Ok, now before anyone slams me for what I am about to ask, I am a mechanic and I know what I am planning on doing is not optimal. I race a 4wd 3/4 ton is a super stock mud bog class and am very limited to mods I am allowed to make. we have a 3 bolt-on rule (carb intake and headers) and the engine must pull 15" of vac. I noticed last season that my 454 was getting tired, so yesterday I pulled the heads off for quick look. While I did not find any obvious damage you could measure my ring gap with a tape measure. I'm assuming this is where my power loss is coming from ( 5 seasons without a rebuild). I have a rebuild kit on order and I have a couple of quick questions for people with experience.
1. I realize standard rings probably are not going to fix my gap ( worn cylinders) so could I use .010 over rings for a little less gap.
2. Would I be better off going to a file fit and if so what is the best gap for a naturally aspirated 454.
3 Does anyone have any other hints for cheap power ( this is a claimer class so I don't want to spend a lot of cash.)
If It helps the 454 is stock with an rv cam and small chamber med truck heads for a little compression boost, also I have a 3 keyway timing set that is currently 4 degrees advanced. any help would be appreciated.