Hey guys, when I fired up this camaro I bought, the engine had a loud ping and no oil pressure when it started warming up. Also the when it pinged it popped up out of the carb. So I pulled the engine, took off the intake and the heads. When I turned the flywheel one exhaust lifter wasn't lifting. I checked for a flattened cam lobe but it was fine then turned the flywheel and the lifter lifted properly. What the hell is going on with it? Could it be collapsed causing the loud ping and lack of oil pressure?

 

I highly doubt it, and no.
What is or was your oil pressure with a cold engine? Sounds like you may have spun a bearing, or lost your oil pump. Whatever it is, no oil pressure is a serious problem. Having no oil pressure is what will bleed off the oil and collapse your lifter(s), not the other way around.

 

A spun bearing has a VERY distinct sound. I speak from experience. It is in synch with enging rpm and sounds like a man with hammer beating on the inside of your block, trying to get out. PANGPANGPANGPANG, like jackhammer fast ( onomatopoeia provided free of charge)

Sounds like you have a bad oil pump and have a blown bearing. Prepare for a new engine. Its going to be cheaper to buy a used 350 than it will be to buy a new crank and rebuild it. Sorry for the bad news, I hope I am wrong....

 

Yeah that sounds about right. Well good thing I've got a small block 400 but do you think the old engine is sellable as a rebuildable core?

 

Meaning will someone buy an engine in that condition as a core or for rebuild? If you are honest about its condition, not likely. You may get lucky but unless someone really needs a core exchange, it sounds like you have 600 lbs of scrap metal to dispose of.