My 327, which has about 2,700 miles on it, has been using oil since it was built. I have been communicating with the engine builder about it since it's been built and he has suggested various things to do and none have solved the problem. For a while he was telling me the rings needed to seat but that should have occurred long ago. He offered no more suggestions so I asked had another engine builder to help me figure out what is wrong. He pulled off one of the heads yesterday to see if oil was getting past the valves and it's not. However, he said it looked to him that whoever built the engine did not do a good job boring and honing the cylinders and he asked me to come take a look. I did last night. All the cylinder walls have what appears to be fine, uniform grooves in them. Also, you can feel ridges on the cylinder walls when you run your fingernail over them. He showed the spark plugs and how they had oil on them which suggested to him that oil is getting past the rings.

The guy who initially rebuilt the engine told me the block was 60 over when I brought it to him. I did not know that and he didn't say anything about needing a new block before rebuilding it. The engine builder who is taking it apart to figure out what's wrong showed me with a gauge, last night, that the block was honed out to 63 over. He said said the block is no longer usable as he does not like to go beyond 60 over and it's now 63 over with rough cylinder walls.

Is there a performance reason for not making cylinder walls smooth?

Is it possible that when he honed it out to 63 over he decided he better not take any more off so he just left them kind of rough?

Should the guy who rebuilt have told me that since the 60 over block needed honing it should not be used? At the time I was a novice with this stuff and I still don't have the skills, or time, to build an engine.

Tony

First that sucks, sounds like you got scammed. I know some BBC will go 70 over with no worries. So this might be an option for you, post your block casting number and someone with more SBC experience will point in the right direction.

Also, you can feel ridges on the cylinder walls when you run your fingernail over them.
If you can catch your fingernail, the cylinder walls are not smooth enough. If you mean there's a ridge at the TOP of the cylinder, your bores are tapered. .007 taper is the maximum allowed for any hope of cylinder sealing; and even then it better be Grandma's grocery-getter engine not one that's expected to work for a living.

Is there a performance reason for not making cylinder walls smooth?
Depends on your definition of "smooth". At the microscopic level, a proper cylinder wall finish will have considerable--but controlled--roughness. But nothing you'd catch your fingernail on--it just isn't a mirror-polished surface.

Sounds like you need a new block; the question will be whether you have it punched .060 so you can re-use the pistons you have. Are they worth saving?

Can you get a refund from the bozo who honed the block?

My 327, which has about 2,700 miles on it, has been using oil since it was built. I have been communicating with the engine builder about it since it's been built and he has suggested various things to do and none have solved the problem. For a while he was telling me the rings needed to seat but that should have occurred long ago. He offered no more suggestions so I asked had another engine builder to help me figure out what is wrong. He pulled off one of the heads yesterday to see if oil was getting past the valves and it's not. However, he said it looked to him that whoever built the engine did not do a good job boring and honing the cylinders and he asked me to come take a look. I did last night. All the cylinder walls have what appears to be fine, uniform grooves in them. Also, you can feel ridges on the cylinder walls when you run your fingernail over them. He showed the spark plugs and how they had oil on them which suggested to him that oil is getting past the rings.

The guy who initially rebuilt the engine told me the block was 60 over when I brought it to him. I did not know that and he didn't say anything about needing a new block before rebuilding it. The engine builder who is taking it apart to figure out what's wrong showed me with a gauge, last night, that the block was honed out to 63 over. He said said the block is no longer usable as he does not like to go beyond 60 over and it's now 63 over with rough cylinder walls.

Is there a performance reason for not making cylinder walls smooth?

Is it possible that when he honed it out to 63 over he decided he better not take any more off so he just left them kind of rough?

Should the guy who rebuilt have told me that since the 60 over block needed honing it should not be used? At the time I was a novice with this stuff and I still don't have the skills, or time, to build an engine.

Tony

Is it grooved on cylinders #2 and #4 bad?? Its a small journal block?? Can you post photo's of it please??

Pistons??

B/c stock forged pistons can go what is it??, .004" to .005" over fine.

Imho, I'd dingle-berry ball hone her, then install a cheap set of top moly rings and go!!

Oh, how much oil??

My old junk301 leaked and burnt a heck of a bunch of oil, BUT did it run once I blew the plugs clean up top!!

pdq67

Another thing to look at, is this an older block with the road draft tube? did you run a PCV setup on it?

Thanks for the comments, guys.

Based on what I now know I will need a new block. The guy who tore it done for me says it does not make a lot of sense to start with a new block and bore it .060 because there isn't any place to go after that. Seems to make sense.

It has forged pistons in it.

I have yet to hear back from the guy who honed the block and I wonder if I will.

There is a PVC set up and the engine builder suggested we check to see if that caused the oil use so I had a guy put a baffle inside the valve cover. Didn't make much difference.

It uses about between 1/2 a quart and a quart every 200 miles.

The car is in the shop now so I can not post a photo or give you the block number. I believe it's a large journal block.

Tony

you can have it sonic tested to see if there is enough to bore it again, I know that they can take some 454 blocks to .100 over, not sure about 327's