How many miles on your engine?

[Midlife]

Back when I was a wee lad (before dirt was invented), my father instilled in me a number of pearls of wisdom. Some were: never work on brakes yourself---leave that to experts as it is a safety item; cars nowadays (mid-60's) were too complex to really work on; but one that left the biggest impression upon me was that no engine of that period (mid-60's) would last more than 60,000 miles.

Midlife is now at 191,xxx miles with one major overhaul at about 160k.

What sort of life has your engine been able to achieve?

 

[Anonymous]

I have around 3,000 miles since the resto was finished in 05 and I rebuilt the engine this past April! Course, it spends most of its time in the higher rpm range on track.
What's really showing the wear is the paint, especially up front and behind the tires...battle scars galore.

Work on the brakes before every track day, about 5-8 times a year.

 

[Starfury]

My motor has about 30k mi on it since the rebuild in '03. It had one prior (who knows when), and to my knowledge is the original block, which means it has 217k mi on it.

I'll work on brakes, but only because I'm confident enough that I can do it without screwing up. If you're not confident, it's not worth the risk.

 

[tarafied1]

my dad ran a 69 Torino 215K of HARD miles before it broke a piston skirt. Other than that he had to change the timing chain once. The bottom end had never been apart until the piston broke. We rebuilt the engine which is now in his 66 Mustang and he has put 80K + on it since the rebuild in 1983. No mechanical failures yet!

 

[AzPete]

Back in the day......that was all that was expected from a engine. I think it had to do with selling replacement new cars too. With the better machining, better quality parts, and better lubricants, engines will go further than our parents would have expected.

My Dad had a '72 F100 with a 302/auto. It first broke at 165,000 or somewhere in that area. Broke a crank, ruined the block. It burnt no oil, had no leaks, and was cruising at 75mph with a loaded trailer when it stopped. I pulled the heads for another 302 in a Torino, installed with no work done to them. Put a new 302 in the truck and sold the truck at 225,000 or so miles on it.

At 30 miles per week, you have no worry of wearing it out in your lifetime......

 

[lethal289]

Since we are on trucks, My brother has a 93 F250, I was out with him this weekend and took a look, it just turned over to 359,000. :yikes Its a diesel, but damn its been a good truck for a long long time.

 

[jims6t6]

245,000 on the 66 been overhauled twice. the first time at 95,000, not because it needed it but it was expected to need it. Once inside really did not need it. The other was at around 200,000 miles. Ran real well but had a peck in it and could not get it smogged in CA. Now has another 45000 on that rebuild.

 

[DEL65]

My 65's motor has appx. 100K original miles and has never been apart. Although it's getting tired, it still runs great.

 

[SAC69]

Mine's at approx 115,000, and never been apart except for the intake/carb, exhaust and ignition.

 

[garner67]

I have no idea how many miles my car has, but the new engine only has about 2,000 miles.

 

[Fast68back]

My car is right around 54k, it was 53 and change before it was torn down and I think I'm pushing 500 or so since its been "done". Now that I got rid of the rear end whine, and the temps are cooler outside, I expect that to rise quite a bit in the near future.

 

[lethal289]

My car is right around 54k, it was 53 and change before it was torn down and I think I'm pushing 500 or so since its been "done". Now that I got rid of the rear end whine, and the temps are cooler outside, I expect that to rise quite a bit in the near future.

Rick, what did your dad have against driving that car? Thats sweet.

 

[Fast68back]

Rick, what did your dad have against driving that car? Thats sweet.

Fear.... He bought it with plans to drag race it, then it sat in the garage, then when we got it up and running it was stolen, when he got it back it went into mothballs.... It was actually in really nice shape back in the 70's/80's, somewhere between there and 2002 when I got to it the chrome started to pit and the roof where he kept tossing crap on top of the car along with cat, rat and mouse piss did a number on the paint.

 

[garner67]

Fear.... He bought it with plans to drag race it, then it sat in the garage, then when we got it up and running it was stolen, when he got it back it went into mothballs.... It was actually in really nice shape back in the 70's/80's, somewhere between there and 2002 when I got to it the chrome started to pit and the roof where he kept tossing crap on top of the car along with cat, rat and mouse piss did a number on the paint.

Well, I think you've taken care of the paint issues and then some!

 

[johnpro]

never work on brakes yourself---leave that to experts as it is a safety item

You don't still feel that way do you? Personally, I could never afford to have someone else work on my cars, which is how and why I learned to work on them at a very early age. I was 16 when I did my first brake job out in the street in front of my parents' house.

My '66 has 68k on the entire drive train except for the cam. Wiped a lobe at 66k, when I switched to Moible-1 synthetic. This engine was built 2000, when I yanked the old engine and put it in my son's '65. This engine was my daily driver, every day, year round, from 2000 to 2007, when I joined a carpool.

My '69 has about 28k on the entire drive train.

 

[Midlife]

You don't still feel that way do you?

No, which is why I brought up this topic. Things I was taught as a child have been proven to be false. Yet, those teachings are very strong things to overcome. Brakes are trivial, once you understand the basic principles of hydraulics.

Another thing my parents always instilled in me: never drink sodas before noon; Dr. Pepper is made of prune juice and it is evil for your body; a pocket knife is deadly and shouldn't be carried.

What a crock! Next up: hairy palms and their root cause...*LOL*

 

[johnpro]

Another thing my parents always instilled in me: never drink sodas before noon; Dr. Pepper is made of prune juice and it is evil for your body; a pocket knife is deadly and shouldn't be carried.

LOL. We didn't have a time restriction on soda, but "drinking a hot soda will cause diarrhea".

Also, eating less than a 1/2 hour before swimming was dangerous because it could cause cramps that could make you drown.