445 replies to this topic

[adrianh08]

Mate over the years ive seen some trashed engines at my old mans workshop and yours would certainly get an honourable mention!

I can only imagine the noise it made when it let go.

It is sad when faithful old engines decide to take an early retiremement package.

Best of luck getting the funds together and putting a new heart into the mighty Torana. (All Toranas are mighty!)

Cheers.

[LXCHEV]

Cheers guys for all the comments and words of encouragement. It does inspire me to push on and come up with the next battle plan. At least the title of this thread is very appropriate now "The Ongoing Story".... not sure if that's a good thing.... hahaha...

Anyway, Tiny - at the time it let go, I was at the top of 1st gear, a decent amount of revs, about to click 2nd, when the almighty shatter sound occurred. Now that I've seen the carnage, the sounds make a lot of sense, LOL. I knew it was serious, but in the time it took me to pull it apart, I'd talked myself around that it was only something minor

Andrew, cheers for the great advice as usual. I do like the idea of sourcing a 4 bolt 350 block. (What better excuse to upgrade from this 2 bolter). I'm keeping my eyes open, but in no hurry with the rebuild. If my stroker crank is stuffed, I might rebuild it as a plain jane 350 this time around. I've got some serious thinking and decision making ahead.

Edited by LXCHEV, 02 August 2010 - 10:56 PM.

[LXCHEV]

Nice!!

[Tiny]

Interesting mate!

I mean it's a terrible situation, and one NO ONE hopes to ever be in, but as you said, it's done now and now just have to decide on what to do!!

Apparently E85 is being released commercially here in Caltex servos so i'm considering making a few "upgrades" to the Q! Hmmmmmm.....
Just another thought to add to the equation!

I know life takes a change in direction, Just make sure you will be happy with it rather than spending 80% of the money to get 50% of the enjoyment! (I look back on how i built the monaro and lament on whati could have done if i had of spent the WHOLE ammount all at once!)

ANyway mate, All the best with it, If theres anything i can do to help let me know!

(I've got a 400chev crank/rods/pistons sitting here out of the old engine you could have cheap ;P Just needs a grind/linish!)

Cheers!

[LXCHEV]

If piston bits got under the intake then they will be in every cylinder so check all the conrods for straightness. Chuck the pistons out. Get the crank checked to make sure its not bent.

Hey Struggler, just curious.... why do you say throw the pistons out?? Once I rip the bottom end apart, I was planning to have a professional go over my crank, rods, and pistons... if anything is salvageable, it will save me cash. I'd rather buy 1 new conrod and 1 new piston, as opposed to a full set of 8. Especially the pistons - they are SRP forgies, and haven't done huge km's.

[Struggler]

If piston bits got under the intake then they will be in every cylinder so check all the conrods for straightness. Chuck the pistons out. Get the crank checked to make sure its not bent.

Hey Struggler, just curious.... why do you say throw the pistons out?? Once I rip the bottom end apart, I was planning to have a professional go over my crank, rods, and pistons... if anything is salvageable, it will save me cash. I'd rather buy 1 new conrod and 1 new piston, as opposed to a full set of 8. Especially the pistons - they are SRP forgies, and haven't done huge km's.

Hi Brett, the shrapnel usually goes through the engine before it stops dead. Bits end up stuck between the piston and head/bore and cause damage that isn't initially obvious. When it all comes apart you will be surprised at the injuries. It just isn't worth the risk. No-one wants to blow up twice !!

Also 1x SRP will be about half the price of a full set.

If you can sleep at night knowing what 7 of your pistons have been through then fair enough. It is always the things you can't see that cause problems later. If you bought that engine to me and said throw it back together I wouldn't reuse the pistons or rods and I would be reluctant to reuse the crank without a grind and crack test (which would pay for a new 9000 series Scat crank anyway). When my engine suffered a similar fate I binned the lot, no sorry, I kept the rods for use as trophys. I can't afford to have it fly apart again.

JMHO.

[LXCHEV]

Cool, I will take that on board. I did price up an individual piston, and I'd be looking at $79.95 (U.S.) + postage (surprisingly cheap) - so you can see why I've been considering this. A new set of these pistons costs around $550 (U.S.)for 8. But as you've said, I'm not sure what my quality of sleep would be like each night if I did re-use all the current bits!!

PS. Tiny - thanks for the kind offer earlier too (on the 400 crank/rods/pistons). But if my crank is no good, then I'll end up going for a brand new aftermarket crank I think. But thanks mate!

Baillie, damn apprentices!! I'll pass on the VN, it's missing 2 cylinders for my taste

[LXCHEV]

Cheers Mick! But nah, it's highly unlikely to see the road this Summer... more likely next year sometime. If I really wanted to, I could, but it's just that I have a thousand other priorities in life at the moment. Single income with wife and baby now, is easier said than done! I don't know who costs more - the wife or the baby, but combined, they really add up, LOL. I am seriously considering selling my hatchback, that would speed up the process nicely

[orangeLJ]

If you plan to sell the hatch, let me know

Mum wants a hatch, Ray wants to buy her one AND Ive always had my eye on those wheels! haha

[LXCHEV]

Well guess what... I finally got in touch with Jason and Jade to get some copies of the official Easternats photos from 2008. This was the year when I first developed my oil pressure problem (what I believe was wiped bearings)... not bad that I still got another 2 years out of the engine. Maybe the blow-up was not even related.. who knows. But let it be a lesson to everyone else - don't ignore changes in oil pressure!

Anyway... this is what caused it in the first place.. thanks again to Jason & Jadey for the pics!!!







Got a few other cool pics I will post over the next few days too....

[LXCHEV]

Wow.. long time with no updates on my old pile of junk I still like to call a Torana!

Quite a few things have happened in the last year or so:

* Sold my LX hatchback :(
* Got retrenched from work :(
* Finally had a closer look at LXCHEV's bottom end - discovered everything is still mint, so I never had any bearing problems. The blow-up was 100% related to valve hitting piston. Nice to know
* All of a sudden, Brock is already 18 months old. He's been upgraded from baby status, to little monster toddler status. What happened?!!!

Anyway, these next photos may disturb and upset Torana fans.... please don't ban me from these forums for car abuse.....







She might be in a very sad state right now, but the local neighbourhood cats have taken a liking to it...

[DanWA]

We've all got those pics mate

Can't wait for its resurrection!

[LXCHEV]

You and me both!

Guess what, I've also fitted up some sexy roof racks to the car....................... luckily it was back in 1998 though!



How's that for an old photo! They're 2 of my mates with my car, after a 5 hour drive to Mount Hotham. We were all just little 18 year olds

So should I re-fit the roof racks to LXCHEV?

[Tiny]

Hey mate!!
Glad to hear you ha e fou d the time and energy to look at the beast again!
Don't feel bad mate, life travels quickly of late and with a youngun it's understandable that the car has to sit for a while!

I've actually had a few things done of late, must be something in the air!

[MRLXSS]

Hurry up and get it back on the Road! I wanna go cruising with ya!

Have you got a goal date to have it sorted out yet? End of the year? It'd be great for us to both have our Torries at the Knox Cruise nights again!