Well I have the junkyard short block it currently at the machine shop being bored. I had taken the heads off of it to put on the original motor when I first built it, and the southern Oregon weather had not been kind to the cylinder walls... Still, it was in need of less boring than the original block, and hadn't endured the grit blasting from three spun bearings, so it made more sense to use than the original.

I will be rebuilding it and dropping it in over the next few weeks.

I figured I'd give you guys the final prognoses on the other block.

When piston #1 was being installed on the rebuild, the lowest oiler ring must have slipped past the ring compressor and folded in the bore. Over the course of its 1500 mile journey, the cylinder wall was being turned into grit by the dragging ring, which then cycled throughout the motor. That grit (which was visible in the oil and pan as a grey sludge) ate the bearings, pump, and every other bearing surface until the tolerances were so bad that they finally spun. The motor had simply reached its limit while out in the woods. The straw that broke the camel's back if you will.

Thankfully it appears as if the motor had a good reason to fail. We'll see how this next one holds up, but by every account that I've read they are very reliable. Hopefully it will survive the turbos.