455 with GA heads. Unsure of year but never rebuilt. Paid $800 for it
P1000176.jpg

 

NEVER had an oil change!
Looks as though it's been sipping some
coolant through inake as well...Damn,
kept on a ticki'n, wow.

 

That ranks up there with some of the worst I've seen. Lack of oil changes and running hot is what causes that.

 

I think you mean, "not running hot enough". Idiot lights, unfortunately, can't talk and only inform you when the temperature is too high

 

That's as ugly as they get. If it's never been rebuilt, GA heads are 1972.

Look at the stamping block to the front and below the #1 plug. If the block is a 72, the engine stamping will start out 32(L)XXXXXX, where:
3 - Oldsmobile
2 - model year production
(L) - letter could be M, F, Z, R which represents the factory it was produced
XXXXXX - is the last 6 digits of the VIN# of the car it came from.

 

I think the idiot light turns on at around 260ish. Hi heat combined with blow by, dirt, fuel vapor, moisture, carbon etc... among other things. It basically boils down to poor maintenance.

 

I work in the engine parts business. I remember once visiting a machine shop customer up in the Midwest who had a Chev. 2.8 V-6 on an engine stand in his waiting area to display to his customers the value of changing the oil. It was so "congested" under the valve covers that it looked like a giant slab of gray Velveeta that had taken the form of the valve cover. The rockers had just enough room to move up and down. I still don't know how any oil could have possibly returned to the pan that went to the top of the motor.

 

Can use that as road tar patch. Ouch, poor engine

 

My first car, a 1956 chevy 265, had all that sludge also. This was before PCV was required. Nevertheless, despite all the sludge, blow-by and tappet noise, the engine idled smooth, at around 400 or so rpm. I was just 15, back then, and thought I could get rid of the tappet noise through messing with the lifter adjustment. Live & learn. Thereafter, instead of a smooth idle, the engine twerkt even better than Mylie Cyrus

 

I have seen a couple like this back in the day. One was my Grandfathers 1964 Plymouth. He changed the oil regularly but insisted that Quaker State 30 wt Non detergent oil was the best made. I pulled the valve covers to replace the gaskets and they looked like that valley pan. Several years later I ran into another just like it in a Chevy either 327 or 350. Asked the customer what kind of oil he used and he proudly stated he never used anything but Quaker State NON DETERGENT,

 

Non detergent...why was that crap even
introduced? BTW, I have seen some Havoline
and Pennzoil engines gunked up like this, well,
not QUITE like this one.

 

I would say short run intervals in cold climate, few oil changes.

 

All I can say is Wow! No oil changes or?? I ran Quaker State back in the day in I think 3 Chebbies and they all foamed white sludge at the oil filler cap. And yes, I did change the oil regularly.

 

That's what non-detergent oil engines looked like. I've seen the valve covers area full of waxy carbon crude. Just channel to the oil return holes. We would burn the crude out of the valve covers to clean them. We went by the "once an engine had non detergent oil used, detergent oil would ruin it." I'm surprised because by 1972 non detergent oil wasn't used in new cars anymore. Even though it's ugly, it might surprise you by having decent worn bearings. As long as the crude was disturbed engines lasted but not like the more modern oils. Ken

 

I am not sure why they even made Non detergent oil? I know the old timers were very loyal to a brand and type and would not change what they had been using. X2 to being taught not to switch a car from non detergent to detergent. I was always told the car would start burning oil. In retrospect I wonder if the car would just start smoking bad as the detergent oil started breaking down all that goo. I once cleaned the top end of an engine that was so gummed up you could not see the pushrods. After scraping and cleaning as best I could, I put it back together and ran Marvel Mystery Oil through it and changed the oil a couple times. Pulled the valve covers and everything looked shiny new!

 

When I was a young fella I watched a mechanic changing the oil on a diesel Land Cruiser. He was using a piece of Bent wire to pull it out of the sump plug!! It looked like he made it to blow bubbles!
Needless to say im very aware of regular services.

 

We had an old Huffy lawnmower which required non-detergent oil for the 2-cycle mix