another bulletproof engine is the slant-6 from mopar.... i drained oil out of one of those and it still ran for a while, siezed up, put oil in it, turned the motor backward, and it ran again...

 

Yes, we had a few in our group of "teenagers who didn't have rich parents so they drove beaters".

I cringe when I think of some of the abuse we heaped on those poor Valiants.

 

i saw one in a sandrail once.... made sense to me... and HOTROD magazine had one worked up, and put into a stripped down '70-someting dart and got it to run the 1/4 at about 94M.P.H. i dont remember what the ET was though

 

My V10 started knocking before, only when accelerating and under 2000 rpm. ESPECIALLY after rain or when it was damp out.
It was the ignition coils. The 2-part wiper cowl leaks water on the throttle body & then the left side of the engine, causing spark plug and coil failure. I caulked the cowling to stop the leak and then I changed the spark plugs and ALL the ignition coils. Fixed the knocking.

 

My money is on: Overheated and blew head gasket but continued driving. Milkshake oil and potentially overheating caused at least one rod bearing to spin. Rebuild time!

 

I threw a rod out the side of a slant six in my 78 Aspen you can kill them