"Blueprinting" defined

[Josh]

This is a link to an article I found about "blueprinting"; I've seen the term used here often enough to wonder what the heck it meant, and now I've got an idea!  

Sadly, it seems the full text is absent, so does anybody know what tools and techniques they're talking about, besides the dial calipers, micrometers, and standards to practice measuring against?  I've got about 4 diesel vw's to consider repowering, and I'd like to get decent at the techniques of building/designing prior to getting my hands much more dirty!  So what does "blueprinting" mean to y'all?


   -Josh

http://www.superchevy-web.com/tech/0110sc_bluprint/

[fspGTD]

There are a couple books out there on blueprinting.  I have this one:
The Step-By-Step Guide to Engine Blueprinting: Practical Methods for Racing and Rebuilding

Unfortunately, a lot of the specific blueprinting techniques in it are sort of aimed at a Ford/Chevy/etc V8, but it's still some good food for thought.

This one I was just looking at the first few pages on, looks V8-oriented although perhaps could also be good:
Pro Engine Blueprinting

One thing I'd like to blueprint very much when it comes time to rebuild my Rabbit GTD autocrosser is it's cylinder to cylinder piston projection (and cylinder to cylinder compression ratio.)  I think that could go a long way towards making the diesel run a lot more smoothly.  Someday, perhaps next time you have your cylinder head off, try measuing all your piston projections.  I was shocked to find how much piston projection varied across all cylinders.  It was a little bit better on dad's 1.6D (which has a professional "vanilla" rebuild), but a far cry from exactly equal across all cylinders.

[Josh]

Thanks, Jake!  I appreciate the needed info!