Helping JimT out with an inframe ...

[Rawze]

(08-14-2020 )Chamberpains Wrote:  Well I guess that starts to tell the story of this engine. Something has bothered me since the 1st couple tear down pics were posted. Mr Hagg said the head looked like it was replaced. You can see the exhaust side is all rusted and all the paint is gone except in the freeze plugs. Thats usually an indication of cheap nonoriginal paint being used or the it being cooked by a lot of abuse and heat. I also noticed what looked like paint runs on the valve cover. that is usually from some over ambitious lazy person trying to cover up shenanigans or a lazy attempt to make things look good. It could just be the flash and the angle though.

Combine that with new cam bearings and a wiped out cam at 570,000 miles.... this all starts to point to someone Frankensteining an engine together. Maybe a reman'd original head with reused cams? Was this truck demandated when purchased? Is it possible someone screwed with the actual mileage to sell it?

Not that any of this matters, if true. Its getting taken care of the right way now and should prove to be a great money maker afterwards. I just like to ponder and play a bit of a detective.

Actually, the head date stamping matches the engine. It is the original head. It just was not painted as well as it should have been on the passenger side.

(speculation) it likely didn't get a good coating on it went thru the paint booth during manufacture?. I could tell the head had never been off it when we pulled it too. -- Just the bearings and other things were messed with.

There are also subtle signs that maybe ceramic from the fuel pump went thru the engine at one point.

(more speculation) ...
My only guess is that it got sold by Useless-Express,.. next owner had it for a short time and got a ceramic plunger of death diag.. so someone cleand it up, new bearings (cam looks original or used) in head, and sold it again after the last guy failed his lease over it.