I had that happen to 74 Cadillac with a 454 engine when going about 90 miles an hour. My dad bought a used engine for a couple hundred bucks and we had it reinstalled in a day.
“...74 Cadillac with a 454 engine...”
I had one of those. A black over white Fleetwood that I bought in 1986. Smoothest riding car I ever had.
That is how it used to be. My uncle cross threaded the drain plug when he changed the oil on his 1968 Dodge van. The slant 6 engine overheated when it ran out of oil later that day. When we put the plug back in and refilled the oil and started it up there was a definite knock.
We dropped the pan while the engine was still in the van. We pulled the rod bearings off and used emery cloth strips to clean melted bearing material off the crank shaft. $40 in parts and we had it all back together in a few hours. None of us expected the repair to last but my uncle used it for years after that with no problems.
But the situation today has changed. It is hard to even find the tiny all aluminum engine under all the sensors, emission control, fuel injection, turbochargers and everything else that is now packed under the hood in new vehicles. This is not to mention that tiny all aluminum high performance engines are even installed in trucks and vans these days.
Constant government mandates for mpg and pollution control have caused manufacturers to have to make design compromises that have degraded the expected longevity of new vehicles. This is not to mention the sky rocketing prices that have resulted partially from manufacturers having to make up for $Billions lost trying to comply with Electric Vehicle mandates.
Sorry but 1974 Cadillacs never had 454’s as original equipment.
That was a Chevrolet engine.
All 1974 Cadillacs had either 472 or 500 cubic inch engines.