That would explain why I couldn’t find any 400+ cubic inch Buick V8 engines back then. Had a blown piston. Not a total loss for the engine block. I had just preferred to do a swap out then, me being a weekend mechanic and all.

Had to toss the car then … to the junkyard, of which they probably bought it too and probably did in-house engine rebuildings.

We can probably safely surmise that those start cart guys transitioned into stock car racing once their military stint was up.