Ben was driving my dear old 164 before he got the freeze plug replaced in the
Yellow Peril and before he got past the non-charging issue (The big red wire
was broken off the terminal where it connects to the alternator. Even the
BEST alternator in the world will not charge a battery if it is not connected.)
He reported to me one day that the car was knocking so he parked it near a
friend's apartment and then was not able to start it or even crank it.
We got the Yellow Peril back together, different wiper arms with new blades,
provisionally fixed the perennially problematic vent windows, etc and went
over to look at the car. Released the brake, put it in 4th and pushed it back
with the hood open. It rolled back and the engine turned through about 270°
and stopped. We rolled it forward and the same thing happened. I asked him
about the knocking and he said it was a little louder than valve noise. (?)

No damage is visible from the exterior and as far as I know there has not
been a lubrication (oil pump) failure in this engine. I have driven it fairly
recently and don't remember any severe knocks. I would think that if a rod
came loose it could cause that, but I would also think that under normal
driving you would certainly have some pretty traumatic noises BEFORE it got to
where the engine would not make a 360° rotation. I HAVE had a rod come loose
before and it was quite noisy well before it could come apart.

So do these symptoms sound like something any of you folks have experienced?
I DO have a complete spare engine, although I was not exactly looking foreward
to putting it in right now. (Thanks, Lucid!)

Any reasonable guess or diagnosis will be considered with gratitude!

--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!