348er in Switzerland

[Dä Huäbär]

Hi everybody

last year at this time , i visited St. Louis to inspect and buy a 58 Impala Coupe . it was an older frame off restauration and on the pics on the web , it looked very good . also on site it looked great . the paint and the chrome are in beautyfull shape . the bodywork was not welded and the underbody was only primed . the complet interior was renewed . the engine is running and i had a testdrive on the land of the seller . it drives , brakes and steers normal . on the lifting platform i saw a big bump in the right rocker and the powerglide was incontinent . all in all , a good car

after 3 monts the Impala arrived in Switzerland and I picked it up at the customs office . after an oilchange and brakefluidchange and different controls , i hit the road . together with my girlfriend , we take a few joyrides and after about 300 miles there were strange noises from the engine . since 30 years i restore old cars and i know this noises - connecting rod bearing damage

since i have another project in my garage , I put the Impala in my barn for the summer . in Octobre i took it in my workshop ( at my place of work ) , removed the engine and disassembled it completly .



more about that next time , Kurt

 

[Iowa 409 Guy]

Sucks that the engine needs attention so soon. Sounds like a sloppy job on assembly possibly.
What about the wall of pictures in your shop?

 

[Dä Huäbär]

We sales ambulances and firetrucks . The pics on the wall are all saled cars . Quasi the buisness hystorie

 

[Geary Trussell]

Keep us informed of your project and with pictures.

 

[409gang]

Wow its a good thing you shut that off when you did, hope you get that thing back together so you can enjoy that Beautiful 58!!!!

 

[Fuzz1957]

How about 58 pictures?

Fuzz

MAGA

 

[Dä Huäbär]

Maga

look at my introduction , there are pics from my car

Kurt

 

[Dä Huäbär]

on the outside the engine looked very good , but inside comes the nightmare . after the intake was away , i saw blocked cooling water ducts and from the left head runs water in the camvalley . on the waterleak it was a thick rustpampe on the inside of the block and i think , the water ran not only since yesterday . after the cam was removed , 2 tappets are only downwards to remove , because they were rusted down below . on the camshaft was 1 cam completly round . but for a 7 cylinder actually the car runned great





in the pan was a thick melange of dirt and small metalparts . the screen of the oilpump was almost completely stuck with dirt . i think that was the main problem , too little oil could be sucked in . he had oilpressure , so the light has gone out , but too little for more speed




after the connecting rod caps was removed , the disaster came on the light : from the 5 and 6 cylinder the big end of the crank was completly blue and the bearing shells are completely smashed . all bearing shells have very strong signs of wear . i think , the low oil pressure was over a long time , before i buyed the car

 

[Toms63SSQB]

Sorry for your loss, egad what a mess. I'm sure you will get plenty of help with the rebuild.

 

[63impalass409]

Man oh man I have never seen a crank look like that good thing you pulled it apart. Hope everything gets better for you on the rebuild.

 

[Geary Trussell]

Someone sold you a worn out engine sorry for the hack job.

 

[1964SuperStocker]

Never seen a black crank like that. Was that from the heat?

 

[Don Jacks]

Yes,one wasted crank there.

 

[Jim Sullivan]

Sorry for your troubles. Good luck with the rebuild.

 

[boxerdog]

Someone sold you a worn out engine sorry for the hack job.

It is really disgusting that someone would take advantage of a buyer like that. That thing is worse than worn out. At least Kurt seems like someone who will be able to make it right. I guess the old stories about car salesmen still apply.

 

[Don Jacks]

It won't be cheap but that engine needs to be torn completely [yes heads to]down and everything measured and corrected to correct specs for his intended use and available fuel.Yes someone saw him coming on that one.

 

[Fathead Racing]

I have quit a few 348 cranks and lots of parts for a 348 engine. To get the project off the ground I’ll donate a good crankshaft to your project just pay the shipping.

 

[63 dream'n]

I have quit a few 348 cranks and lots of parts for a 348 engine. To get the project off the ground I’ll donate a good crankshaft to your project just pay the shipping.

.......RAY!!!!!!!!!............I am embarrassed that someone took advantage of you here in the states...... but I guess there’s shysters everywhere in the world......

 

[32witha409]

Not to feed the problem but is that rust originating from a crack in the block? I hope not...

 

[Don Jacks]

I saw water stains from under the heads in one of the pictures.I suspect a lack of sealer on the head bolts.This could be the cause of the cam failure as well.