Distrubtor raised to high?

[dalekerr]

I took my 67 327 to a local old school mechanic  to change the oil pan gasket, check the rear seal and stop a transmission leak, Muncie. I also asked him to adjust the valves.

When I picked it up, he said he took care of the leaks and it was also leaking at the distrubtor. He claimed he fixed all the leaks also replaced the rear seal.

Well the passenger side valve were now ticking? I took it back to him to check the rockers again.

Well the rear seal continued to leak and the rockers ticked. So I took it to another mechanic. He pulled the oil pan, found metal in the pan and the rear seal in backwards. Then pulled the valve covers and found very little oil coming to the passenger side  rockers? He thought I had a collapsed hydraulic lifter or another issue. Next he pulled the distributor and found six gaskets stacked  on it?

Raising the distrubtor over 1/4 inch. He replaced the lifters and put it back together. Removed all but one gasket on the dust.  We now had oil like we needed to the rockers

I have now driven the car about 20 miles, the oil pressure now goes to zero while idling and the motor is starting to sound like a deseil. Afraid to drive it anymore?

Could the distrubtor being raised have cut off the oil to the lifters and main bearings?

Sorry so long. Note my oil pressure has dropped from 60 cold to 40 psi and goes to zero after hot and idling.



Apparently I drove the car about 200 miles with very little oil coming to the

[jvb6648]

Distributor drives the oil pump. If the distributor wasn't down all the way it means the distributor was not engaging the slot on the oil pump shaft. When you lift the dist. out as it separates from the cam gear it will rotate the oil pump shaft. That old school mechanic probably marked the rotor position and put it back in to the mark without moving the oil pump shaft back. The oil pump was probably turning by friction from the bottom of dist. gear. The engine was starved of oil.

[Emo1956]

I wouldn't drive it again and pull the motor.More then likely the bearing have starved for oil and there is to much clearance in the bearing.

[jvb6648]

If metal was found in the pan it's probably from the crankshaft. Don't know why some bearing caps weren't pulled to check bearings and journals. Looks like engine out, crank out and to a machine shop to see if it can be saved. The diesel sound is likely knocking from loose now trashed bearings.

[JKZ27]

X3 (don't run it anymore)
Remove and disassemble the engine and see how bad it is.
Is it the original 327? 210hp or 275hp?

[JohnSlack]

As an engine builder for many years, trust me. Stop the train. Pull the motor and go through it. Don't go back to that old school guy, he'll just tell you it was your fault and he will learn nothing. Move forward.
John

[bcmiller]

Yep, engine needs to be torn down and checked over completely. Sorry.

[crossboss]

Sorry to hear about the engine and resulting so called 'mechanics' botch job. Don't attempt to start it again, as you may cause even more severe damage. I agree, pull the engine and take it to a reputable machine shop/mechanic. Keep us posted.

[dalekerr]

Thanks for the reply’s. I took the car to a machine shop today. They are going to pull the motor and see if it can be rebuilt again, the motor had about 2k miles on it!

If it can be rebuilt they are going to change the crankshaft to a 350 crank the motor is an ma 210 horsepower. The heads had been changed to double hump, with headers and a four barrel carb.

From what I researched it looks like raising the distributor cuts of the oil to the cam, lifters and main bearings. There is a grove on the distributor that lets oil pass to these areas.

[Charley]

Anybody that puts 6 gaskets on the dist. is nowhere close to being a mechanic. He needed all those gaskets because the dist was not dropped down all the way to engage the oil pump.

[rsms]

You might want to question your machine shop as a 1967 327 has a small journal crankshaft.  I'm unaware of any small journal 350's 

[crossboss]

You might want to question your machine shop as a 1967 327 has a small journal crankshaft.  I'm unaware of any small journal 350's

+1.

[dalekerr]

The research if have done shows the 327 small journal can be converted to a 350 by either milling the block for a large journal crank or taking a large journal crank and milling it down to a small journal. The machine shop that is doing the job assured me they have done this numerous times with no issues.

If I am being led astray please correct me. I will not be racing this car, mainly cruising.

Thanks in advance.

[z28z11]

Why not locate a forged 283 crank and build yourself a 302 ?

Nothing like a 3.00" stroke to wake up the neighbors - rod  lengths are good, just use the 302 piston for pin height.

Can't help the obsession with with Z motors -

Regards,
Steve

[crossboss]

The research if have done shows the 327 small journal can be converted to a 350 by either milling the block for a large journal crank or taking a large journal crank and milling it down to a small journal. The machine shop that is doing the job assured me they have done this numerous times with no issues.

If I am being led astray please correct me. I will not be racing this car, mainly cruising.

Thanks in advance.

My worthless two cents…
I would not machine your blocks small journals to fit the larger 350 crank. That said, IF you are looking to increase the cubic inches, purchase a good stroker crankshaft kit instead. This way you are not doing harm to the original engine. Just me...