I believe that Chris Corkins and Rocky Jennings, both well thought of engine builders recommend a dry assemble before sealing the case halves.  Dry does not mean without bearings or grease.  I have checked all of the tolerances and replaced the rods with a Van cafe remanufactured set that has the old 1.9 bolts.  Torque to 33# and no additional half turn.  So I assembled the two halves and everything is clear and spins well and is tight.  I installed the #1 piston and sleve to check the fit of the AA 95.5 pistons because they obviously are bigger than stock.  I think I am good to go with cracking the halves again and sealing her up!  Any advice is welcome...  Thanks to Scott and all who have offered advice and support.  This is an amazing community!  I will post some pictures once it is together....sparkling clean, nicely painted and very pretty...

Best,
Finn Runyon
89 Westy Roo
87 Westy Pooh

On Sep 25, 2012, at 11:17 AM, Jim Felder <jim.felder@gmail.com> wrote:

> I have never done a "dry" assembly on an engine in preparation for assembling it. If you know how to use a torque wrench, have measured your clearances, and have the parts put in the right way, you don't need a dry run.
> 
> You have to have everything on the rank (rods, bearings, caps) to assemble it anyway. You will find out if anything is binding as you go. 
> 
> DO NOT forget to replace those 2.1 rod bolts or get a set of diesel bolts. They cannot be used twice.
> 
> Jim
> 
> On Tue, Sep 25, 2012 at 9:42 AM, Finn Runyon <finnrunyon@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> I am slowly starting to reassemble my 2.1 after a full teardown.  It has been recommended on Samba to "dry" assemble the bottom end, pistons and cylinders to check for clearance issues.  I am using the AA 95.5 pistons.  I have the #1 piston and cylinder in place and there are no clearance issues.  My question is do I need to install all 4 jugs and pistons, or can I assume that if there is no issue on #1 that they all will be OK.
> 
> Thanks,
> Finn Runyon
> 89 Westy Roo
> 87 Westy Pooh
>