Re: 304-->392

[jlandry@domain.elided (John A. Landry)]

As the putrid festering facial boil erupted, "CDesPlanques"
<adesp@domain.elided> yelled:

>My '77 has a 304 in it (I thought/was told, it was a 345).  A few pushrods jumped ship and were mangled.  I don't know why it
>happened.  Just happened when I started it.  All on one side( pass.) of the engine. Any Ideas?? What damage 

I'm not sure about this, but typically a valve(s) sticking could cause the
pushrods to jump out.  The valve sticks open and the lifter lowers allowing
excessive slack in the valve train.

>could I have done to the
>engine (more specifically the short block I may get new heads).  I intended to rebuild it, but then I saw a 

Sometimes there is little or no damage from the pushrods jumping out of the
rocker arms.  But besides simply replacing the pushrods, the cause of the
failure really needs to be determined.  At a minimum, I'd pull the head(s)
and do a valve job and replace the lifters.  That's probably all that's
needed to bring her back to life.  I the milage is pretty high on the
engine, you may wish to go ahead and do a complete rebuild.

>392 for sale in the
>paper.....hmmm....It is from a '73 pickup, does this engine have a EGR valve and the other '77 emissions equip. , or do I have to
>get a manifold from say a 345 that has an EGR valve?  Everything else it the same thought right? I know the water pump, etc. are the
>same, but will it have the double hump oil pan, or will mine from the 304 fit?

Chris,

Some things to consider when swapping those engines... That 392 is most
likely an "improved cooling" design, which means that you have to be
careful trying to swap parts to it from other "non-improved" cooling
engines.  Specifically, I don't think you can get away with swapping heads
between the two type of engines... someone correct me if I'm wrong.

It's possible that the 392 listed for sale would lack an EGR type manifold.
I bought a 4 barrel intake manifold from a V392 in a 73 pickup (original
engine) and it lacked EGR.  I suppose it depends on several factor whether
or not it has EGR.  The best thing to do is call and ask the seller.  If
it's not equipped with EGR, I don't believe you could simply swap one from
a 345, here's why; That 392 is designed to have engine coolant circulating
through a passageway in the intake manifold under the carburetor.  This
coolant flow heats the intake manifold and helps atomize the fuel more
thoroughly.  In an EGR engine, this coolant was replaced with exhaust gas,
some of which is ported back into the intake stream at certain times to
reduce emissions..  If you were to simply install an EGR intake manifold on
that non-EGR V392, you'd have engine coolant filling the EGR passageways,
some of which would surely enter the intake with disastrous results.  The
design of the heads are what control whether or not there is coolant or
exhaust gas flowing under the carb.  So it would be possible to swap proper
(as in improved / non-improved cooling) V392 heads between short blocks to
control this.

As to the oil pan thing... you could simply swap both the pump and pan to
get back to the same configuration you have now.

You should read the Digest FAQ at the Binder Bulletin website for more
information on all this compatibility stuff.  There's lots of information
there.

Regards,

John
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