well, the first 7m threw a rod 3 days after the swap, which was just bad luck as the motor seemed in really good shape when i got it. just shows, pay very close attn to everything. i changed the rod and piston and patched the holes and it ran fine for around 6 months, although 3 cyl were low on compression. it was still running good when i pulled it the first time. i changed the rings and didnt like the look of the rod bearings but had to put it back together for transportation and had no money for bearings. as i thought, it started knocking within a few weeks which was fin cause i had the money for a crank kit. i had already done a valve job and changed the valve stem seals, etc... when i did the rings. so i put the crank kit in and changed the remaining seals. it rans great for awhile but i got a severe oil leak that couldnt be located as it was on the turbo side. if i nailed it i would almost instantly push 3 quarts on the ground. it was spraying the whole side of the block and i couldnt find out where it was spraying from as everything was in the way i cleaned the whole side of the enine, crunk it up and saw no leak, drove 1 block easy, shut it off and got out and looked and oil covered the whole side of the block. anyway, i kept driving it. i ended up racing a mustang(beat him too) while it was low and it started knocking. i then decided to get rid of the holed block and got a new shortblock and me and dave rebuilt it. i put the exsisting head and mhg on the new short block and it ran awesome. it only had maybe 100miles on it when the car got totalled. my engine probs were attributed to me being broke and not being able to replace all the parts that needed it and my lead foot. the motor thats in the 84 should hold up really well long enough for me to finish my race motor. soon i should be able to get the forged rods and get some of the machine work done. this motor is going to be built all out, and its costing a fortune so its gonna take some time. the key here is no matter what engine setup you go with, make sure the motor is in tip top shape. you buy a turbo mkiii for $1k, you get what you pay for. the motor should have been rebuilt before i put it in the first time and it would prolly still be in there with no problems today.
william