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"OUR" good friend Mike Dulinski(whom I have on speed dial)
came up with the same solution. Not that he suspected it, but knew it for a fact, having had it happen on a number of cars that he has worked on. I will inform the mechanic tomorrow.

Thanks

Gee Whiz, AL, why don't you inform us too? I'm just all goosebumply with anticipation.

I know anything I guess will be wrong (not an expert) but I will comment that one thing you can do in a situation like this, short of even pulling the valve covers, is to pull the spark plugs. If something is jammed in a cylinder or a piston has broken, the bent electrode on the plug will tell the tale that you've got to pull at least ONE head, and tells you which one! Been there, done that...

I was only 19 years old, but, ahem, I thought of checking the plugs on a "stuck" Buick nailhead first all by myself. And even pulled the ones on the correct head first time. (That's the last time anything "lucky" happened to me around a car repair job, and it was just that kind of "luck" that would tell me where the disaster was.)

Well maybe under normal circunstances I might have done that. The situation, however is far from normal. When I got this offer in Nashville, I knew that, in order to make the Williamsburg nationals, someone else would have to finish up for me. So off it went to the mechanic. I assume(bad I know) that he has done all of the things a knowledgeable mechanic would have done. At this point the only thing that I know for sure is that the car will NOT make the Nationals this year. The mechanic did pull the valve covers and found no broken keeper springs. More than that I don't know. I have to call Monday to see if there is any more known.

Well, valve covers would have had to come off to remove heads, anyway. However, a mere visual inspection wouldn't rule out a weak valve spring.

Of course, if the plug wires are already out of the way, your mechanic might as well pull the plugs. Could be quite telling if he has access to a borescope.

At this point, the only other advice I can give, from a distance, is to cross your fingers, but don't hold your breathe.

the last I spoke with him he was going to borrow a borescope from a friend and have a look. That's all I know for now.

Well we know what is what and how much. Heads have been pulled. It was a valve. to be specific an exhaust valve on the drivers side rear.

The shaft was bent into an 'S' shape. Will cost $310 for parts. The mechanics bill, God help me.......... But at least we can move forward.

Was it rusted in the guide and stuck tight or something else going on? Hope he also checks the pushrod. Back in my younger days I tried to start a long sitting 56 engine which turned out to have several stuck valves. Managed to bend a few pushrods in the process and probably didn't do the lifters much good either. Never did get that engine repaired.

How much collateral damage?

Hope you're able to keep this engine. Even though I'm a bit of a purist, I think this is an example of a period-correct hot rod that should be preserved. In addition to the expense of a dropping rebuilt 374 in its place, you'd have to send your dual carbs back to the rebuilder for modifications.

Not trying to bust your budget, but this might be a good time to go through the heads completely and upgrade for use with unleaded fuels.

According to the guy I bought it from and the visual examination by my mechanic, the engine was rebuilt back when. Maybe just a freak occurance, Don't know.

I agree with Brian on this one. Do a thorough rebuild of the "original" engine. Heads for sure, check the bottom end, too, if this hasn't already been done. The more complete the rebuild (as long as the mechanic is good) the fewer future worries or questions. You'll just be figuring out gas and spark issues, instead of valve timing and whatnot.

If the valve was bent, for sure the pushrod, rocker, spring, seat and lifter need to be thoroughly gone over for that valve. That's the minimum. Probably that's what the mechanic had in mind for the 3 bills. Check and make sure just what parts he'll buy for that. If he intends to just slap in a valve, it might be good to look elsewhere for service.

Just my 2 cents, and you've got change coming.