I have a 1977 Vette. I recently had a 383 put in it. I flew out East to pick it up and bring it back to Texas where I am stationed. My friend that had it installed had only driven it 18 miles. I finished breaking it in for the first 50 miles. I drove in the city and on country roads,never getting it over 60 MPH. I continued to drive it throughout the week putting 300 miles on it. Once again varying my speeds and never putting alot of stress on the engine. The time came to start driving it back to TX. I continue to drive and stop in a city to get the oil changed for the initial 500 mile change. At this point I was right around 650 miles. I stopped to get gas and it started running rough and smoking a bit out of the driver side rear exhaust. After I got the oil changed it still continued to smoke a bit. The oil changer guy told me it was running a bit rich. So we eat lunch and then decide to get back on the road. I get about 45 miles down the road and it really starts blowing smoke. So we stopped and got a truck/trailer and transported it home to TX. I was told it might possibly be the rings that didnt seat properly. I bought the engine out of Phoenix AZ. It has a 1 year Unlimited mileage warranty. I guess my question is,would it be easier to just have the rings replaced or have it taken out and sent back to AZ to have them fix it. Ihave someone here who is willing to take it out and put it back in for me and he knows someone who will work on my motor here but that will void the warranty. Any thoughts, inputs or suggestions would be great.

 

Sounds more like a bad intake gasket that could suck oil or if it really smells like gas, possibly some junk that has caused the needle in the carb to stick open, I doubt if its the rings. Did the motor actually comsume any oil? What kind of carb is on it, a Holley? and do you have a fuel filter on it?

 

Do a compression test on it.

 

It didnt consume any oil. It has an electric fuel pump on it and it has a fuel filter. The carb is a Holley 650 I believe. Not 100% sure, will have to double check tomorrow. I hope its just the intake gasket. Is there anyway to check that without taking the carb and intake off?

 

My girlfriends Dad's friend is going to do a compression test on it this weekend when he gets back in town.

 

That will prove the rings (good or bad). Intake gasket is another issue. I don't know how you would check that without lifting the manifold. Maybe someone else has a method to do that. I could tell you how to check it for sealing from outside air (vacuum leak) but not for leaks into the lifter valley. What color was the smoke? Did it have a blue tinge to it?

 

What does the car do at idle, blow smoke and barely idle??

 

Prestige High Performance Engines, Phoenix AZ.
It is not from these guys is it?

 

Ok thanks. I am hoping to get more info this weekend. To me, the smoke looked more blue than white. When you first start it, it is fine and there is no smoke at all but after it warms up, the smoke starts to come out the driver side exhaust only.

 

No it was from Five Star Engine and Cylinder out of Glendale,AZ

 

When I first start it, it is fine. It idles great and doesnt smoke but after it warms up, the idle dies down and it starts smoking.

 

Does your engine have crome moly rings, sometimes they are hard to get seated. Try running it to 4000 rpm a few times for a few miles if the problem persists. Friend of mine had a similar problem getting the rings to seat.

 

Pull the driver's side plugs and see which one(s) are oily.

 

I am unsure if the rings are chrome molly. I will have to double check. Thanks for the input though.

 

the color of the smoke is the bigget clue.Black=gas,blue=oil,white=water/coolent.What color is it?

 

Who told you how to break in a motor ? I had my new 427ci up to 5000RPM in second gear when it had 2 miles on it. That is what you should be doing to break in a new motor, babying it will not seat the rings. Anyway I doubt that is your problem.

Pull the plugs and see if one or two side by side are oily, if so it is the intake gasket

 

I'd do a compression check before anything else. That'll tell you if it's an internal problem. Good luck.
KC

 

Just call the shop that did your engine and ask them what they want you to do? If the engine is warranted, why would you just take it to someone else? Now, the build shop might OK that you take it somewhere in your area to get the work done, but they would call that shop and make necessary arrangements. If they screwed something up in the rebuild, let them take responsibility for fixing it.

 

One would have to try really hard to screw up a set of modern rings in a rebuilt motor, in the half dozen motors I've built the rings are essentially seated before the heads are bolted on, moly rings are that good. Old style chrome rings less so.

I doubt very much you have a ring problem.. best advice so far is to pull the plugs on the offending side and check for wetness. its likely to be an intake gasket.

how much did this shop charge for this motor and what is its advertised power level?

 

Try to retorque the intake manifold when the engine is cold. You may want to pull the pvc hose and see if there is any oil inside of it.