Can it get any worse?

Guys, Some of you may already know what's going on with my '66 Vette "Love Is Blue". I've been fighting an overheating gremlin now for about a year due to the unique design of my system. Well, last week I finally found why I couldn't drive at highway speed without it overheating. :banghead: A small aluminum pipe insert that had been put inside a hose to prevent it from sucking closed when it got hot and soft, managed to turn sideways inside one of the hoses and almost completely blocked the water flow. So much for adding extra fans, water pumps etc.
Well, after taking it out last Friday for a quick 10 mile drive to see if it was REALLY fixed, I was happy. I finally enjoyed a real drive, when when I heard an awful noise within the motor. You all know the tell-tale sound. I got home, opened it up to find several of the roller lifters were broken due to the link bar being installed upside down by the engine builder when I had the broken pistons replaced last year after my failed attempt to do the 2006 Power Tour. This had put excessive side loads on them because they were turned slightly sideways and the rollers were dragging across the cam lobes. NOT GOOD!
We've pulled it all apart, AGAIN!, and it's now being boiled and magnafluxed again to be sure it's safe to put back together with new bearings, solid roller cam and roller lifters. The crank, rods and pistons are all ok, thankfully. This may help to explain why my 1/4 mile times were a bit disappointing in January when I went to Speed World for Funday Sunday with some of you guys. I was planing on returning May 6th for another day of floggin it, but it broke that Friday. Good luck I guess, cause it sure would have been messy if it had come apart while up around 7,000 RPM. :ack2:
I just can't seem to get lucky enough to just drive this thing and have some fun. :shrug01: Maybe THIS time will be the charm! :thumbsup: Glenn

Mr.Love glad to hear you solved your overheating problem.But this other news sucks bad:banghead: Good luck getting her back together and hope you can take your long highway cruise that is well over do :thumbsup:

Ouch! I assume that engine builder is footing the bill for this time around.... I don't think I would want him working on MY engine. :nonod:

Sorry about that.That really sucks.
Let's all have a moment of silence.:sorry:
Good luck in the rebuild.

Bummer Glenn, at least the major components made it thru ok. I can't believe how mangled the cam lobes are. Were you able to find all the broken pieces ? Good luck with the rebuilt, that thing must be a beast when all is right. Nice heads btw.

Footin the responsibility & the BILL!

Rich Z said:

Ouch! I assume that engine builder is footing the bill for this time around.... I don't think I would want him working on MY engine. :nonod:

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Yes, Eric will be footing the bill, for the mistake the guy working for him made. Eric admitted it was HIS fault for not double checking his employees (who's no longer employed by the way) progress on the job, and letting it leave his shop with the link bars upside down. (Yes, NYTRO,we got ALL the pieces, plus, as statted in the earlier post, it's getting deep tank cleaned before rebuilding, and glad you like those 'Big Brodix-2' aluminum heads. Glad they didn't get hurt. If the crank had gotten damaged, I was going to go a big stroker!!)
The builder, Eric, was there when we pulled the blower/manifold off the motor. The look on his face when he looked down and saw the links upside down right off the bat was priceless..(well, not exactly priceless, more like a couple of thousand dollars!!) :sillyme: Glad I was ready with the camera for that one! Glenn

Sorry to hear of your troubles. It sounds like the builder is a stand-up guy and I'm glad he's making it right by you. It definitely sounds like you're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck.:thumbsup:

Light at the end of the tunnel

Mark Dalton said:

Sorry to hear of your troubles. It sounds like the builder is a stand-up guy and I'm glad he's making it right by you. It definitely sounds like you're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck.:thumbsup:

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Yeah, I sure hope it's not another train coming the other way!! Damn it's been a very LONG, DARK tunnel! :giveup: Glenn

Yeah, that's why I think everyone NEEDS to have two Corvettes. One as a backup when the primary one gets laid up..... :hehehe:

2 Vettes for everyone!

Rich Z said:

Yeah, that's why I think everyone NEEDS to have two Corvettes. One as a backup when the primary one gets laid up..... :hehehe:

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Gee, THANKS!! I'll take my second vette in Red. Make it a C6 Z06. How very nice of you to offer to get me a second daily driver! You guys here @ ALL Florida CC are the best!:dancer01: :lmao: Glenn

I'm in that dark tunnel myself Glenn. A couple of months ago I bought a new toy a 67 GTX and so far I have logged about 25 minutes of seat time. Been fixing annoying things but the time it takes to get parts takes forever. Today I pulled the front suspension out, torsion bars, strut rods, tie rods, ball joints, a frames, lower control arms and everything related. I wacked my left hand three times with a 3 lb sledge and come to find out of all the special tools I ordered I missed one, so time to make the donuts another 3 day wait for the tool. Hopefully I will have it back together by Sunday, then I will have to get it aligned.

I rebuilt the front suspension on my 66 in what seemed to be a blink of the eye, this thing is a monster to work on, talk about over designing everything. I long for the good old days with my 66. :nonod: