30 Thousand dollars paper weight (NOT ANY MORE!)
 

Went out for dinner and a drive this evening with Laurie. On the way home and sitting at a stop light when all of a sudden the car starts making this insanely loud banging sound. Sounded like a midget under the hood with a really big hammer swinging away. I was so shocked that I kind of froze for a moment. The the car just stopped running after about 8 to 10 bangs. I looked in the rear view mirror and couldn't see the car behind me due to all the smoke and for a moment thought we might be on fire. Thank goodness that wasn't the case and a stranger appeared to help me push the car out of the intersection. Laurie called into the police department and we had an officer in no time to make sure no one hit us on the side of the road. I noticed the car is covered in oil which I'm sure isn't a good sign. So the Bucket sits out front of the house under her cover. Maybe tomorrow I can get a few strong guys to help me push it up the driveway and into the garage. Good thing I was planning on switching over to an LS2 or 7 or I'd be really pissed! :thumbsup:


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That sucks man! You are in big trouble now. Once you open that can of worms you might as well kiss your bank balance good bye.:unibrow:

Ouch!
 

Sorry to hear, but more importantly, glad to hear that things ended safely...

Keep us posted, and now you need to post some pics of the carnage once you tear that motor apart! :D

Good luck! -Rob

Very true. Sucks cause right now all my money is going towards our wedding in April. So it will have to sit for awhile. :(

See whats wrong and maybe you can just through a short block at it. 350 short blocks are pretty inexpensive. Atleast you would have a running engine to sell when you swap in your LS7. I am happy to come over and help you push it and diagnose the problem.

Once I get it back up the driveway and into the garage I plan on seeing what the problem is. Maybe (I doubt it) it's an easy fix. Not going to hold my breath though.

Thanks for the offer to help. I just might be giving you a call tomorrow.

That sucks. I hope it's not too bad.

Man when you sent me that text I thought you were joking! But you weren't! :rolleyes:

I guess it's time for us to sharpen the pencil and do the final outline of the rebuild!! Maybe you need the motor before the suspension!! ;)

I'm very tempted to tear the entire car apart and re-do every thing. At least that way I know it's all done right and it would fix a few things that could use attention. Not that there's anything wrong with the car but just little stuff that could be better.

Right now the biggest issue is getting it up and into the garage. Wishing I had a smaller driveway that wasn't such a slope. Maybe I can pick up some extra help that standing around Home Depot.

If it's a stick put it in gear and use the starter:yes: As long as it's not locked up. Otherwise a few guys should be able to push it up there.

It's locked up. Tried to turn it over while waiting for the tow truck and it sounded like a sledge hammer on an anvil. Going to need some good old fashion muscle.

wedding...LS7:_paranoid

Your a brave man for even saying that!

Next time your in Vegas Laurie and I will drive you down to the Chapel of Love. Or you could do the drive through place, I think they have an Elvis.

Hurry up and get Tonys car done. Mine might be headed your way sooner than planned. Oh....did I tell you that your doing some of the work...lol

what size engine is in the car?

Sorry about the trouble you're having... at least it waited until winter to die, oh wait, you're in Vegas. lol

Hang in there!

Dude, that doesn't sound so good...

Sorry to hear! I'm a bit far away, but if there's anything I can do let me know!

That sucks, Curtis. Sorry to hear of the carnage but know how lucky you are that it happened at a light and not on the freeway at 75!

Sounds like a sign you need to tear into the car!

It has a SBC 350 with aluminum heads and intake. It ran strong right up to the time it let go. Just all of a sudden, bang a lot of smoke and it was toast.

75 on the freeway would have sucked.

Thanks for the offer! Nice to know that if I'm ever on a road trip, help isn't to far away. :lateral:

Sorry to hear about the motor Curtis. :( At least your close to ATS, send it to Tyler and get that LS2 stuffed in there when you can. :thumbsup:

Still haven't gotten it up the hill and into the garage but I hope that will happen tonight. Stuck my nose under the hood for a few more out curiosity than anything and found the radiator nearly dry. Where did all that anti-freeze go? Into the oil pan. Pulled the dip stick and thought WTF? Odd color and smell for oil. So pissed I just closed the hood and covered it back up.


Rybar: I think that's exactly what's going to happen but sadly not till after April. Just have to use the time to get everything down on paper that will happen to the car. Trying to stay positive here. :thumbsup:


race-rodz: Going to PM you with my number. We need to talk. :captain:

hang in there
 

Curtis,

Sorry to hear about your trouble. Like an earlier post said, at least you were not flying down the road when the motor let go. And, now you have a defensible reason for going to an LS7!

Chris

Curtis,
Sorry to hear about your bad luck.
The one thing I can tell you is that everytime I have broke something on my car it mysteriously get faster after the repairs are made:yes:
Scott

LMAO! Good chance that's going to happen.

I feel for you, been there done that. Good luck fixing it

Thanks to Aj and a few other friends who lent some muscle we where able to push the car up the hill and into the garage. So at least it's safely locked inside if nothing else. There was some debate about how the coolant made it's way into the oil and weather or not it would be an easy fix. I'm headed to Peru for work next week and will be gone until mid January, so I'm not going to dig into it until I get back.

I appreciate everyones kind words of encouragement. You are all good friends. :lateral:

Glad it's safe in the garage!! :thumbsup:

Just got off the phone with Chris. :unibrow:

I think you'll need a Nevada Rep to. :yes:

Sorry to hear about the motor. The same thing happened to me with my girl in the car. She helped me push the car about 100 feet in to the shop. From that moment on I knew she was the one....lol.

yeah my small block blew up in my 69 camaro it sounded like lil pigs squeelin under the hood .....(oil pump shaft broke ) just wipped out the crank journels on that one...then there my car lied in the worst part of town in s jeresy ... i had to doo the walk to a phone and kept looking back at the car while it got smaller and smaller due to how far i had to walk ... oh yeah did i meansion the driver door wouldnt lock .......bad times

Just doing my thing Boss!! :D

curtis said i asked the same thing you asked WHAT WERE THE GAUGES READING WHEN IT HAPPENED...lol

For a guy who normally has one eye on gauges at all times as part of his job, that's kind of embarrassing. :_paranoid Honestly, I was so surprised that I didn't even notice. I had a few engines fail in flight and one on take off (holy **** that runway got short quick!) but there was always a warning it was coming. Usually oil pressure and temp. I promise that if I where rocketing down the runway at 200mph in a 308.000lbs 767, it would be a different story! :yes:

I think Tyler knocked something loose with his hot lap!! :lol:

It sucks that it happend but I'm very happy it wasn't when I was driving it!! :yes:

Just got off the phone with Chris and we have the rebuild all planned out....you'll love it!! :cheers:

Next thing you know it will be the next hip PT paint job. :rofl:

I started tearing things down today. So far I haven't found what let go. Need a few more tools to get the accessory drive off, so that has to wait till tomorrow.

Not sure what the dime was doing in there. Anyone ever seen this before?

Hope I don't get called into work tomorrow.

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Where in the motor was the dime?

When I pulled the intake manifold off it fell out. I think it was blocking one of those holes in the head. They are about half way back.

I've never torn a motor apart before so this is all new. But I'm thinking those holes are to allow oil to the base of the carb, or some thing like that. Is there ever a reason to block those. The dime appeared to be the right size.

I'm thinking no, money should never be in the notor...not literally at least!! :lol:

Tearing motors down is fun!!