My freind is gonna help me rebuild my shortblock, only thing is he doesnt use plastigauge, he uses feeler gauges and micrometers. Is that bad? I could use my haynes manual and do it myself with plastigauge if thats the one and only way to do it right. What do you think?
The best are dial bore gauges, which can be found for fairly cheap (~$150), but when in doubt, I'd use mics, feelers and plastigauge on the first few attempts to make sure you are reading the clearances properly.
If he knows how to use the tools properly than that is the better option. If he doesn't than you would be OK to plastiguage them assuming you're not doing anything too radical with the motor.