Quote Originally Posted by PlayingWithTBI View Post
Bummer - hope it's something simple like the rings' gaps lined up in a row vertically (I've seen it before).
Thanks to both of you. Yeah, I’ve been hoping for something simple for a while now, have actually been in denial. But I can’t deny 1/3 to 1/2 quart in 300 miles any longer. Funny thing is plugs do not look oil fouled to me at all, and the (hot) compression is good and consistent in all cylinders (approx 180 at three hits and 200-210 at five hits). And there are not clouds of smoke going down the road, even when I get on it with high load. It will puff smoke if I gun it at idle, though.

As for ring install, I followed the instructions that came with the Hastings rings to a T. There’s a backstory tho: I had to switch machinists mid-build. The first one was hitting the sauce pretty hard and he had about five missed deadlines. He also bought pistons that would have given me 10:1 CR with vortec heads. So I found a new machinist and bought some KB pistons that lower my CR half a point. Second guy, who has a good rep building high end motors, said the rings would be fine with the new pistons but now I have some doubts.
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