Hey everyone, this is my first post regarding technical advice. I tried using the search feature, but I think this situation might be too unique.
I'm new here, and new to Mopar vehicles. To be honest, I'm pretty new to old cars in general. That being said, I have a '71 Plymouth Scamp with a 318LA, 904 3 speed. Was running fine, I installed some headers with a dual X-pipe exhaust recently. Still ran fine, but started to overheat on shorter and shorter trips. After having it towed, I discovered a clogged overflow tube to the coolant reservoir. I repaired a few leaky areas, but upon attempting to start it up for a test run, it wouldn't start.
I checked a few different things and ended up at the spark plugs. The electrodes were smashed and the tips were pinged. I pulled the heads and found the same with the pistons. Valves seem ok. What I did find, other than the damage, were some small, pellet sized pieces of steel in each cylinder (about 3/16" square). They're somewhat uniform in size and shape. They seem to be hardened steel, as they do not file easily. What I can't seem to figure out, is where they came from and how they got into my cylinders. Only thing I can think of is foul play. What do you guys think?
I'm new here, and new to Mopar vehicles. To be honest, I'm pretty new to old cars in general. That being said, I have a '71 Plymouth Scamp with a 318LA, 904 3 speed. Was running fine, I installed some headers with a dual X-pipe exhaust recently. Still ran fine, but started to overheat on shorter and shorter trips. After having it towed, I discovered a clogged overflow tube to the coolant reservoir. I repaired a few leaky areas, but upon attempting to start it up for a test run, it wouldn't start.
I checked a few different things and ended up at the spark plugs. The electrodes were smashed and the tips were pinged. I pulled the heads and found the same with the pistons. Valves seem ok. What I did find, other than the damage, were some small, pellet sized pieces of steel in each cylinder (about 3/16" square). They're somewhat uniform in size and shape. They seem to be hardened steel, as they do not file easily. What I can't seem to figure out, is where they came from and how they got into my cylinders. Only thing I can think of is foul play. What do you guys think?