Or just get a oil pan gasket and drop the pan and check a couple bearings to see how they look. I agree with just driving it. if you have 35+ oil pressure and it's not knocking or making any noise then you should not have any problems.
Pat

 

I can’t tell you how impactful this comment has been to me. It’s like you’re in my head, sharing my thoughts. I’m at such a mental crossroads with this whole thing. I actually have the car up on ramps/jackstands right now and was about to head to the local auto parts store to borrow a puller to get the steering linkages free from the idler arm and passenger inner tie rod end so I’d be able to drop the oil pan.

But after reading this, part of me is back at my “maybe I should just leave it be for now” crossroads because, as you said, it’s running fine with no concerning noises or behaviors, mechanically. But then there’s the other part of me that says I should drop the pan and Plastigage things to see what the real story is.

In order to sleep at night, I think I’ll drop the pan and do some Plastigage analysis. And pray for ‘acceptable’ findings.

 

This car is not your only form of transportation. Is the engine original? Do any of the parts owe you anything? Is there any reason to stress out over it? If the engine completely failed tomorrow, and no parts were reusable, would you see that as terrible car-ending disaster, or as an opportunity?

My point is, if it runs, run it. If you want, buy or build another engine in your garage for fun, on an engine stand. You can find running engines for $500- if you want to rebuild one, or just buy a crate engine if/when you need to. But don't disable a running car just because you might need to fix something. Go drive it until something breaks!

 

the main problem with the plan of leaving the crank installed and fishing the bearing around the crank is that any oil or dirt contamination is going to be still in the journal and you cant get at it to clean it out properly. Any contamination on the back of the bearing is going to add to the possibility of spinning the bearing. 10 psi per 1000 rpm is still a good estimate of bearing and engine health on a performance engine. I have had standard duty engines with low pressure at idle (10 PSI) with no ill effects and that particular motor did many trips from Mass to Utah and then up to Alaska and back....lots of miles and no issues.

You could do another oil change and see if there is any more significant glitter and see if fresh oil changes the oil pressure. If you r oil pressure is stable or climbs on acceleration you have no worries....if its fluttering or falls during accelleration you have an issue

 

I sometimes ask "What's the WORST that can happen?" Drive it. Keep paying attention to stuff, but don't borrow trouble until it arrives - IF it ever does..

 

^ This is the route I'm going to take. I'm not going to worry about actually replacing any bearings until I see how a few of them look. Plus, some of my readings tonight have me second guessing things since I've seen some posts noting that bearing halves even in a given set (in the same box!), could have different labeling/stamping on them, denoting slight variations in thicknesses which would result in differences in clearances. So, it *seems* to me that even if I end up having to go the route of bearing replacement, it's sounding like it may not be a simple "swap this worn half of a bearing for this new half of a bearing". And if that's true, then I'm SOL anyway you slice it. So.... is that true about the bearings in a set having some variations between them?

I appreciate all the input and it's been unanimous so far that I should just "drive it and keep an eye on things" --- and that I shouldn't be trying to borrow trouble. Trust me, I'm all for that. But, I do have this burning urge to know what the current situation truly is in the bottom end. Every time I'm about to just take it off the ramps/stands and button it back up, the other side of my brain says, "Just pull the pan and look". So, I've got my Plastigage on hand and I'll be ordering the new oil pan gasket shortly. I won't be able to tear into anything for a few days due to other obligations but I'll keep you all apprised of what I find -- with words and pictures.

 

After multiple days and nights to mull it all over (and over and over), I've decided to just go the route that the majority of you said which is, "Button it up and drive it. Don't go trying to borrow trouble". Besides, the oil pan and block are so nicely painted (by some previous owner) that I actually hate the idea of ruining that "freshly restored" appearance by having to break all of the oil pan bolts loose just to have a look inside. Also factoring into my decision to "let things be for now" is the fact that we will shortly be returning to our northern Michigan home for the summer and early fall part of the year. We head north but the 'Vette ends up taking a long nap at our southern seasonal residence; it won't get any use until November of this year.

So, I've now got fresh 5W-20 oil and a fresh AC Delco PF1218 filter in place. And at this point, it's still running fine and has more-than-ample pressure. I'm going to just let things be and at my next oil change, I'll send another sample of the oil off to Blackstone Labs for the next round of analysis. Hopefully, it'll come back with a better report card than this last time.

In the meantime, I'll just keep a close eye and ear on things. Thanks again to all of you who have offered comments/suggestions/insights up to this point.