I have been in the process of RE-putting together a 84 notchback with a 351w for over a year. Originally I traded for the car when it was running but not for long. IT was freshly rebuilt .030 over, 70 heads, .530 hyd cam, fresh c-4 with 3500 converter, 8.8 4.10s 31spline and spool, MSD. Decent stuff and most everything was new.
On the ride home a rocker arm broke in half!!!(ProForm Aluminum). Checked it all out, Put new Rockers on and then....
Had noticed an oil smell since I picked the car up but not to bad. I hadnt really gotten on it to much being we were in the middle of a city for the trade. Well come to fing out after a long investigation, The previous owner had tried to gasket match the heads and intake and got too close the the lifter valley on one port and the motor was sucking oil into the cylinder and burning it at higher RPMs.
So it sat until last winter when I decided to take it all apart and have everything gone through. Local NAPA Mchine shop here in Portage MI checked everything over and found the head problem so this is what I did:
Boght New Windsor SR heads, New cam kit with springs,locks, retainers, puchrods, lifters timing chain. New oil Pump and pickup and pan. The shop had said that everything was pretty fresh (stock crank and rods but with .030 cast flat tops). The rings had not even fully seated yet.
The turned the crank anyway .010 mains and rods, honed the cylinders, and assembled the short block for me(I dont have much time as I travel for my job around the globe, as I write I am in hotel in Barcelona Spain).
I have a friend help get it all together and break it in for 45 min with Brad Penn break in oil (Napa guy swears by it)and everything looks good. Probably another 1 to 1/2 hours of tuning squirters and stuff and I then drive it around for a total of about 40 miles over the next 2 weeks(pretty easy, probably saw 5k rpm once in second gear).
It starts to knock!!!!!
Pull it apart to find #1 rod bearing spun, #3 rod bearing to the brass and all the mains really shiny already.
I take it back and he checks it all out and cant find a problem so he does , redo the crank(.030 and .020), cleans block up, and hones it again for free and I have to put it together this time.
This time after it is broken(1 hour) It only gets about 10 miles on it before it starts to knock again.
Pulled it apart to find #7 rod bearing half gone but this is the only one for rods and mains this time.
I took it all apart again and took it all back again but any Ideas on the next thing to do? Anything I should check before assembly this time or to check the shops work. I wont be taking anything new back there again but I have alot of money into this time around and he keeps doing the work for free but I have nothign to show for it but like 4 month of installing the motor just to take it out again. I have told him all along that if something needs to be replaced then to do it but he says everything is fine, Apparently not?
Any input on my next step would greatly be appreciated.
On the ride home a rocker arm broke in half!!!(ProForm Aluminum). Checked it all out, Put new Rockers on and then....
Had noticed an oil smell since I picked the car up but not to bad. I hadnt really gotten on it to much being we were in the middle of a city for the trade. Well come to fing out after a long investigation, The previous owner had tried to gasket match the heads and intake and got too close the the lifter valley on one port and the motor was sucking oil into the cylinder and burning it at higher RPMs.
So it sat until last winter when I decided to take it all apart and have everything gone through. Local NAPA Mchine shop here in Portage MI checked everything over and found the head problem so this is what I did:
Boght New Windsor SR heads, New cam kit with springs,locks, retainers, puchrods, lifters timing chain. New oil Pump and pickup and pan. The shop had said that everything was pretty fresh (stock crank and rods but with .030 cast flat tops). The rings had not even fully seated yet.
The turned the crank anyway .010 mains and rods, honed the cylinders, and assembled the short block for me(I dont have much time as I travel for my job around the globe, as I write I am in hotel in Barcelona Spain).
I have a friend help get it all together and break it in for 45 min with Brad Penn break in oil (Napa guy swears by it)and everything looks good. Probably another 1 to 1/2 hours of tuning squirters and stuff and I then drive it around for a total of about 40 miles over the next 2 weeks(pretty easy, probably saw 5k rpm once in second gear).
It starts to knock!!!!!
Pull it apart to find #1 rod bearing spun, #3 rod bearing to the brass and all the mains really shiny already.
I take it back and he checks it all out and cant find a problem so he does , redo the crank(.030 and .020), cleans block up, and hones it again for free and I have to put it together this time.
This time after it is broken(1 hour) It only gets about 10 miles on it before it starts to knock again.
Pulled it apart to find #7 rod bearing half gone but this is the only one for rods and mains this time.
I took it all apart again and took it all back again but any Ideas on the next thing to do? Anything I should check before assembly this time or to check the shops work. I wont be taking anything new back there again but I have alot of money into this time around and he keeps doing the work for free but I have nothign to show for it but like 4 month of installing the motor just to take it out again. I have told him all along that if something needs to be replaced then to do it but he says everything is fine, Apparently not?
Any input on my next step would greatly be appreciated.