I'm building a 427 two bolt main, and along with the help of TC, I'm following Tom Wilson's How to Build Big-Block Chevy Engines. Wilson does not mention plasigaging rod bearing clearances. I have had good luck with my machine shop, but is it common practice to plastigage rod bearings?

I always plastigauge the rod and main bearings
on every motor I build. It saves headaches down
the line.

Nothing against your machine shop, but it's good practice and peace of mind to double check.

"Measure twice, cut once"... or as my neighbor says "I cut the thing 3 times and it's still too short!"

K,
The biggest problem with using plastigage on rod bearings is getting the rod cap back off without changing this amount of squish on the plasigage. I have never been able to do it. The best way is to torque the rods together with the bearings in them and measure them using a bore gauge that is set to the crankshaft diameter. Most home builders do not have the tools to do this. Believe it or not, the method GM suggests on its newer engines is to use a dial indicator. You bolt the rods on, then set up an indicator in such a way to measure the amount of "up and down" movement in the rod. I have never tried it, but it should be pretty accurate if you get the indicator set up right.
Hope this helps,

Bill, I've had the same problem in the past. I use the plastigage because I can't afford the bore gauges either. Better than nothing at all.

Thanks for posting GM's recommendation. I'll definitely have to give this one a try. I have a dial indicator stand that can be set up at any angle fairly easily.

I had the same problem with plastigauge on the rods, so I bolted the end cap on and torqued to 45 ft lbs. I used telescoping gauges and mikes to check the size. A bore gauge would be better though.