VFD driving it. I need a lathe that size in my life...