Anyone recommending that a 30- 40 year old manual has all the information required to build an engine... is an idiot. The new rings you buy will have a completely different construction than the original ones assumed by the manual.

And the engine re-builder is correct. You can (most likely*) replace the rings and piston on the affected cylinder without honing.

There is no reason to go replacing the rings on the good cylinders if you are looking for a quick fix. However, everything wears, and you have to determine if all that extra work makes sense to you / your budget / your time. Is the car even worth it?

*depends available roughness of the cylinder wall, taper, out-of round. But for a quick fix, he basically making the assumption that the tolerances will be 'good enough'. Worst case is that you will burn a little oil and the rings on that cylinder will take a very long time to seat.

I have replaced rings on these engines without doing any honing, and had excellent results... it really depends on the roundness of the cylinder. Visual inspection will tell you if the out-of-roundness is a concern simply by determining where the honing marks are worn away.

If the original factory honing marks are still quite visible all the way around the cylinder, then you are still well-within specification.

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