FE high oil consumption problem

[Wayne Maybury]

A friend has an Everett Morrison with an aluminium Dove FE in it. This engine has been a real pain over the years. About 2 years ago Dove took it back and re-sleaved it etc. Last year it began to consume lots of oil. The thought was that it was filling the valve covers with oil then the oil was being sucked down the valve stems. The engine burns about 1 qt. of oil every 50 miles or so.

An engine builder friend of mine did the heads. The valves and guides were all OK but he put new seals on. He also cleaned up the oil return holes to make sure that the oil was getting back down into the pan. He didn't touch the short block since the cylinders looked like new.

The engine still consumed a lot of oil. They took a pair of old valve covers and cut "windows" in them that were covered with clear plastic. Started the engine, reved it and all oil was observed to be draining perfectly. Therefore the problem isn't the heads.

They removed the engine from the car and began to tear the engine down. Oil was found in all 8 cylinders. So much oil was getting into the cylinders that it wasn't all being burned. He pulled the pistons and everything is perfect. The rings, pistons, and cylinder walls are absolutely perfect. The engine builder is a very experienced race engine builder but he has no idea how the oil is getting into the cylinders. Any of you FE experts out there have any ideas what is happening?

Wayne