How many, have nursed a knocking Rod home?

Our first 67 fish, slant 6. wife drove it approx. 8 miles to work early morn. called me at my job to say its making a helofa racket. I left early enough to get there before she punched the clock and was sitting in the car, idling, jacking around the throttle, no noise when she came out.
I got home before she did. I could here her coming from 2 blocks away. It did poke the #5 rod through the left side of the block later on.
We've never had a drastic failure, in a classic, anywhere other than home / here in the driveway. Lucky I guess.