Vanilla 428 rebuild...
 

I'll try to keep this short...

The car I'm driving now was originally built
with a 427 that was never broken in and was
allowed to sit for a # of years. After applying
every little trick I could think of..., it's still a
smoking, oily mess (OK compression though).

It's "driveable"..., but kinda unsightly.

I have a fair pile of 428 pieces in my
possession. The biggest missing piece is
the crank. Have block, rods, heads, most of
valve train. I think all could be returned to
service.

1. I'm tired of the oil burning thing.
2. I don't want a race engine.
3. I don't want to take the car down for a
protracted period of time.
4. I don't want to spend big $$$ on this
particular car/engine.
5. I'm thinking of building up the 428 in a
fairly plain-Jane fashion, while continuing
to drive w/ the 427. (Note: the 427 is
completely "stock").
6. Once the 428 is done, quicky engine
swap.

What would you do?

How much do you
think you'd have to spend? (I'd be using
my current intake and ign system.)

And where
in the bleep do you find a 428 crank? (Had
one..., was stolen..., sigh.)

Or..., do you think that an O/H on a current-
ly running 427 is sufficiently low-risk that
it could be done in fairly short order, and
at modest cost (for a modest engine)? I
believe my current 427 block will at least
need to be sleeved this time around.

Thanks!

P.S.: A little more "back story" for anybody
that cares: I'm pretty sure at this point, the
oil scav. rings are fubar. Have replaced
valve stem seals..., helped a little, but not
much. Did the marvel mystery oil thing...,
nada. I've got a rotten back..., so frankly,
a ring job is as much work for me as
pulling the whole engine. Pulling the engine
is actually easier in the long run, back-wise.
So..., when I set out to do this stuff nowa-
days..., I only do what I'm 100% sure
is gonna work. Hence the bias for doing
an engine O/H in one form or another.
It's easier on my back, and I KNOW what
is going on w/ the engine.

one more thing...
 

I would like to do the engine assy myself.

Nope..., have never done an FE motor. Read
the books, etc....

Cheers!

You might be able to save yourself a lot of time, money, and work by first trying a set of new valve guide seals. If the car sat for a long time, it's possible that the seals are shot. You can do this without pulling the heads too. Since compression test passed, you can assume that the rings are still sealing, so the only other logical path for oil to get into the clyinder/exhaust is past the valve stem.

- Jim -

whoops... sorry, didn't see the PS before I started the above.....

Yeah..., tried the seals..., it helped..., but didn't
fix it. My guess is oil scavenging rings. :(

Proudlakester, there have been some problems lately with Felpro intake gaskets getting porous and letting oil get sucked in from the cam valley into the intake ports...maybe a change of intake gaskets would be worth a try...use Victor 95159N for meduim risers and Edelbrocks and 95158N for low risers, 25-30 bucks at Car Quest or NAPA...a lot easier than pulling/overhauling a motor!
On which route to take, I think I would go with the 428 rebuild and the "quickie" swap (LOL), that way the toy is down a minimum of play time, and you can take your time on the 427...heck, you may not even want to put it back in...

mr0077:

Thanks..., not a bad idea. The intake
gaskets are at least 10 or 12 years old
anyway..., and I haven't had the intake off
yet.

Cheers -- Proudlakester

..., but I still wouldn't mind knowing where
to find a 428 crank... ;)

Proudlakester, it may not be a bad idea to check it before you pull the motor, for sure, but a correction and a comment...the correct Victor numbers are N95158SG or N95159SG (the nitro line)...and on the FelPros, the info I've seen/heard applies to recent gaskets, maybe last 3-4 years, so yours going bad may be a long shot...Good luck, and let us know what you find.

Here is a suggestion:

Pull the 427, put in a crate motor and be done with it. you can get a hefty 351W for less than a professional rebuild ( B & B ).

You don't want to race. You want to get rid of the oil problem. Pulling or swapping an engine usually is less time than a rebuild.

Just a thought.

Here is another thing to look at, read the plugs. If the engine has been running for a while, the offensive cylinder will have oil deposits on the plug. If they all have deposits, check the draft system or something that may be dumping oil in the intake system.

Could be something simple like a stuck PCV valve.

If you have an automatic with a vac. shift valve, check to make sure it has not gone bad. It will dump trans fuild into the engine.

Just a few more suggestions.

Hmmm, yeah, pull the 427, put in a crate motor, put the 427 in the crate and ship it to me! I'll pay shipping...heh heh heh

The plugs, oddly enough, don't look THAT
bad..., though the smoking is definitely more
pronounced on the right side. Just going
by the plugs, I'd have to say they look
pretty uniform. Haven't pulled them this
season yet..., so they might be further
differentiated now.

Suppose I could start on
the right side... (the easy side :) ) and see if
anything has been going on lately.

Cheers -- Proudlakester