Engine painting and reassembly

I got the engine back from the machine shop the other day, and now it's time for painting and reassembly.  Here are the "before" pictures.

Before painting, lots of different areas need to be masked off.  This took over an hour to get everything covered.  Don't worry, the timing gear cover is a junker so I just used it to mask off that area.  That black thing is the holder for the engine stand.

And here it is on the engine stand with the masking removed and assembly about to begin.

First thing in is the crankshaft.  But before installing, I had to pull off the old timing gear from the front and install a new one, plus install a new pilot bearing in the back end where the transmission couples up.  And finally, here's the crank installed, oiled up, and the bearing caps torqued down tight.

The end play checks out between .003" and .004", and the crank turns freely.  I love it when a plan comes together.