Sludge, Carnage, some shrapnel and then more Sludge.

Well I have had a heck of a time getting motivated this weekend to go out in the garage. The task I have before me is still a very dirty one and that gets old quickly. Here is what I have to work with.

I put both engines on engine stands and am now in the process of removing parts that I need from the bad engine. I will then clean them paint if needed and install on the good engine. Seems simple enough but the bad engine is so sludged up on the inside and the outside that it makes it a miserable task. Here is some of what I am dealing with. I have removed the distributor, carb,valve covers and intake manifold.

 Here is some of the sludge inside the motor. Again: THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON'T CHANGE YOUR OIL! It is really an easy thing to do and only takes a 1/2 hour or less. Even if you don't want to do it, pay someone to do it. Your engine will last longer and give you a long life if you do.

My curiosity got the better of me so I flipped the engine over and removed the oil pan and timing chain cover. I was surprised to see this engine was only a 2 bolt main. I thought all vettes had 4 bolt mains but I guess not. I researched the numbers and this engine is original to the car.  I guess Chevy went cheap on the vettes in the 70's, but then again the horsepower was so low for this engine it didn't really warrant a 4 bolt main block.

Here is where the carnage came in. The engine actually threw 2 rods. The one is easily seen and the 2nd on I am pointing to. Again, notice the sludge.

 Here is the shrapnel. I found all this stuff in the block. No wonder it sounded like BB's in a tin can when I started it up.

 This is the pickup for the oil pump. Notice all the metal in the screen. Hey at least the oil pump was working. It just was starved of any oil to pump through it so it decide to try pumping metal chunks.

 Here we come to the timing chain. You can see how much slack is in it. If this engine hadn't blown up it was ready to skip a tooth on the timing chain. This engine was very tired from poor maintenance and abuse.

I had a lot of people tell me that the engine I picked up looked pretty rough, but when compared to this one it looks like it just came off the showroom floor. The inside of it has no sludge to be seen and the timing chain is nice and tight. I think after some painting and cleaning it should be a great runner. It is a 4 bolt main and has more horsepower then this vette has ever seen so it should be a fun little engine to have. Now I just need to get some motivation to hurry and get the parts cleaned and painted and then the real fun will begin.