I had a /6 car that looked like someone had the same deal. It had a fist sized hole in the block though. Inside the engine looked like the oil had never been changed. I always thought it had to have been done on purpose. I've got another one here now that's going to last forever because nobody wants it, I'll never use it, and I won't scrap it.
My old 352 had 200k on it when I got from my dad in 81. I drove it hard for another 100k. Had in my work truck and twisted it hard with heavy loads. Always pulled like a bull never let me down. Wrecked the truck and pulled the engine and it has been in storage for at least 15 years. I actually going to pick up the engine and a few other things from storage this weekend. A buddy of mine ran a 352 in his drag truck. Repeatedly twisted it beyond 7500 and it still wanted more. Raced it for about 6 years. (stock valve train with 3 dueces)
Many years ago I saw an article where the LA318 had the least warranty claims per unit of any engine ever sold. The slant 6 was a close second. I thend to think the 318 is the most reliable engine ever made but a slant 6 can take the most abuse. Carmak Riverside, Iowa
I rebuilt a 327 with good american parts & put it in a '67 el camino. At 368,262 miles the crank broke in half at a angle thru the rear main. The last 100,000 miles it ran on drain oil strained thru a old t-shirt. The rebuild parts cost $92 in 1973. It got 17mpg empty & 12 mpg pulling a stock car on a trailer. Had a WCFB carb from a Buick on a iron intake. I still have the intake under my bench.
I had worked in a shop that had an old F350 Ford (former truck tire service truck) that was used as a parts chaser. One hot summer day, the radiator springs a leak, so out it comes and that person writes a note "Do not use, radiator is out for repair" and tapes it to the dash. Along comes our parts guy, he hops into the truck and runs to a couple of parts houses. Apparently the sign fell off the dash and was on the floor. He gets within a 1/2 mile of the shop, and it stalls out. He does note that the temp gage is pinned. So he pops the hood and sees NO RADIATOR and the 2 open hoses emitting steam. He walks back to the shop, we get another truck to push it back to the shop. Once back at the shop, it was pretty hot and seized. Out comes the spark plugs, 2 actually broke and we had to fish the threaded portions out of the heads. Good old Marvel Mystery oil was squirted down each plug hole and we let it sit. The next morning, it turns over freely. Then the radiator goes back in, fresh plugs, it starts up and runs okay. Changed the oil, fresh antifreeze and it was back in business. It lasted long after that, but did smoke a little bit. bob
The good, the bad and Model A Roadster I had one good Model A banger in the roadster I bought as non-running project in NJ summer 2005. I got it shipped to Finland and after I put in some new ignition parts, cleaned the tank and clogged fuel line it started up nicely. 75 years old engine unknown condition. After some other minor repairs I got the car registered. Late 2005 I changed the stock head to police head plus downdraft Weber and 4-1 header. When changing the head it was extremely difficult to remove the stock head because the head studs were rusted to the head holes. Anyway I found the engine is .030 over so it was rebuilt in the past. I got it running better than I expected. I was hungry for more speed and changed it to an OHV banger from reputable US builder. While I was waiting that new engine I sold the intake and exhaust of the old engine. The OHV had problems very soon on the first day run and back into car went old engine with stock carb for the end of 2006 driving season. For 2007 I redid the entire car and got the OHV running well but that time for three days. And again back went the old engine for autumn. 2008 I was again ready to run the OHV but as you already guess it failed and in went the old workhorse. On one day outside temperature was below freezing the radiator iced on the highway and the engine overheated badly and I cracked the head by pouring cold water in. No problem I put the C head on, changed oil and get it running again and that way it stayed until I sold the car couple of months ago. The bad OHV is on the corner waiting the some other poor roadster to try one more time before it ends up to go under glass table top.
350 oldsmobile rocket motors they run forever.Had 3 of them that had over 300,000 miles on them when i sold the cars and were still running hard. The one in my international has 180,000 on it and looks like a new motor inside when you pull the valve covers.
Across the pond come raindeer with an awesome story...Have you tried hitting the OVH with a BFH???? how bout draining the oil,it may run better!! I thank you.
I did almost buy an Olds 350 but I got scared away because I thought parts were expensive....cheap bastard. My buddy that sold me the 302 gmc has an international v8 sitting outside 1/2 way sunk into the sand,I think its toast. It has some pretty nice VC tho.
Some people invest in Stocks and Bonds. Others in Real estate or Guns. I put mine in cars. When the market had its huge dip a few years ago my cars never were affected by this mess. These are older power plants that have and continue to serve me well. My other one is a '62 SD 421 Poncho. Normbc9
My family inherited a 1924 Model T speedster (stock drivetrain) that was in multiple endurance run races (placards all over the small dash to prove it). It belonged to my step-grandpa, who took my Dad under his wing when my real grandpa passed when my dad was around 14 or 15. My step-grandpa, or grandpa because that is what he really was, passed from brain cancer and in splitting his part of the estate my Dad chose the car. That car had not run and was parked in a garage in Ajo, AZ, for well over 7 years (14 years sounds like the correct number, but I will lowball it). long story longer my Dad took us on a road trip from Indiana to Arizona and went to go pick it up... after draining the fuel tank, cleaning the points and charging the battery that car fired right up like it was down for a day. We drove it onto a trailer, got it back home and drove the crap out of it. Fast forward 4 years, I buy my first car a 1940 Plymouth Road King Business Coupe with my Dad. The Model T has been running for ages since picking it up and gets pushed to the side of the garage to get cracking on my new project car. For 7 years that car sat in one spot while we got a couple other projects and I went off to college. Finally my Dad wants to come get it just 2 years ago because it is a shame to have that vehicle sit and not be used, especially with as much sentimental value as it has. So he drains the tank again, charges the battery and she fires right up like it was sitting for 30 minutes in a parking lot. He drives it on a trailer and transports it from Indiana to Washington state and has been driving the hell out of it. This car is like a cockroach.
