OK..... Backstory:
Timeframe: 2004-2005-ish
After collapsing a lifter and sort of messing up a valve/pushrod/lifter while showing a buddy how easily a '63 Buick 215 V8 could twist up to 7000 rpm with it's 2.8" stroke, I swapped in a used lifter/pushrod from a spare parts motor and had my heads gone over by a local machinist buddy of mine.
By the way, the 215 had 5500 rpm rated valve springs, so I deserved a good swift kick to the groin for doing that... but it liked to rev
I put it all back together and drove it a year or so before I finally had an engine failure. Oil light came on and it seemed to miss a lick or two. I shut down a short distance from the house and checked out the oil level, etc. All seemed fine. I restarted and the oil light would come on at idle (ran rough) but light went out with revs. I limped on home in a lower gear to maintain oil pressure (no light as long as I kept revs up). Fuel pump would kick off with no oil pressure.
I assumed I'd spun a main bearing... or worse. I pulled the engine and put it on an engine stand.
I'd planned on doing a Buick 300 crank stroke job ...... so I started gathering parts. Time passed and life happened. Engine never got torn down. Still sitting on stand.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Today:
My '72 Kammback GT has the OLDS version of the Buick 215 aluminum V8. It has started smoking after it warms up a bit. Clears out with revs so I think it might be the valve guides/seals.
I have a relatively newly gone through set of Buick heads on the engine sitting on the stand (from 10 years ago). So I'm gonna swap heads (can swap Buick 5-bolt/cylinder heads onto an Olds 6-bolt/cylinder block.... but not vise-versa. I should be good (although probably a bit less compression ratio).
So i start removing the heads from the 10-year-on-the-stand Buick engine today:
Lots of carbon on pistons............ but engine ran GREAT before the loss of oil pressure. No issues whatsoever. LOVED IT!!!!
10-year-ago freshened Heads & valves worked GREAT, too (before the oil pressure loss):
Here's one removed today 10 years later.
So, while it's drained coolant and oil on the floor everywhere...... I might as well pull the oil pan to see if there was any main bearing carnage or loose rods....... AND THIS IS WHAT I SAW !!!!!!!
Clogged pick up screen!!!!
IS the screen the only filter media on the pick up..... or is that a sponge-type filter lying on the screen? I haven't moved or touched it yet (want an engine guru buddy to see it as is).
I don't know where this gunk came from, as I didn't build the engine or look at the bottom end when I bought the car. I only had the heads off when I collapsed the lifter 11 or so years ago (doing stupid stuff).
The screen is only visible in the middle .... There's rtv looking sealant pieces (orange and blue), long metal pieces (maybe flash), and black gunk!!!!
I might have let this engine sit on the stand 10 years simply because the pick up was clogged.........
I don't think it's hurt. Just starved for oil (oil light) and the fuel pump kicked off.. causing it to run rough (sucking fuel). Revs got some oil through (no oil light) and the fuel pump would kick back in...... ??????
Anyway.... these Buick semi-hemi heads are going onto the Olds block this weekend .... I have an autocross next weekend I want to make