so my buddy bought a 1995 lt1 camaro today, engine not running but "spins freely" for 800 bucks

think i found the problem

this is a picture of it, it looks like the threads that hold the bearing on are completely gone/ turned into shrapnel
i mean it blew the timing cover apart, shattered the chain, even smacked the opti so hard it shattered the outside edge of it, any opinions on if it needs a new shortblock or if that block is salvageable?

https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...6b&oe=55B64BE2

 

Looks destroyed to me. LT1 blocks are cheap to come by.

 

I would put a new timing chain on first.Get it running and see if this helps.I suppose the heads should be removed to see if the valves hit the pistons.You say the engine was bored out.03 I think you meant 30 over anyway I think they used the original timing chain.How many miles were on it when bored out?I could be wrong here as I have been wrong 6 times this year alone.Hope this helps.

 

He is correct stating "bored over .03"... typical overbore for a 355 or a 383 is 0.030", which is also called "30 thousandths" because that's what the decimal means.

When I first looked at the pic, appears the front main tore loose, taking the bottom of the block, where the bolts thread in, with it. Don't think that's repairable. I tried to look at the pic again on something larger than my phone, but all I get from Facebook is "Sorry, something went wrong."

 

Fred, it appears something changed in the link...I saw the pic earlier and it is a linky no worky now

 

I know.... I saw it earlier too, but in small format.

 

I agree with you Fred, that front main was definately pulled out.

 

yeah the video i put up shows the main completely gone, and thankfully that isnt my poor motor, its a buddies i just didnt know if a machine shop could work some voodoo on it or not, more than anything im calling it unsalvageable, trying to get him to sell me his transmission since its a 95 and i have a 95 and i need a cheap fix before i get a good builder to build one of mine
more than anything i wanted to share because ive never seen something so busted before

 

If the nose of the crank moved downward enough to snap the chain and pull the cap bolts out of the block, the damage didn't stop at the front main. The rest of the bottom end is probably severely damaged.