this is probably a dumb question but when you had the head off did you spin the motor over? only reason I ask is on one of our race motors we broke a rod at the big end and the piston was up enough to clear everything. the motor ran fine but obviously only on 7 cyl.

 

Update on this 455 issue. Pulled the piston in #1 cylinder and low and behold.................The side of it was CRUSHED between the first and second rings and the first two rings came out in seven pieces!! I was completely missing a chunk about an inch long on the second ring!! NEVER TO BE FOUND!!??? The side were it was crushed is where the RTV sealer piece was lodged in the head gasket jacket between #1 and #3 Cylinders. Here is a dumb question....Why do they make the jacket holes smaller on the head gasket then the holes on the block and head were they meet?? That's why the RTV sealer chunk got stuck! Anyway what's done is done. Not a mark at all in that #1 cylinder wall, still has cross hatching on it. But #3 has just a slight scar about 3/16 of inch wide and 3/4 of the way down the cylinder. I just BARLEY if at all feel it with my finger nail. Re-bore or a hone with new pistons? Here's the big question, can I re-build this engine my self? Do I need special tools or just slow time and common sense? I have another engine in there now that's OK, I want my old engine back! Go easy on me with the replies about re-building. Thanx for all the advice and by the way, JOESW31 get's the prognosis award for predicting the broken piston!

 

Had the same thing happen on the same motor with 66,000 miles.

Car had been sitting for years when I bought it around 1992. It fired right up and I used it as a daily driver for at least half a year before it began blowing smoke out the breather.
When I pulled it apart, two pistons were like that - ring lands and rings shattered like glass.
It was a $600 car so I pulled off a few parts and junked it.

Those busted rings were probably caused by detonation, in my case presumably from some previous owner running Regular gas in the early eighties, when the gas was real crap (I had the timing set right and ran 94 octane).

Nothing you can do - just fix the problem and move on.
Look at it as an opportunity to go through your engine and get everything cleaned up just right.

- Eric

 

You don't need any special tools to rebuild an old American engine unless you count a torque wrench, cleanliness and patience are your friends now.
Get everything measured and do all the work needed, putting new pistons/rings into worn bores and new bearings onto worn journals is false economy.
It won't be cheap but if you do it properly you will have an engine that will run well and reliably for many thousands of miles.

Like Eric said now you have an opportunity to clean everything up and tidy up the engine bay.

Roger.

 

If it makes you feel any better, I had a similar problem on #6 in my 350. In my case, someone had let the engine overheat,carbon stuck on a valve and the piston came up and just barely touched it. Luckily it didn't drop and I just had them do a valve job, so I'm able to drive the car now.

Lots of completely different reasons to have zero compresion on a cylinder I guess. BTW- you really lucked out having no scoring on that #1 wall, should make simply replacing the piston much safer of a solution, rather than putting a piston with new rings into a scratched unhoned cylinder wall