In the fall of 2011 I travelled with my familyunit to Downingtown, PA to participate in the Delaware Valley Oldsmobile Club Show with my 1967 Delta 88 Custom.

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums/announcements/38886-dvoc-fall-show-oct-9-2011-a.html

http://s142.photobucket.com/albums/r...view=slideshow

We drove approximately 583 miles from Windsor, ON to Downington, PA. While motoring to the show, my recently rebuilt 425 (new 0.30 pistons, rings, bearings, Comp cam, springs and lifters, etc.) started to make a knocking noise. There was less than 1500 miles on it at this point.

Thanks to many members at the show for showing your concern and your assistance in attempting to diagnose the problem. I had mentioned to those in attendance that my engine tech was concerned about two of the pistons because the skirts on two of the pistons didn't measure the same of the other six. He made adjustment for this while boring the block. I got the pistons from Kanter.

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We finally pulled the engine in December of 2011 and have now discovered the possible reason the engine was making a knocking sound.

With the first engine, I only had it cleaned, painted, installed new lifters and valve seals and added a recently purchased 4 barrel intake manifold. We never even took off the heads. That engine failed. It spun a bearing.

We then took my other engine and had it totally rebuilt. This is the one that I drove to Downington, PA. After taking it apart we discovered the walls of the cylinders were scored and all the bearings were toast. My engine tech (Ron) suggest to my builder (Dave), that the recently sandblasted intake manifold or my recently painted valve covers might have some residual sand in them.

We had shot air at them before they were reinstalled, but when we checked the valve covers today, we noticed that there still was some sand coming out from under the top of the valve covers. Damn! I hate when that happens. So now this block will have to be rebuild again.
This is an expensive lesson to learn. Obviously, cleanliness is next to Godliness!

 

Jay, I really hate that happened, because you're probably looking at a substantial overbore now to clean everything up.

Can you salvage the crank and rods from either engine?

Best of luck.

 

Really sorry to hear this, sometimes the price we pay for our life lessons are very high indeed. I have a sand blast cabinet which I use a lot when working on these old cars, so far I have been lucky I guess, no problems like yours.

Mike

 

My engine tech (Ron) will measure everything again and we will then go from there. He might be able to use parts from my other block. I will keep you posted!

My $2,500 California car is now going to cost me $20,000. I was at $14,500 then I stop counting. I'm now counting again!

 

wow sorry to hear that!

 

Any time you have engine parts blasted,have them hot-tanked,to remove any & all oil,dirt,or debris that might be hiding or stuck somewhere.

Did you find any sand in the oil filter,or what did you find in that?

 

We still have the oil filter but we haven't opened in yet.

 

Jay sorry to hear that. Unless the intake was gooey inside, if blown out with air, all should have came out. It is easy for sand to be trapped in the valve cover baffle area and it does get greasy under there. I am not sure that sand there would do the damage you have but it is a possibility that it made its way into the oil pan and was circulated. Good luck with the new build and make sure the crank is checked for straightness and big end of rods are trued. My 1st build in my 66 Delta went south because of a bent crank. It had the slightest of knock at about 3000 miles. I am sure the crank was bent when given to me by the machine shop. It was turned but never checked for straightness... Possibly it was dropped and not a word was said....who knows...

 

Oh man, I'm really sorry to hear that. Third times the charm....right?

I got my parts from ebay, but they were a Kanter kit. Never heard anything from Ideal Supply who machined and reassembled my engine. I'm into my third year after rebuild. So far so good.

 

Appearantly, it was done the other way around.
The first job should be a thorough steam-cleaning, before the engine gets dissassembled. Then, sandblasting, before the parts end up in the gunk tank.
It's easy to underestimate what damage sandblasting is capable of. Especially, when using quartz sand. I thought I had sealed vulnerable surfaces enough, before I sandblasted an assembled Bicycle. As I moved the fork, afterwards, I could feel the cruching resistance of the most fine particles which made their way in though air turbulance.
Blasting out a manifold with air isn't enough, because the inner surface isn't without irregularities where unwanted deposits can sit while the air streams over these pockets

 

that sand is a deal killer, that's why if I do blast something I tape all the cracks and catches. As far as pistons, I'm glad I ponied up the 820.00 for custom forged. I heard stories about restoration cast aluminum pistons...I have a sweet 65 425 Starfire core....

 

Forged anything is better. If that crankshaft of yours was forged, it never would have cracked. That's weird. I've never seen anything like that crank of yours. Did they drop it off the Empire State Building?

 

My third engine runs very well. I ended up purchasing a used 455 block with pistons and crank from Brian Trick. We had the crank turned, honed the cylinders, installed new rings and put everything back together using my C heads along with new valve covers. It been two years now and that engine runs fine.

 

It has now been 4 years and the 455 block, pistons and crank that Brian Trick sold me are still running fine. I put the car away back in November 2015 and I'm planning to get it out of storage sometime in April of this year.
I'm also planning on attending the Oldsmobile Homecoming show in Lansing, Saturday, June 18, 2016. Here's the link... http://www.reolds.org/homecoming.htm