Bob Evans
Administrator
The main secret is actually no secret at all.To make good power, the base requirements are:
A perfectly sealed combustion chamber (including valve seal)
A piston, ring, and cylinder package where the piston absolutely loves the cylinder that it's traveling up and down in.
Most everything else is pretty much off the shelf.
If my top ring gap ended up at .005, I wouldn't worry about it. If it ended up at .001 and slid down the cylinder slick with the upside down piston pushing it through, I would just smile a little, and still wouldn't worry about it.
Come rebuild time, strip the motor and run your machinist's hone through the bore a few swipes, clean the bore with brake clean and inspect it closely.
It'll be telling you what it wants.