Rebuild or replace motor in my 64 air coupe?
 

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Hello , last fall something went very bad in my 64 coupe. I was going to do an oil change. I thought I would add a little marvel mystery oil to do a clean out before the change. I added about 8 oz. I took a little ride to my fathers house. After leaving on way back to my garage a bad knock occurred. It sounded low on the passenger side. Oil pressure read 70 lbs. engine got hot. I shut it down. Sounded like a rod bearing or piston ring. I don’t know. A friend towed me back to the garage with a tow strap and his new four Jeep.
It is now sitting on the lift at my garage. I haven’t started on it yet. No heat and garage.
What would you do? Pull the motor and replace it with a crate motor. Pull the motor and rebuild it and reinstall. Car is a matching number 1964 air coupe with nice frame. Decent body. Driver paint. Some one added the third tail light and removed emblems. I just added new carpet last year. I would keep motor.

I would rebuild it after testing block and heads for cracks. Matching blocks are rare, and the knock from overhearing can sound like a rod.
I was driving my fresh 365/327 when it started to knock. I threw a fan belt and my sender wire was not on because I had the wrong sender. That was MANY years ago.

Dom

I would not even think about pulling the engine until you get a good set of eyes and ears on it.

If it is in need of any work, overhaul the original in every case. The noise may not be terminal.

You will devalue the car with a replacement mill on top of the cost of buying it. No brainer — have the engine looked at and overhauled If needed.

I plan on dropping inspection plate first.

I would have to do a little diagnosis before I opted to pull and rebuild. However, if you just want more get up and go, get a crate engine that suits you. Put the original engine in the crate the new engine comes in for when you are ready to sell. I would probably go that route; install a mild 383 with aluminum top end.

There is no inspection plate to drop. Have someone take a look that knows what he's looking at and listening to. Preferably, someone that wouldn't benefit monetarily from his findings.

Do not even think of starting the engine again. You already know it's got a problem but it is intact. Pull it and rebuild it.

What I'd do too.

There is no question on this, rebuild the original numbers matching motor, and make sure they do not deck the block, that would remove the numbers on the stamp pad, and lose the value an original numbers matching motor adds to the cars.

:iagree:

:yesnod: I agree with the others there is only one original "born with" engine. Save it. Plus you may actually save money by rebuilding it as opposed to buying a crate motor.

I still think it might be a good idea to find out where the noise is coming from before recommending the OP just blindly rush out and spend thousands on a rebuild that may not be needed at all. based on what little bit of vague information he provided.

Bad knock, 70 lbs oil pressure and hot engine somehow doesn't seem related or that there will be an eminent explosion.that scatters internal engine parts all over the engine bay.

Might be best to slow down and proceed with a little common sense. There could be a serious problem but just snatching the engine out based on what has been reported doesn't seem like the prudent thing to do.

Agreed with the others to have someone to look at it and rebuild the original instead of buying a new engine.

Pull the pan and see what you can see.

I had the same thing happen but my engine only had 200 miles on it. Heard a knock but had good oil pressure it was number one rod bearing. It was a 327 but I decided to build something with some real power. I have the recipe for a killer 383 and cheaper then you can buy a crate engine. I posted a thread on it I'll try and post it on yours if you would like. If your anything like me a 327 just won't cut it

Cars only have the original engine once in their life. Do you know how many C2 owners wish they had or could find their original matching number engine? Rebuild the original engine. Also while you have it out restore your engine bay and service or replace the hard to get to air conditioning parts.

An original-engined AC coupe - no question, save the original engine.

Agree with what others have said: Do not start it, but have a professional look at it. You might just get lucky and it's nothing more than a broken pulley. It happens.

If the engine has been damaged, hopefully it's not too far gone to save (smart that you didn't force driving it home). Blocks can be sleeved, and rotating assemblies replaced.

Either have the engine rebuilt, if damaged, or store it aside, replacing it with a crate engine to enjoy driving it, while preserving the oem engine.

Whatever you do, don't let some hack get their hands on it. An original born-with engine adds several thousands to the value of your car.

I plan on dropping oil pan first. To see what I can see. Plan on pulling engine and A/c myself. That way I can take note how everything goes back together. Detail engine bay while it’s out. I’ll post what I find. I need to move frame of other project to house first. Another car is sitting on the ramps to my lift. I need more room and time.

why do you need to pull the AC?