MTFCA Forum

I just got back my early block from having it Thermo cleaned and magnaflux. It came out better than I thought. I do have about a 2 1/2 crack that you can see on the pictures. I was expecting more cracks but was relieved to only have one.
It does have some pitting in 3 of the cylinder holes. Each one is not as bad as the others. It’s going to require a good amount of surfacing on the manifold side. The threads will need cleaning up a little bit but nothing too serious. It looks like it does have a repair where the timing cover is, but could have been a repair a long time ago as it was brazed.

Tbird wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 21, 2023 1:52 pm

I just got back my early block from having it Thermo cleaned and magnaflux. It came out better than I thought. I do have about a 2 1/2 crack that you can see on the pictures. I was expecting more cracks but was relieved to only have one.
It does have some pitting in 3 of the cylinder holes. Each one is not as bad as the others. It’s going to require a good amount of surfacing on the manifold side. The threads will need cleaning up a little bit but nothing too serious. It looks like it does have a repair where the timing cover is, but could have been a repair a long time ago as it was brazed.

Unless you (-or your rebuilder) has a sonic tester, I would not risk resurfacing that. Matter of fact, we have one but I still would not take that much metal off. IMO this is a great job for using Muggy Weld to repair the port areas.

First place the entire block into a kitchen oven and preheat to around 300°, then make your filler welds. (Machine a piece of brass to use as a core to weld up against as you are making the port round.) Next, flycut the weld followed by using JB Weld 37901 ExtremeHeat on the remaining pitting to level it for the aesthetics. I have been successfully using both of those products in my shop for awhile now and they are both good products for restoration work. Looks like a fun project. Best wishes.

Spray-welding cast iron onto that block could restore it.

Cost? No idea.

Hi All

I would be interested to hear the comments on the first picture in the third posting. The one of the valve chamber and top of the valve guides.

Did anyone else notice that it appears that a triangular piece appears to be broken out of the back of one of the valve guides?

I have recently run into some similar issues with another block from the same time period. In the one that have recently seen two of the guides appear to be cracked in the back of the top of the valve guide. And I would also assess the manufacturing quality as poor. The valve/lifter centres are drill well off centre of the casting of the valve guides. Looks a bit like they were rushing the manufacturing process as production was ramping up and sometimes the quality was less than great.

Drive Safe
Jeff

Jeff,
You are correct that there is a piece that has broken out of the valve guide

How early are you talking here? By the screwed in core plugs 1913 at the latest. I have a block of the same vintage in much better shape I would sell for much, much less than it would cost to repair this one. I can supply it as is or rebabbitted with a late crankshaft.