Ring problem?

Yes, it has a .514 cam. Everything was measured and clearanced properly. I'm confident the heads were down right. My mechanic knows his sh1T. I did the rings and and the reassemble. I think either the rings are not seated yet and/or the gaps are too large. It was my first time doing rings so chances are I f-d them up. I remember the gaps were larger than they should have been. I put them in anyway. The gap should have been about 0.025" they were around 0.035".

if youve got oil dripping out the ports,its more than ring gaps being .010 too big.even not broken in rings may show a lttle oil consumpsion,but it shouldnt be smoking

It's got light puffs of snoke out the rear cylinder pipe and some oil coming from the exhaust ports. I didn't use and gasket sealer on the copper exhaust gaskets, should I try to redo them with sealer?

you can seal the ports well Tommy dont you think its a good idea to just ask your indie if he turn the guide height down to clear the retainer for high lift be fore you continue? its only a phone call . machining the guide for a pc seal is common but turning the guide for clearence is not allways done . it dont hurt to ask ?

The exhaust pipes are sealed now and not leaking. Still getting small puffs of smoke from the exhaust. Also some white smoke when she fires up. Is that from oil leaking down from the valve stem or up from the rings?

I will try that Chuck, thanks.
How long does it take to seat new chome rings? I have about 60 miles on it.

They were the only rings that would fit my 93" .010 over S&S pistons.
Hopefully it's only that they need to seat and then the smoking will stop. At least the oil isnt dripping from the exhaust ports anymore.
Man, there's a lot to learn about building an engine correctly.

In your post #19 you said you saw oil on the valve stems.?
This will cause your motor to smoke at startup.
01 over on the ring gaps is not "good" but should not be a factor as long as you stagered the rings properly. Chrome rings take forever to seat , thats why they are not the best choise used ., so dont do that next time around.
If you feel your head guy new his stuff then just do the proper break in procedures to let the chrome rings and teflon valve seals wear in. Come back after a few hundred miles and let us know how it goes.
Also., since you decided to add sealant to the headers you will now be looking for same oil from the mufflers.
A lighter dino oil will help with the break in time .

Thanks Machinehed!

If those chrome rings don't seat well, you might try going with std. cast iron rings; they always seat well, and fast, too! We used to run forged hi-comp pistons with chrome rings on dirt tracks back in the day, because the cchrome would stand up better to all the... dirt (we didn't have K&N "filter socks" in those days

Oil could be leaking in thru the head gasket, correct?
There was a 0.012" gap between the top of the cylinder and the bottom of the heads. I don't think that's right. I think the head should sit flat on the cylinder with no gap.
Maybe that is my problem.?

There will be a slight space you describe between the bottom of the head and top of the cyl. but it should be the compressed head gasket only.
When you installed the rings the ring gaps should be staggard 120 degrees from each other for proper sealing. If the ring gaps were installed to close to each other , oil will migrate up through the ring gaps and into the combustion chamber.
If you installed the chrome rings properly and didnt scratch or nick anything and followed the advise so far given , i would assume the chrome rings are still seating .
Did you hone , rebore or deglaze the cyls. before installing the rings ?
What head work was done ?

There was a gap between the heads and cylinders WITHOUT the gasket in place. That gap was 0.012" The copper gaskets I used were 0.020" so I figured it would work ok. I didn't use gasket sealer nor did I burnish the gasket. I put them on dry. Was that bad?
The ring gaps were staggered 120 degrees.
The heads were new STD dual plug, all new parts in the heads.
Yes, the cylinders were honed.
Thanks.

Check out this second coil mount bracket I made.
Do you like?

Ok .???
What can i say ., If from what your saying your head to block are not flat and yes you could be getting oil through the gasket .???

A not flat mating surface and just installing a copper head gasket without a sealer or annealing it would be the cause of the leak....
Here's some engine sealing info...down the page a bit is info on copper gaskets..

Engine Sealing: High Performance Head Gaskets: Engine Builder

Thanks Guys.