Originally Posted by
36 sedan
JMHO, I really don't think your ring gaps were causing your trouble, unless they were significantly larger than you posted. In my youth (a long, long time ago) I ran some pretty worn out motors, a few had enough blow by to lay out a smoke screen and oil slick out the tail pipes, yet not enough crankcase pressure to blow out gaskets.
When you tear it down look it over closely, I believe there's more to this story than what meets the eye.
Also, I think you are a little confused on what a windage tray does, it does NOT reduce blow by or crankcase pressure, generally they are good at minimizing aeration of the oil at high RPM, which helps with a speedy return of the oil to the sump. There are lots of pro's and con's (and opinions) on windage trays.
I was told when I was young (many years ago) there are two phrases that apply to motor building and troubleshooting;
MOTOR BUILDING - Check, check, check, MAKE MISTAKES less, less, less
TROUBLESHOOTING - Test, test, test, SPEND less, less, less