Building an engine is one of those things that you cannot rush.
Every little detail must be perfect.

 

if the pushrod wasnt in the cup, didnt it hold the valve open?

 

No sir. Solid roller. So your set it up with lash. Lifter cup is a bit unusual. Has a flat vs tapered too so the pushrod can sit on the ledge.

If this was a hydraulic with preload, youd be right.

 

i guess the step it was in wasnt as high as the flat in the pictures.
ive built more solid roller motors than hydraulic, if the pushrod was way up high you would have seen it when you had to set the lash with 5 turns instead of 1.
sucks though man, it happens to the best of us

 

Kinda what happened. Took a few more tubes than It shoulda. Here's a metal militia oil pan

 

Did you get a chance to check flow throw steam vent line before it let go? If you didnt maybe a good idea to check and maybe you can work that passage to open it up. These heads definitely run 35f hotter than my old ls3 heads

 

Why would these trickflow heads run hotter?

 

Yes I did. Had great flow at least at the rad cap.

In other news, I cannot get the cam out without the lifter comes out and I cannot get the lifter out without the cam comes out. So it is stuck good.

As much metal is everywhere there is no way the bearings are not toast. I poured glitter out of the filter. There was enough oil in there to make it liquid.

So it is going to need a very thorough cleaning.

 

Unsure exactly but maybe they dont flow as much coolant thru them as my last heads. The flow out of the steam vent line is far less than old heads

 

Can you turn the engine over to where the lifter is at max lift? Should be able to slide cam out then

 

There is more damage than what you originally thought...
Curious to see what you find once pulled apart.
Post some photos if you can.

 

This. Should be able to slide in a couple dowels to hold them up, no?

 

once a lifter spins, youre pretty screwed. do those lifters even move up and down in the bores? id guess they are wedged in there and you will need to figure a way to slide hammer them out or maybe beat them down enough that they free up?

 

No. I mean I could, but the lobe is badly scrubbed. The lifter will not go up at all.
All 15 of the lifter bores I can see are good. The one with the stick lifter is going to end up getting bushed I think.

 

 

That really sucks sir!

 

So, Chevelle offered to go through the bottom end for me, as I lack a few of the tools needed to do it properly, and I REALLY appreciate it sir!!!!

Got him the motor this weekend. Cool dude for sure. Needles everywhere, which I knew would be the case. Also he's saying the cam will likely have to be cut to come out, which I also pretty much knew. No way the bearings aren't trash at this point, but at least it'll be right. Gotta take care of a few other things on the car while it's torn down this far, but it'll be a much better car when done.

 

Chevelle sounds like a good guy.
That's quite a bit of damage.
All this because the pushrod wasn't in the cup properly?

 

Yes to all three. LOL.

The lifters do not have a tapered entry like you are used to seeing. Hey have a flat top with the cup in them. Pushrod ended up kind of in the corner on the ledge, against the side wall of the lifter.It was fine until the engine warmed up enough for the lash to open up and then the pushrod to bounce free. What did the damage is where it went. It got between the link bar and body of the lifter, which put it in a bind. That in turn broke the lifter bodies, allowing them to spin freely in the bores. Exhaust scraped sideways against the lobe until it knocked the wheel off altogether, which sent metal and needles everywhere.

I think RK was right in his earlier post. Not having the motor under the cowl would be awesome. Guess I should go get a nova or something Or a 1972 Pontiac LeMans wagon. Something that weights eight tons and needs a rudder.

 

What an immense amount of carnage for one oversight.
I guarantee you won't do that again.
So it looks like you will need a new camshaft also and a full rebuild.
A full clean up too.
Hopefully the lifter bores aren't damaged and still have the correct clearance.