Flying Tomato

Pulled it apart and was suprised to find what happened. Circlips came out of piston and wristpin slid over one side of the piston and chewed up the oil control ring and ring land.

I have no one to blame but myself and will take the abuse. By the way I have built approximately 15 chevy v8's and have a pretty good track record with them.

Have just had bad luck with this motor though: due to things that i did not do. (Eng shop sold me a cracked block, Spun a main bearing--Eng shop built short block, Cracked exh riser, Now this) It's cursed!!!!

stevesxm

when i was 20 years old i was racing triumph spitfires and was leading my first race and was going to win it going away... and the motor exploded. this was not uncommon but in this particular case it made dents in the hood where big parts flew out... not just the usual blue rods...

it turned out that a circlip had worked out and the wrist pin had worn a groove in the cylinder until it wore thru the water gallery at 7800 rpm...

it was pointed out to me wryly by the 70 year old grand master that i was working for at the time that circlips have two sides... a sharp side and a dull side and that "you always put them in sharp side facing out, dummy. "... a stupid small thing but a valuable lesson at the beginning of a career. i actually went to solid buttons as foolproof but spirolocks or any other bullet proof way is always the safe , cheap solution for stuff like this... i am the first to say " who needs special sht when circlips have worked perfectly for 50 years" but the truth is that for 6 bucks you can use spirolocks or buttons and it becomes a non issue that instant... and there are 50 places inside every motor just like this... stock rod bolts vs ARP... good trimetal bearings instead of cheap ones, measure the clearences with proper tools... not plastigage. ring terminals instead of push ons, solid hose clamps instead of open groove ones etc etc etc all sorts of small seemingly insignificant things independently but cumulatively the difference between 500 trouble free hours or 50. the biggest difference between the very best big time motor builders and the well skilled amateur doing his work at home is that the pro knows what NOT to do a 100 times more often than the home builder.

well good for you for finding it. i presume a sleeve will fix that hole and you are home free ? so to speak...

Flying Tomato

Yep,
I knew when I set out on this performance boat journey that it would be a learning experience. I knew that I would make mistakes, and I have. Truth is, the harder it comes, the more sweet it is when you get there.

Project is a 95 Python. Goal is 80 mph. I'm getting close.

Lee

OldSchool

That's one of the best posts that I've ever read on OSO.

Have a nice weekend!

Cheers,
Craig

Wayniac

That's what I was thinking......................

stevesxm

thank you , gentlemen. i appreciate that.

tinman565

Good post Steve.

Raylar

Steve:

You are exactly spot on with your post. Performance engine "Users" are always asking the question "Why do professional engine builders seem to Charge more?" You are describing the reason perfectly!
"The Devils In the Details" That how shops like some here on OSO and other great ones in the marine performance industry earn our pay from. "Knowledge and Experience are King"
It always amazes me how much money many performance boaters will waste and how much frustration they will expose themselves to trying to teach themselves the "ART" of correctly building a good, reliable, high endurance marine performance engine.
Many will argue that its FUN and it gives them something to do and they SAVE money. I always answer, have your FUN in the boat out on the water and SAVE money by letting an expert build your engine!

Advice, Wise man don't need it, Fools won't heed it!

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

TEXASRPM

There is nothing more reassuring as a performance boater than to gain experience enough about tackling issues with a boats mechanics.

Where would Hot Rodding or Performance Boating be without the "Shade Tree" mechanic? Even the seasoned Pro can make mistakes.

Also, not everyone has a good performance shop nearby and must rely on his own skills, the parts aftermarket, and the pros on this site.

stevesxm

thats not the point at all.

1) everybody makes misatkes. but the question is what is the liklyhood of a reputable pro who has seen everything there is to see making a mistake vs the guy at home, skilled or other wise, that builds 4 motors in his lifetime ?

lets say you are having heart surgery... your family doctor did a surgical rotation for a month and assited 3 operations 15 years ago... or the guy at johns hopkins that does 3 a day every dau and has for the last 15 years... ? who is better equipped to deal with the unexpected ? who is your choice ?

as for the rest... that is the easiest question of all... make up your mind WHY you are boating in the first place. If you are a hot rodder shade tree guy then fine. screw with your hardware and get dirty and have a hell of time rebuilding cylinderheads in your living room. if that's what gets you off then more power to you... BUT if you bought the boat so you can ( follow this , now) ACTUALLY go boating, then 100 out of 100 times, you will get more hours on the water per dollar having a skilled competent professional doing your work than you will ever get doing the work yourself. is it possible for an amateur to be successful ? of course it is , but 99 times out of 100 that amateur is essentially a professional by virtue of his training anyway. they aren't guys who bought dennis moores book and a 99 piece set of tools from sears.

i am all for getting your hands dirty. the more you do the more you know but at what price ? a VERY VERY smart man told man told me at a very young age " do what you do best to earn the money to hire people to do what THEY do best" .

none of this is rocket science but none of it is intuitive either. when the manual says " align the ring gaps at 120 degrees and install the piston" there are about 400 paragraphs of experience and detail that it isn't telling you.
you either knew that stuff before you started or you hired someone that did or, worst case, you are about to learn it the hard way.