Did my block just get turned to junk?

[MeanMofakee]

All I can say is WTF!

[scott foxwell]

No. Not really necessary, but no.

[blykins]

What was the point of that?

This is one of the byproducts of the Internet.  People read that engines need “oil mods” and then it just gets way out of hand. 

No your block isn’t junk, but you will need to mock up the bearings and see what it looks like.

[Barry_R]

They matched it to the feed groove on a main set.  Not required.  Wont hurt a thing.

[blykins]

As long as there isn’t an edge or burr holding the bearing up.

[C6AE]

The upper portion of the main bearings do very little work compared to the lower half. Mostly they keep oil pressure from leaking by!
That modification was ill advised, but it won't matter.

[cammerfe]

Actually, the side-oiler was developed by FoMoCo just to keep some engineers from sitting around doing nothing---not because any improvement was necessary. And my '64 427, even when the red 'second' idiot light put into the engines to keep track of not only oil pressure but oil temperature, came on, down almost to the 'eyes' at Detroit and Milan, it was actually for entertainment and not a signal that the oiling system needed a little help.

The guys at DST who told me that a crutch to help would be a deep pan and extended pick-up since the alternative was to tear the engine down and do some machine work, didn't know what they were talking about. And when I arranged a 'sit-down' with the high performance engineers, retired from Ford and gone to work at Roush's shop in Livonia, the suggestions I got from them regarding improving the center-oiler circulation were all figments of their collective imagination.

The original FE oiling design is perfect and doesn't need any help at all. 

KS

[MeanMofakee]

Thanks for reassuring me it's not a total loss. Long story about how this came to be, I'll tell it to the people who won't judge a newbie to harshly. I'm sure I'll hear it from the guy that's going to do the job right this time from start to finish. Wish it wouldn't have happened, hope it won't affect anything else.

[CaptCobrajet]

I think it is a good idea to drill some small holes in the bearing where those grooves are, to reduce the chance of pressure behind the bearings.  I have done it many times when working with blocks that have had things like that done.  Just insurance.  Not sure what they were thinking when they did that!

[a70eliminator]

Why on earth they would want oil getting in behind the bearing radius is puzzling me.

[Heo]

Some FE bearings are slit like that. Probably thats why
that slit is machined in the block

[cjshaker]

Heo may be right. Some bearings are slit and that may have SEEMED like a good idea, although it wasn't. And I'd agree with Blair, if the bearing is NOT slit, I'd make sure that pressure wouldn't get behind the bearing and force it out. That could ruin your day real quick.

[Heo]

I think the Federal Moguls 3/4 grooved i put in had this slit
Then is when you have the missmatch oilhole versus bearing
"Ordinary"Clevites have a big round hole

[Barry_R]

I really do not think oil will get anywhere important behind the bearing - crush  will prevent any migration.   I have seen some really serious guys add an extra feed hole at the lead side of the eccentricity profile, so this could work ok.

[KMcCullah]

Agree with the above comments. Wasn't needed. Make sure no burrs were left around the groove.

I'd be more worried about the lack of chamfer at the bottom of a few cylinders. It's hard to see in your pics. And maybe I'm seeing things but sharp edges at the bottom of cylinders will scuff piston skirts.