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remery said..
After rebuilding an old school IC engine, pack the oil pump with petroleum jelly. On initial start the pump will pick up pressure almost immediately and the grease will melt away as soon as the engine warms up.
I remember my father telling me that you need to keep the big-end and conrod caps matched, and that often they have numbers or marks stamped into them. I though this was obvious until I saw (after the fact) a mate reassemble an engine and find that when he torqued up one of the main bearings that the engine would no longer turn. He had no idea why.
I think the same friend reminded me that you really do need to top up the oil in an engine that has a steady oil leak as otherwise it locks up on the freeway and makes you push the car to the nearest off-ramp.
The same friend also taught me that you need to supervise people putting engines back together into the engine bay as sometimes people can connect the fuel return line up to the EGR system and pump fuel into the sump...
The same friend also proved that bonnet pins are a good idea and you shouldn't drive on the freeway without putting them back in.
Maybe what he really taught me was that sometimes it makes sense to take the time and do things slowly and double-check critical things as we all make mistakes.