so i am doing my first engine rebuild on my a12 i have everything in new bearings, arp studs, polished crank, and i have the mains torqued to 38f/lbs and the rods to 26f/lbs when i turn the crank its easy turn when the rods are vertical, but when the rod journals are horizontal it gets a little tight and i hear a slight sound. anyone know that it could be?

It could be the bearings.
Measure the
* bearing crush
* bearing clearance
* side clearance

thanks will do. also i noticed that the mains caps had the bearing notch lined up and together and the rod cap ones did not line up. could this contribute?

Yes...caps are matched.

Also if you haven't any tools to measure, removal and inspecting of the bearing shells may reveal some insight into what is happening. Look for polished spots, any scoring or other evidence of hesitation or friction.

I've collected blocks before told they are clean and found they are still laden with slag and swarf. Of course I found this out after running in.

I accidentally deleted my previous post.

Here it is again:

You would expect some resistance simply from the geometry, it is hard to advise without being there and actually feeling how much resistance there is. Your safest bet is to measure up and confirm your clearances, or lack of. Your other choice is to go right ahead, make sure it is well oiled up (turn it over without plugs and ignition- cranking only) and start it up.

Of course, the parts were lubricated before installation?

Keep in mind your rings aren't yet bedded so you will also have some resistance from them.

the best you could do is get a engine builder to build the bottom half of the motor then you'll know it should be right. there are to many things that can wrong to stuff it up

looking at the slot in the cap and rod for the piston it seems like they will never line up i the picture the cap is flipped over. if you image it being flipped over to put it on the slot will be on the same side side but they will not line up.

That is not important. They are not supposed to line up.

What is important about bearings is to measure the new parts to ensure they are within spec:
* bearing crush
* bearing clearance
* side clearance
Follow the instructions in your favorite repair manual.

On an assembled inline 4 cyl short motor you find the crank rotation friction is at its highest around half a turn before and after top centre. This is when the piston movement is highest per degree of crank rotation. There should be almost no friction when the pistons are at TDC/BDC (far less movement per degree here).
If you put all the caps on the same way as they came off you should be good to go. The upper and lower bearing shell tangs should be on the same side of the rod but they will not line up.