'54 Corvette, Blue Flame Six. Just rebuilt, stock.
Engine builder said to drive it a little and bring it back for a final valve adjustment. Been a little cold, so the first drive was only about 20 miles. Saturday I take it out, everything seems good so I go out on the interstate. About 12 miles into this adventure, I notice oil pressure isn't as high as usual, its just above 30psi at 3000RPM. Keep an eye on oil pressure. It slowly drops over the next few miles. By the time I get off six miles later (having slowed down and prayed pressure wouldn't go away altogether before the next exit), pressure is below 15psi. Get off, drive over the overpass, shut off engine and coast into the gas station. By the time I shut down, pressure is barely showing on the gauge, though it does drop on shutdown. Nice rattle too. Coast into gas station. In the last 10 feet of the coast, coolant starts blowing out the overflow line. Maybe a quart or so blows out. Temp gauge never climbed above 190 or so, but it is a Bourden (sp?) tube type, accuracy unknown. Smoke coming from the vents on the valve cover.
Checked oil before leaving home. Checked oil after disaster. Clean and full both times. No coolant in the oil, still looks new.
Now the thing is sitting in the garage, and still smells really bad two days later. Burned oil smell?
What went wrong?
Did the oil pump fail? If so, do they die slowly over several minutes like that?
Engine builder said to drive it a little and bring it back for a final valve adjustment. Been a little cold, so the first drive was only about 20 miles. Saturday I take it out, everything seems good so I go out on the interstate. About 12 miles into this adventure, I notice oil pressure isn't as high as usual, its just above 30psi at 3000RPM. Keep an eye on oil pressure. It slowly drops over the next few miles. By the time I get off six miles later (having slowed down and prayed pressure wouldn't go away altogether before the next exit), pressure is below 15psi. Get off, drive over the overpass, shut off engine and coast into the gas station. By the time I shut down, pressure is barely showing on the gauge, though it does drop on shutdown. Nice rattle too. Coast into gas station. In the last 10 feet of the coast, coolant starts blowing out the overflow line. Maybe a quart or so blows out. Temp gauge never climbed above 190 or so, but it is a Bourden (sp?) tube type, accuracy unknown. Smoke coming from the vents on the valve cover.
Checked oil before leaving home. Checked oil after disaster. Clean and full both times. No coolant in the oil, still looks new.
Now the thing is sitting in the garage, and still smells really bad two days later. Burned oil smell?
What went wrong?
Did the oil pump fail? If so, do they die slowly over several minutes like that?
Comment