Fresh rebuild, oil everywhere

Paul Merolla · 06-04-2014, 12:18 AM

Fired up my fresh 327 on Saturday to break in the cam, and after a minute or two at 2k rpm it started belching smoke. Ran it for 5 minutes till it got to 195 or so and shut it off. Let it cool, fired it again for another 5 minutes and it smoked bad the whole time. Plugs were all oily and even the bottom of the carb was dripping oil, so I pulled the intake thinking it wasn't sealed up. Tried thicker gaskets, but couldn't get the bolts started so I put it back together with new .060 gaskets and sealer. This is the same block, intake, and heads I ran last year with no problems, by the way. Fired it again, same thing.
Spoke to the experienced (and record-setting) racer / builder that's been guiding me with this build, and he's convinced that it's the valve seals. I will admit - I reused the rubber PC seals that were on the heads when I bought the engine because, hey, they didn't leak before!
So he recommended Teflon, as they were the only ones that don't leak on his engines with the high vacuum produced by the latest ring technology. I ordered them Sunday from Jeg's and got them today. I swear, these things were made for a freakin' XR80 Honda they're so tight. I ruined 5 before I quit, and I'm not even convinced that that much oil could get sucked through the guides. With the first Midwest Classracers event coming up this weekend, I need to get this fixed in a hurry...
So:
1. I don't think it could be a screwed up ring, or I'd have blowby...right? I was running it with no PCVs or breathers in the valve covers, just open holes, and plugged the vacuum port on the carb. Didn't see anything coming out of the holes.
2. Are there better valve seals than these pieces of *&^*%$# ?
You know, that can be installed by mere mortals?
3. Any other ideas I'm missing?
This is my first stocker engine, but not my first small block. It's kicked my *** the whole way, and now I can see why so many people just write a check!
Here's a smoke-filled video:
https://flic.kr/p/nPm1mC

06-04-2014, 12:18 AM	#1
Paul Merolla Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Papillion, NE Posts: 596 Likes: 195 Liked 232 Times in 57 Posts	Fresh rebuild, oil everywhere Fired up my fresh 327 on Saturday to break in the cam, and after a minute or two at 2k rpm it started belching smoke. Ran it for 5 minutes till it got to 195 or so and shut it off. Let it cool, fired it again for another 5 minutes and it smoked bad the whole time. Plugs were all oily and even the bottom of the carb was dripping oil, so I pulled the intake thinking it wasn't sealed up. Tried thicker gaskets, but couldn't get the bolts started so I put it back together with new .060 gaskets and sealer. This is the same block, intake, and heads I ran last year with no problems, by the way. Fired it again, same thing. Spoke to the experienced (and record-setting) racer / builder that's been guiding me with this build, and he's convinced that it's the valve seals. I will admit - I reused the rubber PC seals that were on the heads when I bought the engine because, hey, they didn't leak before! So he recommended Teflon, as they were the only ones that don't leak on his engines with the high vacuum produced by the latest ring technology. I ordered them Sunday from Jeg's and got them today. I swear, these things were made for a freakin' XR80 Honda they're so tight. I ruined 5 before I quit, and I'm not even convinced that that much oil could get sucked through the guides. With the first Midwest Classracers event coming up this weekend, I need to get this fixed in a hurry... So: 1. I don't think it could be a screwed up ring, or I'd have blowby...right? I was running it with no PCVs or breathers in the valve covers, just open holes, and plugged the vacuum port on the carb. Didn't see anything coming out of the holes. 2. Are there better valve seals than these pieces of &^%$# ? You know, that can be installed by mere mortals? 3. Any other ideas I'm missing? This is my first stocker engine, but not my first small block. It's kicked my *** the whole way, and now I can see why so many people just write a check! Here's a smoke-filled video: https://flic.kr/p/nPm1mC