jeff, what blocks are these engines,and what cylinder heads,i had 1 come my way a few years ago,mark 4 block,gen 5 heads,with the wrong head gasget,had exact issue you are having.the water leaked past the head gasget and ran into the lifter valley.this happens a lot.

i forgot to mention,when on the dyno,the cooling tower will not make more than 2 or 3 psi,thats why you did not see it then,now in the real world,with 10 to 20 lbs water pressure it leaks.

I just got back from KW, and of course now even more motivated to finish it up.

Gonna pull them both and pressure check the water system before I tear them down.

They are brand new engines and heads cams etc and I want them to stay that way so that when I sell it it will be a great buy for someone.

Started working with Bob Madero on some better roller cams for it. Still going to leave them mild, but I want them user friendly and baxically oil change engines so it will be easier to sell.

Going to go ahead and change the rings and bearings so I can make sure that there is no damage from the water being in there.