NICE!!!
But PITTING on a cylinder wall and rust on top of a piston are 2 completely different things.
Believe me....NO ONE wanted that engine to just need an intake gasket more than ME.
But the REALITY of the situation is this...
The car used
oil from day one.....A LOT of
oil....1 qt every 100-150 miles. YES, I know FE engines ALL use some
oil....But carrying a CASE of oil with you for 1200 miles of driving is NOT normal.
ERA apparently did a ****ty job replacing the intake gasket on the car according to Bill, they MAY have even installed the wrong gasket (again, according to Bill). ERA also apparently ORDERED and INSTALLED a "cheap carb that was too big for engine" once again, according to Bill.....BUT, when that car left ERA it wasn't bellowing smoke like it did when Bill purchased it and it ran great. Peter at ERA drove the car for a weekend AFTER they installed the new intake set.....Those newly installed gaskets SEALED initially, and dramatically reduced the SMOKING...Just as Bill has reported now that he did the same work ERA did.....BUT, Peter told me straight out....
"THE CAR IS STILL USING 1 QUART OF OIL EVERY 150 MILES.....Look, the car has NEW heads, NEW Valves and Seals, and now NEW intake gaskets, for it to be using THAT much oil....It's most likely a ring issue."
It should also be stated that ERA had the car for 2 MONTHS!!! They DROVE the car well over 400 miles to gauge the oil consumption.
I put 250 miles on the car the day it came back from ERA.....No excessive smoking but sure enough, it burned 1 qt of oil in 150 miles of driving. After driving the car for another month the intake gasket let go AGAIN and now the car smoked like a freight train.
At that point it went to Bob Mason at Mason's Racing Engines.....All this guy does is build race motors....ALL DAY, EVERY DAY.....He KNEW the intake gaskets were junk, but he wanted to see WHEN the car blew smoke...It should be mentioned that I told Bob straight out that I was NOT rebuilding this engine....I'd pay him to determine WHAT is wrong with it so I could pass that info along to the next owner. But I was NOT getting into a rebuild on THIS car....It just wasn't worth the time and effort for how I used the car. So Bob knew going in he was just looking for a cause.
He did a leak down on the car and the numbers were great.....But when he dropped that scope down the cylinders you could EASILY see areas of pitting....Pitting that was old enough and large enough that Bob said the motor may need to be SLEEVED and re-ringed....Bob had over a dozen FE engines at his shop at the time. He actually had a 427 side oiler on the DYNO that day.....He explained that with the depth of the pitting on this engine he would recommend sleeving and re-ringing. He also mentioned a gapless ring that had caused major oil consumption issues when used. But the cylinder wall issue would have to be dealt with first. Anyone re-ringing the engine would have to decide if boring it would work based on measurements or if sleeving would be the way to go once they got it apart.
Once again.....I was THERE during the entire inspection process...I've had numerous engines rebuilt and have restored everything from 65 Mustang GT's, 59 MGA's and numerous 911's. I knew what I was looking at when a cylinder wall goes from beautiful cross hatching to nasty DEEP pitting.
One more point here that everyone should consider....#717 is going to be sold some day....If I was a potential buyer....I would WANT this information from an owner that not only went to the original BUILDER of the car for an opinion, but also to a extremely well respected race engine builder with YEARS of FE engine building experience and a shop with 7 figures of equipment under one roof. BOTH came to the same conclusion.....The only difference was the REASON the rings were an issue....The scope said it all...No RING can SEAL a cylinder wall that has PITS in it.
Bill advised me "Don't be angry because I was mislead" That's an interesting statement coming from a guy that has now potentially solved a major engine problem with a gasket, a vacuum line, and what I guess is an EXPENSIVE 650 holley carb!!! (vs the "cheap Quick fuel carb" ERA ordered and installed when they MISLEAD ME)
Apparently ERA missed the PVC issue Bill found or they MISLEAD ME on that too.....I guess I was also mislead when Bob Mason HANDED me the scope cable and let me rotate the camera around the cylinder, and then my own EYES mislead me when that camera focused in on the caverns in the cylinder walls of that 428!!!
I love a good fish story.....But the REALITY is ERA nailed it from DAY ONE......Bob Mason nailed it and had VISUAL PROOF!!!
A gasket, some vacuum line, and a cheap Holley carb ain't taking you from 1 qt of oil every 150 miles to all fixed folks....Not happening...GREAT STORY THOUGH!!!