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Why the engine wont run

Paul_G

Paul_G

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I bought this car this week. A 73 Rallye big block, 440 NOM, 4 speed, buckets, console, A/C. The seller has been restoring it for 2 years. He had the freshly rebuilt engine running he says, then days later it would not run. I went through the ignition, wiring, fuel, and carb. No reason this engine should not fire off. Except when I found this.
20210616-175336-03.jpg


199157653-4614497108580216-5357740520032913117-n.jpg
 
Oh no.... some times bad things happen to good cars. Just the intake pushrods bent?
 
Personally I don't think it ever ran. Please tell me one thing that can happen to fold the pushrods like that. Something horribly wrong with that picture.
 
Stale gas, seized intake valves, and then bent the pushrods?!? Had a customer that bent all of the intake pushrods due to this exact thing. I had to use a propane torch to melt the gum due to the stale gas just to remove the valves from the heads.
 
Last edited:
I had that happen to me on a fresh start-up.
I pumped up the lifters in the box during the build (like I have always done) and whamo, all intakes bent when I attempted to start it.
It was a Pontiac 301 turbo motor.
Overpumped (antipump style) lifters.
 
69Bee said:
Stale gas, seized intake valves, and then bent the pushrods?!? Had a customer that bent all of the intake pushrods due to this exact thing. I had to use the propane torch just to melt the gum from the stale gas just to remove the valves from the heads.
Click to expand...
That's fine, the statement was it ran and days later it didn't. What 2 years later, 2 months later, days, I don't think so.
 
High oil pressure + anti pump up style lifter + RPM =
Just a guess at this point--watching thread.
 
Yep, kind of funny isnt it. He told me he did the cam break in and all was well. Idles very nice. Then a few days later he went to start it and nothing, it wont fire off. He gave me a box with 2 distributers, 3 ignition coils, 3 ignition modules, a new set of plug wires besides the new set on the engine. And none of it made the engine run.

So, either he is not telling the truth, or something happened in those few days he is unaware of. like a mischievous son or grandson went out to hear pops car rev to high heaven while pops was not home, till it bent a bunch of pushrods. He spent a lot of $$ trying to fix it. Seems to me if he was there when it failed he would know it was internal. Or maybe not?
 
Hey....tell us more about the truck!

000 dodge (2).jpg


It reminds me of mine!

Ram A 2 (2).jpg
 
Lots O spare parts for something that supposedly was running. More likely looking for why it wouldn't run. Just say'n.
Cam a couple teeth off?
 
That's a nice looking car. Hope you got a good deal since it didn't run.
 
I wonder why he spent money on all the new ignition parts without pulling a valve cover ?
Proof is in the pic, but I dont think paul_ g got the complete story from the guy.
Car looks nice, just curious, what kind of rockers and springs , ect is on it ?
 
Car looks good!

I’ll be curious what you find out too!
 
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