I still put money on the distributor being the problem, unless when you checked the roll pin on the distributor gear you can see light through it. I have had the roll pin look like it was intact but infact it was broken into 3 pieces. The sudden drivability issue after mashing the throttle is the key here. Yea a timing chain could jump but its so very unlikely unless there are one of those cheap single roller chains with the plastic teeth on the gears (still highly unlikely). If there is nothing laying loose after pulling valve covers, you would notice a catastrophic break which would cause issues.

ps was it mentioned whether it was point ignition or electronic?

If you are not happy with ACE hardware's prices then find another vendor. Fastenal is a pretty big name for hardware that you may find local. You shouldn't pay much more for NF over NC hardware in my opinion. I agree that Mcmaster Carr will have any bolt you could want but you will have to factor shipping into your bottom line. Otherwise talk to local body shops or repair facilities and find out where they are getting their hardware from. My take on the whole bolt thing is unless you are an engineer with equipment to test fasteners how can you be sure you are getting what you are paying for anyway. Go with grade 8 hardware of the same design and you should be fine in my opinion. I just wouldn't start subbing hex head bolts where flanged bolts etc were originally on things that articulate or move.

whoever spray welds the crank will grind it and check it for straightness, due to the heat from welding process.

Same as intake manifold gaskets, you don't replace them with rtv. If you need to use some with the gasket use it sparingly. Whatever squirts outside, the same amount squirts inside. would be a shame to cause an issue because of overuse of RTV.

If you are going to pull a battery cable pull the negative first. That way if your wrench happens to hit the chassis while taking it on or off it doesn't weld itself to your car.

ignition switch acting up?

I also do not recommend a gasket removal pad. Every one of them removes material from whatever you are grinding on. I have seen this when auto shops would bring in cylinder heads that needed resurfacing after they "cleaned" them with the roloc discs. Several times I had to take a couple more .001's due to excessive grinding near water jackets and around combustion chamber sealing areas. A nice razor blade scraper and some patience is what I would use on the block with rags/ paper towels  in all the holes, nooks, and crannies. If you were cleaning cylinder heads I would just take them to be resurfaced, but that doesn't sound like the case here.

I wouldn't worry much about what bore size you want to run. Fact is that engine makers have been making much larger bores than 4.125 in stock engines for a long time. One thing I would be thinking about those dirt track rods and pistons is that the pistons are probably forged and would require more clearance right off the bat depending on manufacturer recommendations. Also I have to question the math on how you could increase the stroke and keep the rods and pistons and not run into severe clearance issues.

DC wrote:

I have read a lot about engine oiling, but my case is all about my own experience. I spent a lot of time on the dyno looking at a lot of things that give extra power and take power away. Every time we opened up bearing clearance we gained measurable power (sometimes an amazing amount). On an 8 cylinder engine that is a lot of additional flow area and usually results in lower oil pressure making the need for the high volume pump. On the other side we never saw that the HV pump used more power than we gained with the larger clearances. An added benefit was that the on track water temp came down. One short block engine I bought came from a race engine builder that always said you don't need a HV pump, but he supplied a HV pump with the engine?

 Just for reference sake how much are you opening up clearances. When I worked for a rebuilder we always aimed for .002- .0025 clearances on crank and rods unless the customer had a circle track engine or specified something larger like .0035-.004 or it was a tractor. Curious as to what clearances you run on the street and still feel safe.

The only reason lifters need to rotate is that they are flat tappet, otherwise your pistons would rotate too.

I've used MSC direct through work to replace a morse taper drill chuck. They might have what you are looking for. https://www.mscdirect.com/ They do list the country of origin on there stuff.

Defective engine, Defective grill

Congratulations and I know it's early, but welcome to the world of watching your kids favorite cartoons over and over and over. I swear I know all the songs from just about every show my two year old watches.