Any Old School Machinists Here?

ANY time you replace the main caps you will have to align bore/hone the block/caps AND deal with the thrust. I have several blocks with various brands of aftermarket caps and studs.

Performing this operation on a boring bar would, IMO, be a mistake and way too time consuming. Also you will need a fixture to cut the caps similar to fitting a connecting rod. As touched on above you will have to adress the thrust especially if you have the later block with larger thrust surface. The last step is checking the seal retainer and timing set fitment.

I know people slap engines together and they run so there is that. My time and money are too hard to come by to dismiss steps like a proper align bore/hone. Same reason I seek out the Sunnen CK-10 at a machine shop instead of my old Sunnen bar and hone setup.

If you have the time, patience and enough beer it could be done in the right shop with the wrong equipment. You better have a primo dial bore gage to check the work!