Sooo... I accidentally dropped a 1/4 inch bolt down the spark plug hole of my 351e Big Block - I had changed the intake manifold gasket. When I started it up the banging sounded like a thrown rod and not knowing what had happened I just shut the door and didn't even look at the truck for six months. (is the 351e a 1967 issue?) I bought the truck with all the receipts for an expensive, professional engine rebuild. It had perfect compression when the accident happened. So - Eventually I took the head off the one side and found the bolt embedded in the top of the soft aluminum piston. A score 1/16 inch deep ran from the top of the cylinder to the bottom of the down side of the stroke - in other words - the score stays above the rings when the piston is at the bottom of the stroke - Now - I was told by an experienced mechanic that because the score doesn't go below the rings that it will fill up with carbon over time and bring the compression back up. The piston shows no sign of damage but could have hairline cracks and the crank-end bearing will have received some hard hits. so my idea is to replace the piston and the bearing but keep the rod. Does this sound do-able to you all out there? The next deal is to replace the carburator. I found the original carburator but it was unsatisfactory. So I'm thinking of getting an Edelbrok adjustable carb. Is this a good idea? Milage - at four bucks a gallon now - is an issue. Would a Chevy 350 V8 get better gas milage? I like this engine - it sounds great and has I am told great torque - for the 1967 Custom Camper frame/with the original over-head camper. But is this approach worthwhile in terms of work involved, cost etc. when parts for 350's are so available? Thanks for any input on this! A.
long term..... new sleave and new piston. short term.....remove the hardware frome the piston and drive it. realistically the v6 family of engines were dogs. nobody in thier right mind would rebuild one except for a high points restoration. one look at the service flyers for any month during thier production clearly indicates the factory had problems with those engines in any service other than stationary pumps. the valve train went through so many "renditions" during just the first two years of operations somebody shoulda got fired for letting it go into production. I drove a 66 2 ton truck from Phoenix to albequque and by the time I got there the valves were gone and it was using a quart of oil every 50 miles. when I got back, we pulled the motor and put a 327 in it, it lasted 7 years befor we replaced it with a 350 target master. v6's were dawgs with fleas. and talk about gas hawgs!
