Hypothetical SBC question

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Rickf

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What about removing the entire rod and use a hose clamp to hold the bearing caps in?
 

rt66paul

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A friend back in high school had an old Ford truck with a flat head, that sounded real lopey, but was weak. We tore it apart and found that someone had pulled a piston and cut up a suede jacket to use as gaskets on the pan. He had pulled 2 tappets from that cylinder, if I remember correctly. It ran, even on the highway.
 

Raider L

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I think it would run, but as been said, drive it slowly. With it being a little out of balance, you wouldn't know until you started driving it, I don't think it would be that bad. Yeah, leave the valves, push rods, unless it was a bent one, in that case take it out and lay it on a flat surface and take a hammer and tap it down. You could get it close enough, and leave the lifters in. Cut the rod down to the bearing and leave that in, it would be better as far as the weight is concerned. Heck, take the idea of the guy with the cut down tree limb for a piston, do that for the intake to block off the cylinder. Otherwise what are you going to weld in there?

I was reading something the other night where these guys took a 350 apart and one of the pistons fell apart in half. They didn't know how long it had been that way. Broke clean in half, the two pieces fell on the floor, and it was still running. Heck that's what a V6 is, is a 350 with the two back cylinders cut off. Of course not exactly the same, made that way but is a 350.
 

80BrownK10

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I mean at what cost though? That's a lot of work just to get home, of course depends on how far. If it's already junk and not worried about it I'd cut the connecting rod at the crank end and remove that from the crank, and maybe jb weld what's left of the piston and connecting rod to the cylinder wall then disconnect the spark plug and it should be able to go a good distance.

Of course the worry then would be, the other connecting rod on that journal moving around a bunch, but as long as your not revving it to the moon should last without too much harm, will have less of an imbalance instead of having a chunk on the crank. This would be the least amount of disassembly and fab I would think. Even if it does throw the other rod on that journal she'll still get you home, puttin it of course, as long as it doesn't window and lose all your oil lol.


There's so many variables, and luck.
If you pull 5he rod off the crank won't you not get oil to the other rods past that one since it would just squirt out?
 

80BrownK10

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Hose clamp and piece of leather or rubber.

Back n the 70-80s, a popular 4x4 magazine had a write who was this old guy. He had a Jeep and a dog and crazy stories about his off road lifestyle.
He did the most insane repairs to make it home. One story was about pulling a bad piston. He carved a tree branch to stuff the cylinder.
I am pretty sure that was four wheeler mag. There reprinting some of those stories each month if it's 5he same guy were thinking of.
 

K10farmtruck

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A small block will also run with only one head... lol
I mean we pulled a small block out of a demolition derby car that had ben revved to the moon and overheated than dropped it in a vehicle that you proceeded to daily with only gaskets and a timing chain and never thought anything of it.
 

PrairieDrifter

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I mean we pulled a small block out of a demolition derby car that had ben revved to the moon and overheated than dropped it in a vehicle that you proceeded to daily with only gaskets and a timing chain and never thought anything of it.
Also sat on the shop floor for over a year, and rodents proceeded to fill intake ports with the snacks of their choice lol
 

K10farmtruck

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Also sat on the shop floor for over a year, and rodents proceeded to fill intake ports with the snacks of their choice lol
Not to mention when we first picked it up the oil pan had a massive hole in it so who knows what sort of abuse it suffered even before the demo derby.
 

PrairieDrifter

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Not to mention when we first picked it up the oil pan had a massive hole in it so who knows what sort of abuse it suffered even before the demo derby.
That was my exact thought also, we don't even know the history before that lol. Small block Chevy don't give a **** lol
 

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Check out the Pontiac Trophy-4 engines that could be had in 61-63 Tempests. It was half of a 389 v8.
 

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I am pretty sure that was four wheeler mag. There reprinting some of those stories each month if it's 5he same guy were thinking of.
Granville King was the author, IIRC. Either 4 Wheeler or 4 Wheel and Off Road mag. Used to subscribe to both I high school. You remember when there was no interweb and you actually had to look at books and magazines for info?
 

80BrownK10

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Granville King was the author, IIRC. Either 4 Wheeler or 4 Wheel and Off Road mag. Used to subscribe to both I high school. You remember when there was no interweb and you actually had to look at books and magazines for info?
Oh yea. That and Trucks on TNN. Used to look forward to that show!
 

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