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Thank you for the responses and the empathetic commiserations.
A few things to help set the record straight.
The rod bolt definitely broke and I will post a pic of it, as soon as I can get into daylight.
Only one half fell out the drain plug when we drained the oil.
The engine builder that assembled the motor long block for me is not connected to the shop I was working with in my area to correct my clutch issue.
I have seen engines detonate from over revving as a consequence of downshifting at speed, missing a gear and exploding the engine in this fashion, but never on the way up to a rev limited max rpm, particularly when the engine is balanced, has stronger than factory valve springs and has a conservative rev limiter. Also, after seeing the road location of the engine explosion (evidenced by the oil trail) There is not enough distance for the vehicle to travel from the stop sign, to have gotten to an engine speed that could threaten the engine. it was 20-30 yards.
If the rod bolt was too loose, then I think we would have heard a horrible clatter, before the explosion and Im told there was no such indication. Which leads me to suspect the rod bolt failed from a material breach or a torque problem at assembly. I have not opened the motor to have a look inside yet.
The car only ran on a single plug set-up for 8 days. It was gently operated and I switched the operational plugs at the half way mark, just to make sure both were working. After having done so much of the work on the car myself, I have become very connected to the way the car 'feels' and I detected no unusual temps, vibrations or noises during that time.
My hope through appealing to you guys, is not so much to pass blame but rather to hopefully get some informed advice from anyone who may have gone through something similar (my sincere sympathies) and go about the correction process as sensibly and frugally as possible. If there is a reasonable ownership that should be taken here, I would like that to be honored by the responsible party, but until I get more diagnosis, (and perhaps even with it) I think it's is going to be difficult to pin this issue on one person or event.
Assuming the heads and the top of the motor are all fine, what parts do you suspect I will need to replace? Or what alternate engine configurations are worth considering at this point? Is the case salvageable with a good aluminum welder?
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