Thanks guys - I think (hope) all is now ok.

The machinist just called and said he removed the crankshaft, cleaned off all the assembly lube, torqued down the girdle to 86 lb-ft and checked it with the bore gauge. It stayed exactly where he had honed it with no further bulging at the parting lines.

Next, he installed the crankshaft dry with plastigauge, retorqued to 86 lb-ft and checked the oil clearance. He says it's .0015-.002, with an average of .00175..... that's dead-on perfect to me. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

He's left the plastigauge on it for me to see, so I'm off to pick it up now.

The refreshing thing is that he said he felt really foolish about it. He didn't know how he arrived at that 48 lb-ft torque value and thanked me for calling him on it. I guess he values his reputation and really does try to do good work. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Frank