My mechanic noticed it as soon as I dropped it off. I can barely feel it, and would guess it's maybe .001" to .003"... What do you think, is this small vertical scratch cause for serious concern? I can't tell if it's from machining, or assembly. I really need to get this car up and running before I move out of state any week here now. I'm worried about compression/blow-by/oil-consumption. The whole reason I'm doing this build in the first place is because I had failed piston rings...

What do you think, will this cause problems over time? I really want a bullet proof (as can be) motor. In the short term, I am only planning NA. Might throw a Vortech SC on it in the distant future if I get bored though. I beat the hell out of the VQ35DE in the past though, and maybe that's why it only lasted 115k miles. If I can get another 100k miles, I'd be happy.

 

from your rings... pretty normal in a rebuild.
file fit rings not perfectly chamfered. Ehhh... it aint pretty but it wont hurt anything.