Problem Found
 

Oil was contaminated with fuel and it thinned out the oil which in turn washed the cylinder wall lubrication and also washed the lube off of the bearings. Believe source of fuel may be from a defective fuel pump and numerous attempts to get the engine running causing flooding and loading up of the cylinders. Already changed changed the pump and had a detailed conversation with the machinist who built the block.

As for the course of action, the machinist recommends the following:

Pull the engine and dissamble it. Examine the cam bearings for wear to determine if they also need replacement. I will also mike the cam lobes and check the lifters for wear to be sure that they broke in well. If they're out of spec, only cure is a new cam & lifter set (about $105.00).

As for the crank journals, the machinist advised me to use 600 emery and lightly polish the journals to see if they'll clean up. If not or if there is evidence of scoring, the crank has to go out for at least a machine polishing, if not a surface grind. According to the manuals I have, cranks can be ground to .020, but the machinist doesn't seem to feel that my crank will be in need of a re-grind. The local engine machine shop charges about $100.00 for the machine polishing.

He strongly advises that since the engine will be apart I should replace the rings, which I will do. As for the cylinder walls, I have to wait 'til I got the engine apart and examine the walls. If the crosshatch is fine, no problem. However, if there is any scarring, he suggests re-honing the cylinders.

Called my parts guy and everything except for the cam & lifters amounts to about $125.00.

So, best scenario is $125.00 and worst is about $330.00.

If you don't hear from me anytime soon, it's because I am locked in my shop working. The Mrs. has already been advised to serve all meals to me in the shop.

Thanks again for all your help and insight. I'll keep everyone informed of developments and progress.

Your NY Cobra Buddy,

TonyMadrid

Tony,
Correct me if I'm wrong here but what I'm hearing is this:

You get an engine from an engine builder.
You have trouble getting it running
You find a bad fuel pump which causes you to
pull and disassemble the engine, even replacing rings.

Why are you doing this? Why isn't the engine builder taking
responsibility? Am I missing something? Does your engine builder have ANY responsibility here?

Roscoe

Engine Problem
 

All I got from the builder was the long block. All the tinware, manifold, oil & fuel pump, pan, rocker covers, etc. I installed.

I can't fault the engine builder for a fuel pump that I bought and installed that turned out to be faulty. The thought has crossed my mind to give Edelbrock a call but I am not 100% certain that the fuel pump was the sole cause for the problems. I believe some of the problems may have been caused when I broke in the cam. I ran the engine at about 2200rpm for just under a half hour. I shut it down because the bypass hose at the thermo housing was leaking and it caused the engine to overheat. By the time I realized it was leaking, the engine temp had climbed to 225-230.

Guess I should have been more vigilant. Next time when breaking an engine in I'll resort to the old garden hose to keep cool water going into the engine.

I may be a little disappointed but I am neither dismayed nor upset. It looks like with some elbow grease and a couple of bucks I can remedy the problem. It's just another learning experience.

Tony