I was driving home from work this evening-  noticed a rattle. I hadn't heard it before this evening. I figured something was loose and banging, so I continued on down the road. The rattle was not dependent on engine speed. I get off the interstate, and I'm 4 miles from the house. All of the sudden, I hear a pop ( at least I think I did, I honestly can't remember now) and the engine dies, while pouring a massive amount of smoke out the passenger side of the car. I gently pull off the road (nice flat spot, plenty of room on the curb). I call the wife and get a number for a tow truck. He says he'll be there in a 20 minutes. It's a nice evening, 70 degrees, sunny - could be worse. I'm sitting in the grass, and several people stop to see if I need help. I talk to one for a few minutes - he own's a 79. Had a guy driving a nice 58 vette stop too! But I'm getting sidetracked. Tow truck arrived - it's a flatbed, woohoo! He gets it up on the truck. As he was pulling it up on the truck, some coolant ran out of the passenger side sidepipe. Surprisingly I didn't start swearing. So we get it to the house, and it's all tucked in the garage. I can't devote a lot of time at this point, so it's going to have to sit until August when I get some time freed up. Guesses on what broke? It won't crank at all. Could I have thrown a rod? I know what a spun bearing sounds like and I never had that telltale clicking sound. Cracked the block? At best a head gasket, but I just don't think I'm that lucky since it won't turn over...

sigh...............

Joel and Scott - thanks for the guidance (yes, bad valve joke intended -get it, valve guide - oh never mind). The previous owner said there was roughly 15K on the engine (car has 95K). I had just changed the oil - no visible coolant in it. I've also been monitoring the coolant, and never saw any oil in it. Of course, I guess there could have been small amounts that I couldn't see. At least I have some direction now. I'll at least try to take the heads off in the next few weeks to see what I can see.

O... Snap!!!   

I do wish you the best in fixing the engine.

OK, I couldn't leave it alone. I went out to the garage, disconnected the battery, and started taking out the plugs. Took out # 8 first - ok. Took out #6 and  whooo - old faithful. LOTS of coolant comes spewing out. Got the coolant cleaned up and stopped right there.

Yet another long sigh.................

I'll let you guys know what I find whenver I get the heads off.

Not an experience you wanted to follow on the heels of your new purchase here recently.  Sorry to here about the troubles.  Keep us informed as to the cause, repair, rebuild or rebuy, and all the other tribulations along the way.

Bummer.  Sounds like a crack or head gasket.  Here's hoping it's a head gasket.  BTW don't let it sit too long with all that coolant in the block.  Drain all fluids and spin the engine over to pump as much as you can out.  I'd then be squirting some oil into each plug hole and spin again to make sure you don't get any rusting of your bores.  The head will have to come off in any case so I guess it's a matter of how much time you have.

Just don't let your block sit with coolant in the bore!  I'm going through that exact exercise right now from someone (PO) who did.  See my post on "Heart Surgery"