Firstly I am 'a searcher', and as my new engine plan involves an S16 block, I can assure you all that I have waded through 8 pages of S16 related threads to gather general info that'll help my project.   Therefore IF and WHEN there is any repetition of answers, may I apologise in advance? The upside is, since I hope this will become a future "members' project" thread with photos of all stages of the build, then it will contain all of the answers for both an interesting read and for anyone else to follow.   Right, firstly my new engine plan is as per my signature. PLEASE DIGEST THIS FIRST and also the fact that as we stand, I don't have the XU11DA (ex 2.1 diesel turbo) crank that I require and encourage your assistance in finding one.   I am currently in the process of documenting the whole plan so I know exactly what parts I require (on top of what I already have), and asking billions of I hope non-bone questions to knowledgable people. Thus far this has included PeterT, Miles, SuperJosh and BlackMi16, and I hope will also encourage Maxi, Sandy, Revla, Huxley309, Pumaracing and others who have either built similar upped-displacement engines or are mechanically savvy enough to contribute.   I will always strive to NOT ask divvy questions, but the aim is to avoid by consultation any pitfalls; some of which may be apparent before I even ask the question, and respectfully request that anyone with a recommendation/fix simply suggests it, i.e. you will encounter 'X' and this means you need to do 'Y'.   So if I start with the S16 block and related bottom end items:   Here is my block, ex Monkey's car apparently, which had a damaged big end bearing, now along with the rest in the bin:   I've been looking forward to building a bottom end, now here's my chance. I will undoubtedly use the wrong terminology initially as I learn but I will try. My initial questions are:   1) Mos started a big debate over the 'safeness' of boring out to 88mm rather than 87mm, but there was no conclusion. BlackMi has suggested I might choose to stay at 87mm for less risk. Is it safe or not?   2) The S16 block appears to have its own thermostat housing, which the/my Mi16 head already has. So, which one is either blanked off or still plumbed in but minus a thermostat or something else altogether?   3) Can my S16 rods be checked by anyone (and how) for trueness?   4) The S16 engine mount looks different. Do I swap it for the one on my Mi alloy block (shortly to be listed as a nearly complete Mi engine and loom in the 'for sale' section) or use it as is?   5) Do I/should I have the block decked?   My future posts will not be this long; simply progress shots and explanations or questions.   Thanks for everyone's help and advice in advance.   DrS (Rich)