"Story I heard in college... one of the auto instructors had a hobby of taking beaters and leaving a brick on the gas pedal and see how long before they blew up before junking them. Apparently had a Nova or something with a worn out 250 six in it - and they could not get it to blow up. It would get hot enough to where it would stall, then when it cooled down it would run again. Even after they drained the oil and put antifreeze in it. Must have had some pretty sloppy clearances in that thing." My highschool auto teacher had a story just like that. Him and a few friends ran a slant six completely dry pinging off redline until it heat seized and locked right up. Waited for it to cool down put fluids back in it and the thing ran perfectly fine.
I have a 1957 Ford 223 I6 in my 48 F1. It was installed in the early 60's. Driven until 1982 then sat for 29 years. I was going to replace it with a SBC I had. Got the 223 running good so gave it a rattle can rebuild, some new gaskets and a timing chain. Another diehard engine I have is a solid lifter 327 L-79 that came in a '62 Corvette I bought in 1977. It's been in 1/2 dozen cars and 2 of those have drag strip time. I even loaned it to a friend for a few months while we built an engine for him. It now resides in an O/T S10 Blazer. The next time it gets swapped, I'm gonna throw some bearings and a timing chain in it.
A friend of mine once drove a Chevy inline 6 - 235 without oil pressure for about 100 miles on the freeway, after losing oil pressure past midnight on a S-CA freeway. Kept driving that engine after fixing the pump and eventually sold the car to a buddy who drove it for over 20 more years with annual round-trips to Mexico... I always remember that story, when people talk about a lack of Zinc in their flat tappet cam engines. - How about a lack of oil all together..... haha
I have a 355 blown small block that i did in 1988 GM 010 block 30 over o ringed and studed gm steel crank z-28 rods ARP bolts TRW forged pistons 292 GM heads i ported myself ss valves a BM blower cam and a BM mega blower 2 750 holleys. It was a real nice engine when i did it and we put it in a 57 chevy that i tubed in 86 it stayed in that car for 3 years then it went in his toyota monster truck 44" tires 9" ford rears 6.00 gears. It was in that for 2 to 3 years it then whent into a 66 chevell for some time then a 70 nova it was pulled out of the nova in 02 and sat in a shed for 2 years. A freind of mine got it and wanted me to put it in his car i had it in my shop and i needed a engine for my Fiat alterd so he gave me the ok to run it man that was fun in a 96" wb Fiat end of the year i pulled it out and put it in his 51 Henny j and its been in it since 06. The only thing that has been done to it was in 05 i put valve springs in it before i raced it and it ran 9.67 in my steel Fiat everyone that has had this engine has ran it hard drag raced mod boged street raced it and it will not give up it still runs like it did in the 57 back in 1988 i know it will stay in the henry j till its death or the death of my freind but he did tell me that he did leave it to me in his will.
Back in the Day ( early 70's ) one of my Regulars that humg at my shop had a Chevy Nova with a 6 cly. Automatic which he wanted to blow it up so his dad would buy him a V8 in it He would Hold his Foot to the Floor & dump it into Gear the Car would Shutter & Go he than Drained the Oil & Drove the Hell out of it after 2 years his Brother needed a Car to go to Colledge so he Gave it to his Brother who Changed the Oil Regular Tune up it knock like Hell but still Ran finaly after a couple of years the Tranny Gave out But the Engine Kept Going like a Timmex Just my 3.5 cents
+1. I ran a bunch of 170s and 225s in the early 1990s in Darts and Valiants. I have seen the cylinders worn egg-shaped on 'em and they were still running. I had this '64 Dart with a 170 on Fort Sill circa 1992. loved those little cars but hated that small bolt pattern and left-handed lugs on the driver's side.
Back in '81 I found, and bought, a '69 Dodge R/T 'vert (still have it). It had a 360, but of course they were only available with a 440 mag or a hemi. This one originally had a 440 , so I found a '69 core to build one up. I used good parts, but nothing special, just a hot street motor. Ran it in the '69 till '84, then put it in my '65 Belvedere post (still have it, too). Ran it on the street till '86, then started drag racing it with a hotter solid cam. Raced it hard till '89, when I decided the Belv needed a hemi, and put the 440 in a buddy's '69 Dart drag car, with a heathy dose of nitrous, and ran it hard till about '92. I then bought the Dart, but he wanted the 440 for his '70 Superbird, so it went in that car. He sold the 'bird in about '03 or so, 440 still running strong. I'd hate to think how many drag strip passes that motor had on it, and never pulled the heads. You gotta screw up bad to hurt a 440.
223 ford 6 bangers are "bulletproof" My grand dad bought us kids a 50 dollar ford wagon in 1974 we drove it for years dumping in used oil and driving it like we stole it,no tags, dirt roads,tractor gas my younger brother finaly beat the old car till the transmission give out in the early 80,s I sold the engine to a buddy of mine about 1985 .he put it in a 62 ford unibody pickup they still drive the hell out of it and it runs good,!thats 1974-2011 on a 50 dollar engine I wonder how far it going to go?
The 4.3L V6 in my fathers Chevrolet Astro managed to survive a year with a blown water pump. Dad thought the heater core had gone out until he noticed that the coolant was flowing, not leaking, out.
The Jalopy Journal
