crankcase explosions,, hmmm
i got a story!
many years ago, back in my youth hotrod days and after getting numerous tickets for speeding
i found myself unable to afford high risk insurance on a new el camino that i had just bought,,, (not a hotrod, just a nice car)
so i sold the elcamino and bought for cash
a little 67 chevy nova ss with a 327 and 4 on the floor,,, pretty fast and i could buy plain old liability for it.
well the previous owner had put a highrise and holley,, headers and a set of M/T valve covers with the nice twist off breathers
the highrise also had the old style oil fill pipe common on the old smallblocks as well with the push on breather that had "oil"
embossed in the top of it.. nice steel unit, with wire wool inside.
well one day i stopped at my favorite station and the kid comes out to fill me, and asked if i needed my oil checked,, i said sure!
he did and allowed how it was a quart low
so i told him to put in a quart,, he grabbed one of the old style quart can's and removed the valve cover breather
stuck the quart can down it one of those nifty units that was a pistol grip thing that had the funnel and can stabber all in one
he then dropped it over on the fenderwell which was a common thing to do to let it drain... but....
KABLOOOOOOOEEEEEY!
a huge exposion and lots of smoke,,,
smoke cleared and no kid!
i went around to find him and found him laying on his back out cold
with a big red mark right in the middle of his forehead
he came too and had a lump that was growing by the second with the mark "LIO" (the reverse of the standpipe filler cap!!)
when he dropped the filler funnel it inadvertantly hit the positive cable clamp on the battery and shot sparks down the valve cover...
and being a hotrod with a holley that always boils over down the intake when you park it , past the rings and into the crankcase
with the fumes of hot oil and gas the mix was perfect for a huge explosion.
he had a lump for about a week
and i had a car that every seal leaked oil from then on
i suspect every seal had been turned inside out!
i know it pushed out the valve cover gskts
looking back it was funny as hell,, at the time i thought he was dead!
bob g