Thread: Engine Building From Scratch (basically)

please dont flame me for being a noob, or not searching first, but im hoping to gather information thats relevant to me, and pertains to this community
anyway, im new to the SR20 (GA FTW) and im new to building engines in general, but soon im going to be getting a fwd sr block from a buddy of mine for dirt cheap. it had bad compression, so im going to disassemble it and find out whats wrong.

in the re-assemble, it will get new bearings, new rings, all new timing components, new seals, new gaskets, ect. might even get new pistons, because the compression was only like 90 psi
my issue is this; ive never build an engine so i dont know what the procedures are. should i have the block machined, would it be a good idea to have the block acid bathed?
like what all should i do to make sure this thing is reliable for a long, long time

that being said, what procedures do i need to follow when re-assebling? what do i soak in oil, what all do i need to check, ect.
also, any tips from people who have done this before are greatly appreciated. having never done this before, its very intimidating and im hoping people here can help me rationalize it.
yes i know i can use the FSM (of which i have several) but as mentioned above, im looking for all the tips and tricks i can find.
thanks for the help in advance, and all positive input is appreciated. thanks guys!

First off your gonna need Time, Beer, Space, Beer, tools, beer, and most of all more beer... On a serious note, if you want a lasting engine its going to be time consuming.It makes it easier on your life if you mark all nuts and bolts, have an engine stand(not required, but saves trouble and a better outcome of the build), if you have measuring tools use them. i like to take precautions so i had my block(Hot tanked&resurfaced), head machined and crank polished.. Measure main bearings, rod bearings(i used plastigauge since measuring tools were too expensive at the time), valve clearance, Camshafts, Oil pump and its gears, i think I'm missing a few things but the FSM is your best friend. and then once your done with the build its TLC from there. Also before i forget, set TDC when setting anything with timing, if you fail to do so you will have the piston and valve hitting each other and a crankshaft failing the will perform a full revolution. I know that from experience lol When you take it apart inspect all aspects the block and head. *** Side story: I bought a JDM SR20 from TigerJDM, fiddled with the thing for 1 year could not get it started and i didn't want to perform a rebuild due to it supposedly being low mileage plus i didn't have time. One day i was like screw it then i decided to rebuild it. when i looked inside i had two broken oil squirters, pieces of the oil squirter were lodged into the oil pickup tube. it was a semi headache. long story short don't cut around any bushes.