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Brian,

That blows, in a manner of speaking,
glad you decided to check the engine
out, could have been somewhat of a
mess, later down the road, I used to
leave mine in for 2 or 3 seasons,
before opening it up and giving it
a look, now it comes out every year,
'cause I know something is going to
need replaced, resized, or freshened,
or replaced.

Don't have any parts for those big ole 440
engines, I just use the little stuff.
Ifi'n I did it would be yours.

Dave

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2-step harmonics

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Detonation like many of you said. With that much compression ratio it can do a lot of damage quick.

Have seen damage resulting in:

1. Cracked and broken cap and/or bolts.
2. cracked block bulk head.
3. blown or leaking head gasket.

Caused by:

1. To much compression.
2. Poor quality fuel. I think this is common.
3. Too much timing. Use only as much timing as you need. With the new efficient style cylinder heads 32 degrees is good. Shoot for that number.
4. Poorly designed plug wires or wires that short to one another or short to ground.
5. Wrong plugs.

Repair the damage as necessary. It's way more common than most people think and results in a lot of broken parts.

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Some things to consider for sure. I don't think the fuel is a problem, Sunoco Racing fuel 112 octane "blue". At 13.5:1, the compression is a bit high, but I wouldn't think it was was the lone culprit. Ignition timing was set at 38*, but when it was at 32*-34*, the car seemed like a dog off the line. And this is with a crank trigger & Milodon gear drive, timing was rock steady. Plu wires are MSD 8 mm, and about 1 1/2 years old . The plugs are Champions, but I can't remember the number.
Also, as Gary mentioned, the gear drive has crossed my mind, but the gears all look fine and the clearance is correct. Don't know anything else to check there.
If this engine had a detonation issue, what other signs would show? The only other issue I see is that the piston skirts seem to be scuffing more than I would like, but they are short skirts everything else looks good. Is it possible that the main cap just gave up? The other mains looked OK. Just trying to figure this one out.
If anyone has other suguestions, I'm willing to listen.
Thanks guys
Brian

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Detonation like many of you said. With that much compression ratio it can do a lot of damage quick.

Have seen damage resulting in:

1. Cracked and broken cap and/or bolts.
2. cracked block bulk head.
3. blown or leaking head gasket.

Caused by:

1. To much compression.
2. Poor quality fuel. I think this is common.
3. Too much timing. Use only as much timing as you need. With the new efficient style cylinder heads 32 degrees is good. Shoot for that number.
4. Poorly designed plug wires or wires that short to one another or short to ground.
5. Wrong plugs.

Repair the damage as necessary. It's way more common than most people think and results in a lot of broken parts.

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Some things to consider for sure. I don't think the fuel is a problem, Sunoco Racing fuel 112 octane "blue". At 13.5:1, the compression is a bit high, but I wouldn't think it was was the lone culprit. Ignition timing was set at 38*, but when it was at 32*-34*, the car seemed like a dog off the line. And this is with a crank trigger & Milodon gear drive, timing was rock steady. Plu wires are MSD 8 mm, and about 1 1/2 years old . The plugs are Champions, but I can't remember the number.
Also, as Gary mentioned, the gear drive has crossed my mind, but the gears all look fine and the clearance is correct. Don't know anything else to check there.
If this engine had a detonation issue, what other signs would show? The only other issue I see is that the piston skirts seem to be scuffing more than I would like, but they are short skirts everything else looks good. Is it possible that the main cap just gave up? The other mains looked OK. Just trying to figure this one out.
If anyone has other suguestions, I'm willing to listen.
Thanks guys
Brian

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One of the best things you can do is get on the web sight of the company who's bearings you are using ( and they all have them ). Most have some great picture displays of bearing failure analysis. Compare yours. Generally speaking ( and I'm no expert, but been there before), detonation shows up as little pieces of the surface of the bearing actualy missing - like little divits or specks gone from the bearings surface. It was some what common in early max wedge motors that ran 13.5:1, even though we had good fuel back then. If all looks pretty normal with everything, you could very well be right with " just a bad cap" that finally failed. Sure will pay to check everything carefully though - since you got a second chance.

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Detonation like many of you said. With that much compression ratio it can do a lot of damage quick.

Have seen damage resulting in:

1. Cracked and broken cap and/or bolts.
2. cracked block bulk head.
3. blown or leaking head gasket.

Caused by:

1. To much compression.
2. Poor quality fuel. I think this is common.
3. Too much timing. Use only as much timing as you need. With the new efficient style cylinder heads 32 degrees is good. Shoot for that number.
4. Poorly designed plug wires or wires that short to one another or short to ground.
5. Wrong plugs.

Repair the damage as necessary. It's way more common than most people think and results in a lot of broken parts.

---

Some things to consider for sure. I don't think the fuel is a problem, Sunoco Racing fuel 112 octane "blue". At 13.5:1, the compression is a bit high, but I wouldn't think it was was the lone culprit. Ignition timing was set at 38*, but when it was at 32*-34*, the car seemed like a dog off the line. And this is with a crank trigger & Milodon gear drive, timing was rock steady. Plu wires are MSD 8 mm, and about 1 1/2 years old . The plugs are Champions, but I can't remember the number.
Also, as Gary mentioned, the gear drive has crossed my mind, but the gears all look fine and the clearance is correct. Don't know anything else to check there.
If this engine had a detonation issue, what other signs would show? The only other issue I see is that the piston skirts seem to be scuffing more than I would like, but they are short skirts everything else looks good. Is it possible that the main cap just gave up? The other mains looked OK. Just trying to figure this one out.
If anyone has other suguestions, I'm willing to listen.
Thanks guys
Brian

---

One of the best things you can do is get on the web sight of the company who's bearings you are using ( and they all have them ). Most have some great picture displays of bearing failure analysis. Compare yours. Generally speaking ( and I'm no expert, but been there before), detonation shows up as little pieces of the surface of the bearing actualy missing - like little divits or specks gone from the bearings surface. It was some what common in early max wedge motors that ran 13.5:1, even though we had good fuel back then. If all looks pretty normal with everything, you could very well be right with " just a bad cap" that finally failed. Sure will pay to check everything carefully though - since you got a second chance.

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