My 318....Is no more..... :(

I was going to suggest if you are unsure,load the engine up and take it to a reputable machine shop and have everything checked.I have done this before,heard a noise in the engine,took it apart and found what the culprit was(sometimes,lol).Its not extremley hard to take these motors out of our classic cars,since luckily they dont have a million emissions hoses,sensors,wires,etc.I helped swap an engine on a 2000 Yukon at work this week and with all that emissions crap ,that was a nightmare,lol.I applaud him for doing this and no one here told him to take apart his engine,he did that on his own and is looking at the positive side:He is learning something and is going to put a different cam and even paint the block also.Plus,he found out more about what his engine has and whats been done to it.Hang in there ,man,you got my support.I only wish I could be there helping you wrench on it.=)