Well, in all honesty it was more or less my fault the rocker arm shaft exploded. It was the stock non-adjustable type, and I had not yet heard of the acceptable method of torquing it down in a sequence at a certain point on the balancer...so I missed a bolt, and I should've recognized the ticking of it wiggling loose (the bolt wiggled loose, broke, bent the shaft...on a cold start). It ran fine with the occaisional idiot flicker before I tore it down, but that was with only 4 quarts...probably less, considering my first oil change I went by the dipstick, which turned into 3-1/2 in the pan...I just pulled number 3 cause I took a guess, it was smooth, no abnormal/excessive wear. When I removed the lifters, the cam lobes were clean, and an even wear pattern existed on each lifter, the mechanic helping said it actually looked rather fresh. I really don't trust motors I havent been through entirely, so I'm not flogging the crap out of it pretending its some sort of miracle car. I don't know the entire history, but when I bought the car, I was told (word of mouth, credible, right?) that the motor was rebuilt around 10 years ago. Like I said, not much more than 2,500 from point A-to-B stuff, and the occaisional 4,000+ hit whenever I feel my foot gain weight...

I understand the whole worn engine thing, I know its no spring chicken with tolerances, but I don't quite see it as worn out as I believe you're implying. I've had pieced together motors, in particular that '71 460 wasn't exactly 71 on the top...or anywhere else, and there's a reason its not out on the street. I'm not disputing anyone's inteligence or anything, and I'm actually quite hesitant to show my doubt in your input, as it IS perfectly logical. I'm going to actually look into the fuel pump diluting the oil, because the first day with the SAE 50, hot idle wouldn't drop below 20 for a good while, so that's my next idea.