I went the rebuilt route. New bearings, rings, gasket set and one connecting rod only set me back $300. Again Amazon amazed me with their offerings so I bought the parts via a bookstore


Sent the crankshaft to an old timer in Ohio who only does crankshafts. Welding and grinding plus honing the cylinders ran $200.

Spent Sunday putting everything back together and fired it up last night. Purrs like a kitten. The in water test was today and she ran like a champ. Time to change the oil and continue the break in period.

All in all the rebuilt was very easy and I'm confidant that I'll get my value out of the $$$ spent.

However knowing how machines work I'll report back if something changes.