Had a bad day yesterday...

[xgecko]

The car has finally been running great. Got the last of the exhaust leaks sealed, the EFI is in good tune and working well, and other than some valve cover gasket leaks I brought on myself by over-torqueing the bolts the car was in fine shape... I even got back some on-center feel by having a custom alignment done and it was handling better than ever!

Went for a cruise yesterday and went for a full throttle pass... the engine was wailing away somewhere around 4,000 rpm or so... pulling strong....

Then, wham!

It stumbles and begins to emit a steady clatter and is not willing to work hard without a lot of very nasty noise. I was able to drive it about 5 miles to a local gas station about 8 miles from my home, but when I tried to park it she finally shut down.

I waited the 2 hours it took for the AAA dude to arrive with the flatbed all the while telling myself it is just a pushrod. We winched the poor thing onto the bed and he brought us home and then he pushed her into my shop for which he earned himself a $20 tip - he is into mid 60's Impalas so he felt my pain and was very sympathetic.

After allowing the motor to cool sufficiently to enable me to remove the valve covers without third degree burns and melted gloves I found...

All pushrods are snug and firmly where they belong.

I threw a piston rod. There is no doubt now. I suspect that a rod bolt broke. It was clearly a bad call to reuse the rods without further processing and bolt replacement. Oh well...

The good news is that I have a '68 parts car, so I can pull that motor and see if it happens to have a forged crank. Hopefully it has never been bored out and will make a good candidate block; if I find a good forged crank I will use it otherwise the plan is to get an Eagle Steel Crank along with H-beam rods and forged pistons. I am not going to screw around again!

So she is off the road for the rest of the season... I will finish up my software project which will fund the rebuild, and next year I expect to have a full season with, if all goes well, a new transmission, new interior and AC as well as a super-strong bottom end with a hydraulic roller cam and full roller rockers. I am going to build a strong motor that will never complain with a redline of 5,500 RPM. Never again will I re-use old rotating parts unless they are basically brand-new. I suspect the prior rebuild of this motor was the clue; no doubt the rod caps and bolts were not up to snuff (I probably could get away with using the Mondello rods I bought as they have new bolts which is probably what failed; but this go-round I am not going to scrimp on anything. I'll use them in a later project for a Delta 88 or other non-performance application).

The moral of the story: always replace your rod bolts. Always.

[janeg]

My sympathy Jim -

Wishing the repair goes well when the time comes

[xgecko]

Thanks!

I have been reviewing the parts list and it will not be cheap. But it will not break, either, so it will be worth it.

I am going to go with a Hydraulic Roller cam this time. Looking forward to seeing how it works out.

I will take this opportunity to either implement a rack and pinion steering upgrade or a steering box upgrade. Either way I will let you all know how it works out. Probably will get to the rear disk brakes as well since I can probably get that done before I accumulate the funds to do the motor.

I'll keep you all posted once I get on the project. For now I need to get my software out so I can fund the project.

[Chazzer]

OUCH! Sorry to hear you're done for the summer..bummmer.

But knowing you from this forum..you'll build that baby up better then evere!

[xgecko]

Yup, I am already plotting my return to power!

It will take the better part of the winter season to accumulate the parts and the funds for the machine work but by next season I should have the engine fully rebuilt with a new block and full rotating set as well as many of the other projects I have been planning. Certainly I intend to go for the rear disk brakes as the car is no longer movably anyway and the eldorado is largely disassembled - the rear axle is fully disconnected and ready for removal so that project will not hit the wallet to speak of. Once I pull the motor I will definitely address the steering; either with a rack and pinion retrofit or at the very least a reworked steering box with increased effort and feel.

If all goes well the AC will be added as well as the new seats and stereo.

I'll keep you all posted as I make progress!

[Twilight Fenrir]

Well, at least these old cars don't have to worry about having the VIN stamped into the engine blocks So as long as you get an engine from the same year as yours, no-one will be the wiser as to weather or not it is the original engine... unless they read this forum I guess But, 'long as the numbers match, don't think it matters.

[69W34]

Well, at least these old cars don't have to worry about having the VIN stamped into the engine blocks

W-e-e-l-l-l that's not quite accurate as beginning in 68 olds blocks were stamped with a vin derivative, see photos (sorry bout the large size)

[xgecko]

Lucky for me I could care less. My goal is to drive the car, not sell it, and given what I have into the car now much less what the total will be when I finish it I will never see even half of what I put in. Matching numbers is, fortunately, at the very bottom of my list of issues... Well, truthfully, it is not even on my list.

My primary concern is to have a block that has not been bored. I would like to take .010 off to ensure a perfect cylinder wall, but I have no desire to increase the displacement any. I just want to make sure the new pistons seal well and have a good surface to work with.

I am for sure going to balance this kit. I have to say now that I am really glad I did not balance the one I destroyed - although had I replaced the darn bolts I would probably have been able to avoid this mishap...

For now I am going to finish up the Eldorado parts scavenging and get rid of the carcass (my wife will be very happy about that! ). I think I will give the brake conversion a go in the next month or so as it will not cost me much and the car is no longer drivable anyway. In some ways this is a good thing as I do not have the aversion to doing anything that would keep the car off the road for any length of time - now I have no choice in the matter! Amazing how this frees me up to do the bigger jobs. Always a silver lining in the darkest of clouds - or so they say! I'll just keep telling myself that...