Man, sorry to hear that, Greg!  Bummer!  Timing chain, maybe???

Thanks Dave. I haven't had a chance to start the post-mortem yet but timing chain did cross my mind. So did spun crank bearing and a bunch of other possibilities.

Ruh Roh....sounds like bad news to me....will the engine still crank over, or is it seized up? The description sure sounds like it seized up on ya....

What does the oil smell like on the dipping stick?

Couple more kweschuns...
Did the engine shut off, or did the car just quit moving?
Will it start back up now?
A broken flywheel can make the same noises....and sometimes it might even still start the car.


|UPDATED|8/12/2013 10:35:04 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Well Joel, I haven't attempted to crank the engine. It quit on it's own while under power at about 40 mph with a knock and a squeal. Haven't pulled the dipstick either. Won't I hurt the starter motor if it is seized; I guess not if I just try it quick. New distributor arrived today from DUI and it's a beauty. At least I'll have it for the rebuild or replacement.

Some good news. Just tried and the engine will turn over so it's not seized. It won't start though.

Well if is the timing chain/gear that went  you've just bent pushrods and maybe some valves stems. Happened to me. Same thing, just shut down while driving and wouldn't start. If you still have the stock plastic cam gear that isd what usually breaks. 

Well, I finally got around to pulling the valve covers and spark plugs. No top end damage that I can see and all 8 plugs look good; some carbon build up in cylinders 1 and 2 but no signs of detonation damage in the plugs, no oil fouling on them either. That's all the time I've had to look at things though.

Not too sound too dumb, but does it have enough oil in it?

Right to the top of the mark on the dipstick.

Greg, have you tried cranking it with the plugs out?
Does the distributor rotor turn when you crank it over?
Does the engine oil smell "funky", or like it is burnt?
Do you have access to a bore scope?
It's possible that one(or more) of the wrist pins has worked loose from a rod, and is scraping on a cylinder wall. Not a good thing, for sure.

I'm thinking hard about what you said about the distributor moving, even tho it is tightened down as tight as the clamp will go. Imma wondering if the dadgum distributor itself hasn't taken a dump. Not the electrical part, but an actual mechanical failure...like the gear melting, or the pin on the gear shearing off...or the teeth themselves wearing off.
IF the dist. shaft itself was really tight down in the hole, it could mash the gear up against the oil pump too tight, and also against the boss in the block.

I'm REALLY hoping this isn't a major engine failure. Normally, if a rod, or crank bearing has taken a doo-doo(hi-teck terminology), the oil will smell bad. It also usually will cause the engine coolant temp to go high.
A rod pin coming out will scrape against the cylinder wall, also normally causing a higher than normal coolant temp, and lottsa metal in the oil.

A jumped timing chain will not normally damage any of the valve train parts, unless you have domed pistons, or a really high-lift cam...or rockers that are adjusted way too tight.

I'd really start checking the distributor....see if the rotor will turn with the engine, and that you cannot turn it(the rotor) by hand....

Fingers crossed....