I put the rings inside the cylinders, I squared them off, and measure the gap..... my problem is that I am getting .026 and up.... brand new set shouldn't be like this this... right?
Hi!
1) You have Rings for a Bored out 302, not as yours is.
2) Your Cylinder(s) is/are Worn, push the Ring to the very bottom of the Bore & measure the Gap there. When older, Bores tend to Bellmouth out. Bores get Tighter at the bottom, looser up Top.
3) You don’t have the Ring square in the Bore, try using a Piston to push it in, get it Square.
4) put an old Ring in and see what the clearance is.
5) put the new Ring over the old, on top, see if there’s differences.
6) rotate the Ring 90 degrees and see what happens, the old and new Rings.
One of these may help. Post what you find so you can receive more accurate responses. TX, John