[77Tx400]

I just purchased a project ‘77 Trans Am with a 400 in it. I was told engine had issues. Once taking the engine apart ran into this. Has anyone or does anyone know what this is?

 

[apfstg]

Looks like a water problem - a crack most likely

 

[77Tx400]

Yeah found all water passages clogged with stop leak. Heads and block completely clogged.

 

[tjs]

Get it apart,take the block to a good machine shop and have it cleaned,magged AND pressure tested.Know what your staring with there.Then same with the heads.Tom

 

[donny dotson]

To me it looks like someone painted the valley white, back in the day lots of folks used paint instead of doing all the work of smoothing it out so the earl would slip down in the pan faster.

 

[EdKnecht]

That’s definitely water/antifreeze mix….turns to a vanilla milkshake….creamy and white..

 

[donny dotson]

I'll bet 2 dollars and 25 cents that is paint. 77TX400 take a knife to it and see if it peals.

 

[apfstg]

What purpose is the stop leak ? Cylinders bored that much? Paint usually changes with the heat. I’m not betting on a pic tho! as my dad used to say only fools are positive (haha)

 

[sleepyhollowtaman]

What purpose is the stop leak ? Cylinders bored that much? Paint usually changes with the heat. I’m not betting on a pic tho! as my dad used to say only fools are positive (haha)

Leaky radiator. Have a machine shop look at it.

 

[ThePhoenix]

Pressure wash and you will likely find a massive crack. If you are worried about getting water inside...it's a little late for that. Sounds like an awesome project cracked block or not.

 

[Firebird400]

My bet is also on paint, and a lot of funk!! As Tjs said, I'd send the block to a machine shop. They'll probably have boil/clean it before they can ck anything. Those blocks are pretty strong, unless you know it got way way overheated, you might be fine.

 

[tjs]

My machine shop puts a 1/2 pellet of AC stop leak in every engine they build.FWIW,Tom

 

[Ceeya]

I just purchased a project ‘77 Trans Am with a 400 in it. I was told engine had issues. Once taking the engine apart ran into this. Has anyone or does anyone know what this is? View attachment 232519

Was there water in the oil what did the oil look like?