I forgot to tell the machinist to remove the front oil gallery plug that rounded off when I was tearing down the block. It's fairly common for this to happen, so some may find this trick useful. Instead of drilling and using an EZ-out, get a #6 screw extractor (sized for 3/8" NPT) and hammer it into the plug as far as you can. It'll bite as it's driven into the allen recess, leaving you with enough purchase to remove the plug:


An 8 pt 1/2" socket works best on the extractor. Just support the extractor with your off-hand as you put pressure on the ratchet handle so it doesn't twist and strip the bite:


The block has now had an initial thread tapping, then was washed, brushed, dried and painted:



After the paint hardens a few days, I'll retap all of the threads and start the build.

Frank