Refresh on a 302: Any Advice or build secrets?

[Dangerous Doug]

Jerry & David: That's what I was looking for in terms of information. For someone that has never done this before but isn't afraid to try something out, what should I know.

Some things are intuitive: Pistons/rods back in the same hole facing the way they came out; don't reverse the cap on the rods and keep the rods with the caps; Pushrods back on the same lifter it came from; Don't scratch any journals; clean, clean, clean; torque once, check three times; check torque one more time before you button it up.

Some things are not, at least to me: How DO you get an oil pan gasket to seal the first time? You tested the piston clearance with puddy, so you know it clears, but how thick should the puddy to compensate for hot/cold metal fluctuations in the metal?

Just trying to learn from the collective mind here.

Am I really going to pull my engine apart this way? Maybe, maybe not. But I would love to learn a few things from the race veterans I conclude are on this site.

Any thing else?
DD