The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop New Engine Trashed

Several years back(3)I had a reputable shop completely rebuild the 230 in my 64'. After getting everything installed and running, I was happy as a lark and proceeded in rounding up some more parts needed to finish the project and work on the body. I drove it for the 3 years, and put about 6,000 miles on it when one night on the way to town, it made some noise and started losing power. I shut it down and the next day found a broken valve spring. When I tore the head off to get that fixed, I noticed that the cylinders were polished like a mirror, and I found most of the guides worn WAY out of tolerance. 5 of the valves had mushroomed at the rockers, and the head needed 7 thou. to get it back to where it needed to be. I have had it rebuilt(again)this time using new rings(carbon style instead of the moly rings like the first time)all new bearings,new guides, new 3 row radiator,etc.etc. So far everything seems to be going well after the first 500 miles, but my friends tell me they notice a strong fuel smell when it's running coming from the exhaust and a very small puff of blue smoke at first fire. So far nobody has told me what went wrong to cause the grief from the first rebuild, and I"d like to make sure if there is anything I need to do to keep this engine together that I stay on top of it. I drove it as I was told to do during the break in and in 6000 miles had changed the oil religously, almost to the point of being anal. I'm using a good grade oil, and keeping fresh fuel with a filter in it. Hopefully this time around it'll work as it should and I can spend my bux on finishing the body work instead of having to rebuild the engine(again). I'll be keeping the truck no matter what as it was the only new vehicle my grandparents had ever owned and also the same truck I got my license in way back when. But with a stack of reciepts totalling over 10 grand in parts without including anything for the labor, and the original invoice showing a purchse price of $2,005, I'm starting to wonder about my mental state of mind.Do I need to think about having the carb checked out again? Thanks for the chance to give a shout out.
Tramp

I'd have the valve springs checked to make sure they are not to stiff. Also might want to check valve train geometry and make sure all the components are correct. Might also be a good idea to take a look at the base of the lifters for excessive wear.

Find a better machine shop first, if everything was done right the first time you shouldn't be having the problems you have had,On a 230 with hyd. lifters you should have about60-80lbs of spring pressure,I dont think you had too much spring pressure, most likely you didnt have enough,you mushroomed the tip of the valves and thats where that comes from,not enough spring pressure, you also broke a spring,when people do valve jobs they sometimes forget to check spring pressure when putting the head back together,they do a valve job and sink the valves into the head and that loses pressure of the springs,they make a spring shim(VSI) to get back the spring pressure you lose. as far as the "polishing" of the cyl. walls goes, I would think that maybe you have washed the rings out with too much gas,fuel. Yes I would check out your carb. Too much gas will take away the lube that the rings need to live, there is nothing wrong with molley rings if the cyl. finish is done right and you dont wash out the cyls.

I have been told that moly rings should see slicker walls than regular rings--did'nt know that meant a mirror finish. Mushroomed stems could be from the guide slop-those things are usually Very tightly clearanced. On the later series (194/292) engines, the head could get warped if removed when hot. Blue smoke whiff at start up could be stem seal/guide problem--gas smell would be carb I guess, but if you can smell it you should be able to SEE it as at least a faint black exhaust color.

Molley rings need to have a finish of 380 grit or finer, or a sunnen stone 625 to live in a torque plated engine, cast rings 220 grit or a sunnen stone of 525 without a torque plate to work.Of coarse you can get by without plates but it takes some time for the rings to properly seal in the bores.This time to take to seal can take off 20,000-50,000 miles of the life of the rings.

Don't forget to add ZDDP (zinc) to your oil. Zinc has been eliminated from all major oil brands sold over the counter and our old flat tappets (lifters) need zinc to survive.

Mike B

That's only neccessary on break in. It's not needed once the engine is properly broken in, unless you're running a high-lift cam with high pressure valve springs (like in arace engine).

Well folks, I thank everyone for the input. The guy that did the rebuild builds race engines for a lot of folks in this area, and I feel he did what he thought was right. With that said, on the rebuild, he did all of the machine work, and I'm out of pocket for the parts to get it back together again. Plus the grief and aggravation. I had thought after the time that was put into the build that I would have hardly ever had to give any thought to the engine again, besides general maintenance and upkeep. Didn't go for a racehorse, more along the lines of a plow horse with how it was built. I'm heading to the carb shop in Salina later in the week with the truck to have the carb looked at and rebuilt if need be. I know that having too much fuel going through it can't do it any good. If things go good for a while, maybe I can take advantage of the nice weather we're having right now and get the paint done that I was planning on instead of spending the money on the rebuild the 2nd time. You've all heard it said before that if it has wheels, sooner or later it'll give you trouble. Anyone want to take my place in line so I can get on with other things? Give you a shout out and send some pix when the paint dries.
Tramp

BTW...Longbox, those dual pipes sound great.