This guy sounds like he knows those 170's. I'd say make sure the filter is on tight, check the oil level (you used the correct weight, right?), then warm the engine up a bit. Take it for a spin, then listen for the knocking again. Can't hurt it too much more than it already is, if it's really hurt at all. Especially if you are already talking about replacing it. Maybe it just needed to warm up and circulate again.
A friend of mine encountered the same problem on a SBF 289 v8. I mean it sounded like a mild rod knock deep inside the motor. Turned out to be that one of the rockers was hitting the rocker cover when it heated up. He put two rocker gaskets under the cover an "Wham Bam" no knock. If you still have the old rocker gasket slip it on top of the new one and see if it is still knocking. Be sure the cover is aliened correctly and centered over the rockers Later. Specs
Actually responding to your remark that you didn't know enough to figure out what was wrong with it. No I'm not a barber but I did cut hair when I was still camping out in SE Asia. If in a position to have to cut hair again and I had the opportunity to ask some barbers for advice prior the first words out of my mouth wouldn't be, but I don't know how to do it. My actual point was that if you want a V-8 you don't need to wait for the wheezer motor to take a dump. If you want a bigger mill just bite the bullit and get one. SBFs are not an extremley expensive motor and I'll just about bet that unless you find somthing stupid wrong with your motor like you left a screw driver laying under the valve cover it will be a less expensive route for you.
Except he may have to pay someone else to install it (he doesn't know much mechanically). And that would make it very expensive.
Ha. The old motor makes a noise and the first or second thing you think of is an engine swap to something bigger. Congratulations my friend, you are a hot rodder! You have the disease that most of us have. Just recently I was dreaming of pulling heads and putting in bigger valves and it ended up being just a stuck lifter. Next you'll be trying to hop up your electric shears. Oh well. Serious though, engine swaps end up being more expensive than you anticipate. Not just the cost of the engine/tranny but all the ancillary connections kill the wallet. New mounts, drive shaft, linkage, hoses, shifter, etc. Short on funds, try to fix what you got. Start with simple. Focus on what you changed. Check that valve cover again. Here's a thought about the oil. Make sure you didn't over fill the oil. Did you use the super thin 0-10 weight oil meant for new cars. Both of these might put oil in the cylinder and preignite. It'll sound more like a ping or crack.
Some good, some not so good, and some strange info here. (How exactly does thin oil preignite?) 170's were the first small Ford sixes with hydraulic lifters and they can become stuck when sitting for a while especially on high mileage motors. If you suspect this, pour in a bit of Marvel Mystery oil and let it get up to temperature and run it a bit, take it for a drive, should go away. It's kind of unlikely that something in the bottom end went away from just sitting, so a lifter is a reasonable place to look. As for swapping - a 250 does not fit well in that car - it is too tall and you wont get an air cleaner on it. Also if you decide to go V8, an AOD will not clear the floor tunnel and you would have to make a new crossmember for it. A 289/302 with C4 for a V8 or a 200" six and C4 are the easiest swap for the car, but i don't think you will do wither one for $600.00 even if you do it yourself.
It preignites when it gets past worn rings and valve seals and becomes part of the fuel charge. It's like you've added diesel. Had it happen to an old toyota fork lift at my shop when one of the numbnutts here used the ultra thin stuff.
The verdict............*drum roll* It's a rod! Al came over, listened, put a hose to it and to his ear, Tinkered and voila! It's a rod. We're pulling and rebuilding. I think it's gonna be fun. Al has been doing this since the end of world war II and he knows his stuff. I drained all the fluids and on Sunday he's marching over with a hoist and were hauling over to his nice heated, tool filled shop and we're going to town. IM EXCITED! I'm relieved that it's a rod in a strange sort of way. Now I can get rid of the anemic 1bbl holley and get a nicer 2bbl as we're putting an adapter on. Turned out the water pump is also bad. Well, guys, thanks for all the awesome advice. It really helped Pork n beaner, you teach me some mechanics and i'll teach you some hair cutting. Let's just be HAMB pals because this place awesome. In other words.. sorry for snapping... I was having a bad day (not a good excuse to snap), and I shouldn't have snapped. Shake?
Take pictures and do a thread as you go and learn to show other neophytes how to tackle something like this for the first time. Could be helpful to other guys on here that don't have mechanical experience.
We are HAMB pals I'm just not the nice one of the 2 of us. Ignor that I'm an ass if you will, it takes a lot to get on my bad side. I wish I had known you 35+ years ago. Maybe I wouldn't have knicked the Gunny's ear and the Corpsman wouldn't have had to reassuer me when the eleven other fellas took their turn at cutting my hair. Pretty funny story actually, I'll tell you over shots someday, if I'm lucky. If I get my chit together I'll be posting a tear down and inspection thread. I'll make sure you see it. Everything won't apply and it'll be 'beaner brand inspection but there may be something of use in there. Too bad you couldn't lay your hands on a good 260 V-8. They weren't a big double thrown down power house, but I always liked those little Fords. The sound always did it for me, gawd knows why. Be pretty hard pressed to find a usable one today. They seem to be more elusive then 426 hemis.
I doesn't- pre-ignition and detonation are not the same thing, nor do they have that same causes and effects. Pre-ignition occurs when something like the sparkplug (hopefully) becomes hot enough to act as a glow plug and ignites the mixture prematurely- can be a chunk of carbon, valve, whatever- spark plug is usually the cheapest, if the load is removed in time. Pretty common cause is a plug that's too high in heat range for the load, and overheats. Bad thing is it feeds on itself, gets hotter and hotter if you keep running it hard, until something melts
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