I was taking someone for a ride on I-80 last night around midnight. On the return trip I heard a loud clack. It proceeded to get louder as I was pulling over. I popped the hood and checked in there. I thought (and hoped) that I just blew a header gasket that was exceedingly loud. I didn't see any visible leaks so I took off the oil cap. white smoke POURED out of the opening. It wasn't smoke from antifreeze. It smelled like smoke from heat caused by metal to metal contact. I called my dad and he came with the trailor to tow it home. we're guessing that the wrist pin let loose and the piston broke apart.

I don't know exactly what im going to do. I do know the engine is coming apart and I will tear it down. My only hope is that I didnt destroy everything and I can sell some pieces to get some of my money back. Ive lost all motivation to go any further with this car. I'll most likely end up doing a cheap rebuild on the stock engine then put that back in. I'll return as much of it as I can back to stock then sell it.

I feel as if I lost a best friend
this car has been my baby for 3 years and 30,000 miles. But I just can't get over the problems as of late. It started with transmission mounts, then shift linkage, then 3-4 clutch in the tranny, then a torque converter came apart and took my freshly rebuilt tranny out, and now my engine blows. If it keeps getting worse, like it has, the next step will be the car.

Before that happens I'll be handing the keys over to a new owner

 

That sounds like what happened when mine dropped a valve. That sucks man. Tear it down and check it out. Hopefully you can fix it. Dont sell it!

 

Man, thats some bad luck.
I thought I had it bad when I killed my second 60E.
I know it looks bad now but if you can overcome these latest obstacles it does get better. As your knowledge of the vehicle (and cars in general) grows you will be better equipped to solve any issues that arise. No one can anticipate a converter failing or a motor giving way but the tranny mount and linkage issues should not have been so debilitating.
Don,t give up on Hot Rods just yet, if all else fails get a car that is easier to work on, I know I have removed enough stuff off of mine to get it to that point, but a big part of the frustration I used to go through was how tough just getting in there and working on the car was.

At any rate keep plugging away at it.
The end justifies all the crap you have to go through to get there.

 

Don't think of it as the end. Think of it as an opportunity to make it better. I take care of my machines & they take care of me. They breakdown - it's my failure, not theirs. I like them better than most people because you get back what you give. Not like my girlfriend who has synaptic disfunction and grey matter fade with corresponding bitchiness towards the thing that holds her most precious - ME. My machines are like my little mechanical family. Pretty pathetic, but there you have it. If you need beer goggles to see straight, then get you some.

 

cant be as bad as mine i broke a valve and destroyed ported heads 8 pistons a rod cracked a block bent all the valves etc had to start completely over minus the crank. Good luck man hope it turns out better than my misshap