For some reason it was making the page load really really slow for me... but here's a link to it.


http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/9628/fromgalaxysii230.jpg


I've been trying to find used LT1's within about 50 miles of my area and i've only found 1 and it's from a 96 Impala and probably sold (called every salvage yard I could find) ... this is why I was going to rebuild this one, but also keep costs and low as possible. There is a machine shop here that will bore for 85, vat 35 and cam bearings for 20.

So I don't know if I should hold out and try to find a running LT1 for around $500 or just get this one bored and get and master rebuild kit. The more I spend on it the more likely it is that i won't be selling it, and the longer it's out of comission.

At this point, i don't know what I should do.

 

I can buy a fully rebuilt longblock for $1500, but then again, that's what I paid for the car and doesn't leave me any room for selling it other than what I have in it. can't make any extra cash that way.

 

Also, when I took the piston out last night it was dark, but I just looked in the bottom of the oil pan and their's about 1/4" of sludge in the bottom with a nice amount of shiny bits. sigh. The rod bearings didn't look too bad. I haven't mic'd the journal yet, though. mostly I'm just venting.

 

I have not found a lot of run out on the wall of the later blocks. The low tension rings are one reason for the lack of wear on the cylinder walls. The only time I have run into a LT1 piston with brokern ring lands was when some dumb AS- tryed to spray it with to much nitros. It goes lean and rattles the pistons real hard. We run those pistons USED off ebay at 62-6500rpm at the track with out a problem. But then again were not stupid enough to use nitros. If your going to just freshen the motor, get a used set of pistons and a new set of rings and hone the cylinder wall. I have got them used of ebay for as little as $35-$65 and had very good luck with them. They take a special ring not the ones from a vortec motor. Part numbe 2-m-4626 in the Hasting number, the vortec ring is 2-m-4860 and there is a difference. If you have any question? Just ask hope this help with your budget build.

 

the rings actually look great, what it broke was the area between the compression ring and the second ring (see the link above). I've still yet to get a good explination as to how that can happen. Detonation maybe?

 

Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

There is two explanation on the piston that does not involve No2.

The car over heated. When a car over heats and is run till it will not go anymore the motor is stopped because the block swells up closing the cylinder bores and the piston swell. At some point the force needed to push the piston thru the tightning bore is greater than the motor can produce. Add in which ever cylinder is running the leanest and you can predict which piston is going to take the pounding.


It may have been hydro locked. When a person suspects a blown headgasket it is common to pressure test the coolant system. If the gasket was pretty bad and that piston was at the beginning of the compression stroke the whole time the pressure test was going the cylinder was filling up with coolant. You hit the key to try and start a little while later and you try to compress the coolant. Sure it can go back out of the hole in the gasket but no where near fast enough and bang the motor stops dead. The starter motor is not strong enough to bend a rod but break a ring land? maybe,,,,

Either way it's moot, Repairing internal engine damage is rarley cost effective, repairing a high miles motor with internal damage is a mistake unless your building a race engine or a show car.

 

It's entirely possible it got hot but these engines run hot anyway. When I put the code reader on it, the first cooling fan relay wasn't working, so it wasn't kicking in until like 235 or whatever it is. THe heads look great, though, but they did replace the head gaskets, possible they blew one and the car over heated. The cylindars look great, wish my 390 looked that good when I tore it down, the heads look like they have new valves and valves springs (though I have them to replace with the retainers and such, and I'm going to have the heads gone through either way).

If I can't find a good running engine this one is going to the machine shop.

 

Also those places generally want prices for their engines that I can have this one rebuilt for.

 

Here's the engine. Supposed to be from a 96 impala SS

 

unless the heads were upgraded to aluminum thats a camaro/firebrid/corvette engine