I was driving my 1965 302 v8 and while i was down shifting from 2nd to 1st the clutch stuck and when it popped out the engined reved real high then the oil pressure dropped and the engine died. Any ideas what the problem could be? the oil valve on top of the cam seemed to come loose.

 

what is the oil valve on top of the cam?

did you hear anything break? does the engine have oil pressure now? does it even run anymore? is there any metal flakes in the oil?

IMHO, it sounds like you missed a shift, over-revved the engine and damaged something.

 

Could be anything from spun bearings to bent push rods. please give us some more information. There are some very knowledgeable people here that would be happy to help. Welcome to the boards BTW.

 

I was only traveling between 15 and 20 mph, when i went to downshift from 2nd to 1st and as i released the clutch and started to accelerate it didn't pop into gear because the clutch was stuck down and as i accelerated more like i normally would after shifting it finally released causing the engine to rev high and die. That is when i lost all oil pressure and noticed on top of my valve covers the PCV was loose and there was a large dent in the stabalizer bar where it almsot went through the hood.

 

check your engine mounts. the engine may have lifted up and bent your brace.

you really need to find someone local who can help you figure out what's wrong with your engine. you aren't giving very good descriptions of what's going on or the current state of your engine. if you really lost all oil pressure and over revved the engine, you could be looking at anything from under $100 in parts (oil pump, pan gasket) to buying a whole new engine (broke a con rod and windowed the block).

hopefully your mount went bad and the oil pressure sender came loose when the engine raised up. that's your best hope.

 

Post pics of the damage. If it over revved it sounds like you might have popped a rocker and spit a pushrod out.

We're still gonna need more info. Does it start or run now?

 

Good call and I'll second that! A broken engine mount will explain the visible damage plus it can explain the clutch action. The engine rolling could manipulate the linkage and disengage it.

As for the oil pressure? I'm seeing some gray area here. Did it lose pressure before it died or was the pressure loss noticed after the fact? All too often I get complaints of oil pressure loss or warning lights which were nothing more than the fact that the engine was dead when these factor were noticed. Just for grins, check the oil pan for visible damage. There's a slim chance a mount coming loose MIGHT let the engine set on the pan collapsing it in some manor that the oil pickup is smothered. IF an engine is let loose, lot's of interesting things can happen. Here's where we all need more details.

 

I spent an evening trying to figure out a mysterious engine clunk. It did it only when he let off of the gas. We eventually put it into gear and revved the engine while I watched the engine bay. The engine raised up a good 4" before plopping back down. Maybe even 6". Good thing a 318 absolutely swims in the engine bay of a C-body