I washed it down with a scrubbing brush and toluene solvent to remove all the dust and crap from the outside. I did both sides, the oil and water pumps and the back too. I also scrubed the top, but that did little.
I surfaced the mounting points on the sides of the block with a 4 inch grinder and an abrasive pad (like scotchbright).
Next I scraped and sanded the deck until all of the head gasket material was gone. I was careful not to overdo any areas and still get everything off. This is mostly finished, I will finish it tomorrow.
I then went to work on some burrs around the deck: head bolt holes, oil drain holes (mostly this) coolant jacket holes, oil supply hole, etc. Oil will get back to the sump faster now
Lastly, for the day, I got busy and removed the tiny bump in the centre of the almost flat-topped number 3 piston. I then sanded it with 240, then dremeled the edges of the valve recesses, then 1000, then polish. It looks awesome. Tomorrow I'll do the other three, clean the top perfectly, and pull the sump off.
The F8-DOHC bottom end has a windage tray just like schwines forged fe3 bottom end. I'm hoping it bolts to the main caps the same way too. If so, I not only have a goer now, I have my next build's block ready to go too. That style of brace is my favourite.
I'll have to tripple check that no swarf or crap is left anywhere in the engine.
Oh, and it was full of oil when I started, so I drained that too, and it was almost clean, so I'll filter it and use it for a first start/run oil before some fresh stuff goes in.
After I complete the bottom end tomorrow it will be time for a head restoration. I'll start a new thread on that when the time comes.
Fred.