Yesterday, I went to start the car ('56 'bird, 312, fordo) and heard a metal 'crunching' sound as it cranked. It lit off and ran extremely rough so I shut it off and went to investigate. I removed both valve covers and saw one rocker motionless when I cranked it over. I removed the rocker shaft and found that the pushrod looks a bit like a boomerang.



My first thought was to straighten the push rod (just to test with), re-install and see if it happens again, and if not, buy a new one and go my merry way. My better judgment told me to contact the experts first for recommendations.



I am concerned that the valve tapped the piston since it was stuck partially open. I tapped the top of the spring/retainer/valve stem with a rubber mallet and it does not seem to be stuck. I am also concerned that the tappet is stuck, but I will test this when I can get someone to turn the car over for me.



I have heard that the stock Y pushrods are a weak link and was hoping that this one just gave up on it's own, but the more I think about it the more inclined I am to believe that the tappet stuck (how else would the rocker hold the valve in the open position?).



Any and all comments are greatly appreciated.



(btw, motor internals are all original w/approx. 50k on them)