Ineptitude01 Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 So a while ago, I drove up to the Marin headlands and bought myself a 1981 L28ET long block. It was a confirmed blown engine, and I probably should have waited and found myself one with a crank willing to turn... but it was cheap, and I just went right on ahead. My hope is that it may one day form the basis for an engine build to swap out my 1982 ZX's NA block. I've recently had a chance to get some good work done on the whole car, and I blew the dust off the valve cover and cracked her open. Now... the problem is this: I finally got around to taking the P90 off (which, mercifully, was pristine, and if nothing else will have made the purchase worth it) and taking a look at the pistons. Aside from a generally 'pleasing' aroma of burnt death, and the compulsory carbon deposits... I discovered that the pistons were arranged somewhat... oddly. As in, piston number one was all the way at the top of its travel... and really... nothing else was. In fact, the rest of them are all kind of... erm... down. I'm not quite sure what to think. The story the guy told me when I bought the engine was something along the lines of "Yeah dude, it was like, making this 'clangclangclang' noise, so I thought I'd pull off at a gas station and check it out, but it kept getting louder and louder until it went like 'BANG' (and this point he demonstrated by whacking his fender with a breaker bar; I winced)". This guy also was running 550cc RX-7 injectors and an aftermarket fuel pressure regulator (the kind of chrome crap you see on eBay for $5 advertised for Honda Civics). No tune of any kind. Of course, the turbo (stock T3) was DONE, having long since been beaten to scrap. Let's just say that I could measure the shaft play without tools. With this strong evidence of the PO's mechanical aptitude, I'm vaguely mortified that I'm going to put this up on the ol' engine stand and discover that one of the rods has made a desperate bid for freedom and ended up halfway through its cylinder sleeve. I don't have any pictures of the arrangement right now, but if anyone is interested I can go out tomorrow morning and snap one. Meanwhile, if anyone has any thoughts as to what I might expect from this crazy situation, I'd love to hear them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islanddozer Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 if you got the p90 head with that you did ok. Forget about that f54 block. Take oil pan, oil cooler lines, intake and exhaust manis, timing cover, oil pump, dizzy, crank pulley, detonation sensor and crank position sensor. Build up your block with your salvaged parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Please post pictures of the block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineptitude01 Posted April 18, 2009 Author Share Posted April 18, 2009 Wow, I totally forgot that I meant to post pictures. Umm... Well, like I said in the first post. It just seems a little weird, and I'm not sure what was done to this poor block. My interest in it has kinda been renewed, since I just got a full options 82 Turbo for $300, and I'd love to be able to build a new motor out of the car, and still be able to move it around. Anyways, here's yon blockie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4xwellmurd3r Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 wth all the other pistons look like they're EVEN with each other. is that possible with our engines? oh except the one that looks like it made a leap of faith and smashed into the head Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 is that possible with our engines? If the rods are not connected to the crank or the crank is no longer a crank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hughdogz Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 I'd say #'s 1&3 pistons are Ghandi. It looks like the pistons melted and chunks broke off... How do the valves and valve seats look? Are the 1&3 and the combustion chambers messed up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4xwellmurd3r Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 #5 looks like it blew a hole into the top Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatBlack Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Geez. Have you got the pan off yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineptitude01 Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 How do the valves and valve seats look? Are the 1&3 and the combustion chambers messed up? The head looked perfect, which was kind of confusing. I can get a picture of the underside of it, if you'd like to see. I guess I should get it off to the machine shop and have those guys take a look at it. #5 looks like it blew a hole into the top Ah, that's my bad. The camera angle wasn't super great, and that's just a pool of ATF. My buddy and I were using the ol' 'what's getting by these guys' trick. Mostly the pistons are just coated in thick layers of carbon gunk. And for what it's worth, the ATF just... disappeared when we poured it on top of the pistons. Some took longer than others, but for the life of me I can't remember which. Then again, I can't say I exactly expected that the rings would be okay, given the general state of things. Geez. Have you got the pan off yet? I've got my dad's Subaru engine on my only stand right now. Hopefully once that's off there, I can put this guy up there. He's just rolling around on a creeper and some wood blocks at the moment. I'm not really optimistic about what I'm gonna find in there, but... I AM curious. Hah, I guess the moral is "when you buy a blown engine, make sure you know just how blown it is." This has gotta be the first case I've really seen of someone ruining a stock L28 so badly. Once I've got the pan off and taken a look in there, I'll have pictures and tales of death and glory for you all. If anyone wants pictures of anything else, like the head, I can get 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiCowboy Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 I would say that engine was more like Nuked! Did the guy you bought the engine from have any tools other then different size hammers? From the looks of it, he didn't. Too bad you didn't get a pic of him so it could be used as a poster supporting birth control and abortion! Another example that society is experiencing an increase of gene pool drought victims. Good luck on rebuild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineptitude01 Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 Alright, everyone. The moment of truth is at hand. I just got back inside, and... well... I'm upset that anyone could do this to ANY engine, much less an L28. For one thing, L28s are TOUGH engines. And for another, it's not like the overall number of blocks around is increasing. But the previous owner... just... RUINED this poor engine. And now a little peek at cylinder 5 for Max. My money is on 6 being the problem child, though. Couldn't tell you why... So uh... as you can see... When it comes to connecting rods, this particular block just wasn't having any of that. What's left of the bearing was a few paper thin scraps in the cylinder bore, and a bunch of chaff in the bottom of the oil pan. I'm interested to hear anyone's thoughts, comments, questions, concerns, thoughts or issues regarding my new 200lb paperweight. Basically, I'm trying to figure out what to do with this now. There's a little demon on my shoulder whispering 'stroker', but I've kinda got my work cut out for me with all these Subarus and Hondas and Z's all over the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Dude, just start fresh. L28 blocks arent really hard to find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatBlack Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Tragic. In Baton Rouge we got a 78 parts car that had a Holley 750 on an L28 that had sent cyl 4's rod through the intake side of the block, and we were very surprised. I suppose he lost oil pressure. Good luck on the project, you'll find another one I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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