<VV> Advice on Rings (was Help - Oil Out Dipstick Tube)

[Jay Pitchford]

First a refresher - here's where we entered my little saga last week:

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"My '65 140-4 Corsa just finished it's rebuild today and on the initial
test drive, the mechanic is getting oil blowing out the dipstick. This
engine had a complete tear-down, including boiling the block, turning
the crank, new bearings, pistons, rings, the works. I'm going to have
him check the PCV, but is there any other suggestions you can pass on
to me for him to check? The car is an hour away from me, and I'm
desperate to get it back for the long Labor Day weekend.  I've read
theories about a too-deep dipstick tube, or small hole in the dipstick
tube to relieve pressure, but that was mentioned specifically about
EMs. Does it apply to LMs too? Any other suggestions?"

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Now for the update:

The PCV system was clear. A compression check was done, and it showed
145-150 lbs on three of the six cylinders. Two of the other three
showed ~90 lbs, and one was ~65 lbs. My mechanic Tom drove the car a
bit more, taking out to the 4-lane and opening it up a bit.

He reported back late in the day Friday 9/3 that the blow-by had
reduced drastically, and that perhaps we had the rings seating in. He
offered me the car for the holiday weekend, which I went and picked
up. The premise was I'd put ~300 miles on it and bring it back up to
him for another compression check and hot adjust on the valves, which
had been cold adjusted to within a 1/4 turn per Tom.

One bank ... the one reading two cylinders low ... was smoking a bit,
but our thought was maybe the rings were still seating. I drove it
carefully, generally 3500 revs or less, but never over 4000 while
upshifting. The mild Isky cam had 5k miles on it already, so that
wasn't a concern.

48 hours and 150 miles after picking it up, I started it and blew
clouds of oil smoke out of the bank, the one that was slightly smoking
earlier. Temp stayed normal; no oil light; no clatter other than a
slight valve tick expected before the hot adjust. I'm convinced I just
blew one of my brand-new rings, and I'm hoping it didn't score the
brand-new full fin jug.

Question: Is it possible to put a ring in 'backwards'? If so, you
figure a guy that doesn't know the difference would have a 50/50
chance at it ... and I was reading low on exactly three cylinders
after a ground-up rebuild.

Any thoughts and/or advice would be appreciated.

Jay