chrome rings a no go for straight gas cars, been there done that, all u will achieve is a nice glazed bore that will need to be honed again. as for the oil jmac u were talkin bout, the machine shop near my work recommends use the oil ur always goin to put in it, etc 10w30 full sync. if u want to use that, use it while ur bedding in ur motor. i always assumed use a thicker grade it makes sence but ive been garrentied otherwise

well lucky it appears they are not molly rings.

having runb in 4 engines over the years i alwyas have used the same oil i intend to use, a mini rebulider told me to do that and my 1100cc had enough poke compared to others.

I used similar methods as you described Jmac but tended to limit revs for the first few drives but drove it normal and loaded it up every couple of sets of lights.

One engine i ran in at night time, driving on the free way, but from one on ramp to the next one and back again, on ramps are great for loading up and then you can coast slower and load up the rpms again. Worked pretty well too.

Here's my method (two cents )
Warm it up to operating temp (at a high idle if new cam to ensure enough oil) and then drive it like you stole it!

Have watched hi-po race motors get built, put on the dyno for maybe half an hour of variable rpm to run in the cam and then straight into full power pulls.
Modern machining techniques, materials and equipment mean tolerances etc are so much better and the take it easy isn't really necessary.

I know each to their own but have only lost one motor this way (actually lasted 1000km and popped at a sprint at full noise down the back straight), which was actually due to the fact had used a secondhand piston and it was a touch undersized. Motors also just seem more free and seem to develop more power (SOTP ).