Francis Ormiston and His 500,000 Mile Pick Up
Francis's 1969 Chevrolet 1/2 ton pickup with a 396 V8 engine has seen some miles! This is a pickup that Francis used on his large farm in Kansas and during the summer of 1986 one of his farm hands "rolled" the truck. As a result, not wanting to do anything with it (it was totaled) he pulled it behind the barn and let it sit. In August of 1989 he decided to replace a diesel engine with a gas engine in another pick up and decided to use the "69". At that point the 69 had 535,372 miles on it, 447,372 using AMSOIL 10W40. The oil was changed only one time per year (in early spring). He decided that with 535,372 miles on it (never touched by a wrench) that it might be a good idea to rebuild it before installing it in the other truck.
The mechanic who rebuilt the engine before installing it in the other truck had this to say, "When we took this 396 engine apart, it was in the best condition of any engine I have ever seen. It looked like it had about 80,000 miles instead of over 500,000. The bearings were not even worn to the brass and the rings were not worn out and it was clean inside, no sludge or carbon at all.... I was impressed with the wear and cleanliness of this engine and the mileage it had on it."
 Piston from the 396 V8 |
 Pan as it looked when removed (i.e., hasn't been cleaned) |
 Timing Chain Cover |
 Inside the Block |
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