welding engine block...

[buickstage II]

Hey,
i have a stage block thats been imported form ohio to Australia, only to find that it has a crack in the water jackect above the lifter bores.
tried cold stick welding and peen method, cracked 2-3 mins after,
tried stick welding with heat and cracked,
tried 'hot spraying' metal, then when it cooled from 300c to 120c it cracked again.

is there any success in repairing a block?,
im very hesitant to buy another cast block, would it be the thing to get a TA block sent out?

any help appreciated.

Thanks simon

 

[SPOOLN]

Hey Simon, Talk to the guys at Champion racing heads, I know they have repaired cast iron cylinder heads. They should be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[Otto J]

You might need to find someone who does nickel welding,I believe that may work.

 

[ijames]

This link: http://www.locknstitch.com/ was posted here somewhere a couple of months ago. Their website shows some very, very impressive repairs, and they have a distributor in Queensland. Please let us know how it works out.

 

[750H.P.V6]

Simon,

I'm sorry to hear about your block. I had a block with a crack between the freeze plugs and tried several times to weld repair it. Unfortunately it didn't work. My understanding is that to weld repair cast iron properly the part needs to be heated in a furnace until it is glowing then welded and allowed to cool very slowly. The other problem is that once the part normalizes the dimensions will change to some extent. I would tell you to lace the crack since the results are usually good.

Neal

Hey,
i have a stage block thats been imported form ohio to Australia, only to find that it has a crack in the water jackect above the lifter bores.
tried cold stick welding and peen method, cracked 2-3 mins after,
tried stick welding with heat and cracked,
tried 'hot spraying' metal, then when it cooled from 300c to 120c it cracked again.

is there any success in repairing a block?,
im very hesitant to buy another cast block, would it be the thing to get a TA block sent out?

any help appreciated.

Thanks simon

 

[mikebart101]

According to my Dad who was a certified aircraft welder @ 20 yrs old and helped assemble the turbines inside M-1 tanks, cast iron can be repaired but because of the location of the crack, any kind of repair will fail. The extreme opperating heat in that area will cause any weld to crack and fail. He tried repairing a crack in the exact same spot once. Sry man but u got the shaft on that block.

 

[Ron Tarabori]

Simon, A few years ago when I only had one stage block, somehow when it got drained for the winter one bank didn't completely drain. It froze and put hairline cracks above the lifter bores. The machine shop said it looked like a sprinkler system and said to junk it. Here's what you do. I took it home put in on the engine stand. If you have the power source book look on page 42 and you will see a cutaway of the water jacket and the height of the lifter bores. Turn the block 90 degrees. Get some hard block and pour the jacket on that side so that instead of filling the cylinder level from the bottom it goes in at an angle and will cover the cracks above the lifter bores. Be sure and tap it in good, pound the block with a rubber hammer etc to make sure it works its way down. When you fire the engine run a quart of Moroso ceramic block sealer through it. I ran mine for several seasons and it never leaked a drop. It may seem like a crude fix, but it works. Actually if it is strictly drag motor you may want to consider just filling the block halfway with hardblock, but once its in there its there to stay.

 

[EightSecV6]

Hey,
i have a stage block thats been imported form ohio to Australia, only to find that it has a crack in the water jackect above the lifter bores.
tried cold stick welding and peen method, cracked 2-3 mins after,
tried stick welding with heat and cracked,
tried 'hot spraying' metal, then when it cooled from 300c to 120c it cracked again.

is there any success in repairing a block?,
im very hesitant to buy another cast block, would it be the thing to get a TA block sent out?

any help appreciated.

Thanks simon

That is a very bad spot to crack. I have not been sucessful with cracks in that area, try Rons fix.

 

[buickstage II]

Hey,
thanks for your input,
i think it is sinking in my head now, that just this crack is able to screw me over, which it is. but the biggest question is the long term fix, sure some methods will work to hold it up as a strip motor, but im planning on streetable aswell.
thats why i think if i have it repaired and it fails;
custom pistons won't suit,
all machine work costs, prep work, small parts.
all that 99% wasted,

on the other hand, another second hand block $$$, and 3 month wait to ship to australia, various costs too!, still left with the same possible scenario.

lastly buy a new TA, pay the $$$ and know that i can sleep at night, but is there block ready to be built, now machine work?

hmmm, any new TA blocks for sale....

im getting a metalurgist to tell me his opinion and solutions, as im still wanting to repair it, but i dont want a job thats only 90% fail safe, after all this build up has $10 000 invested, no machine work, pistons, etc.

Cheers Simon.

PS, i will send some pics up and keep you informed.

 

[buickstage II]

hey,

i would like to know what people thoughts are on a chev v6 build up, compared to a buick. also keeping in minfd the block issues.

thanks Simon

 

[turbodave231]

Chevy V6? Yuk! There is more development happening on the Buick V6 than the Chevy V6. Neither one will be cheap.

Dave

 

[Big Stu]

Hey,
thanks for your input,
i think it is sinking in my head now, that just this crack is able to screw me over, which it is. but the biggest question is the long term fix, sure some methods will work to hold it up as a strip motor, but im planning on streetable aswell.
thats why i think if i have it repaired and it fails;
custom pistons won't suit,
all machine work costs, prep work, small parts.
all that 99% wasted,

on the other hand, another second hand block $$$, and 3 month wait to ship to australia, various costs too!, still left with the same possible scenario.

lastly buy a new TA, pay the $$$ and know that i can sleep at night, but is there block ready to be built, now machine work?

hmmm, any new TA blocks for sale....

im getting a metalurgist to tell me his opinion and solutions, as im still wanting to repair it, but i dont want a job thats only 90% fail safe, after all this build up has $10 000 invested, no machine work, pistons, etc.

Cheers Simon.

PS, i will send some pics up and keep you informed.

Simon, the TA blocks are good to go. Sorry to hear about your findings.

 

[chevyII]

It would be cheaper to do a small 300ci V8 than a v6 if you were to do a chevy.

 

[Ron Tarabori]

The bowtie chevy V6 is a good engine. When I was in with the ASA guys a few years ago they were readily available. A little harder to come by now but they are still out there. The 18 degree head is pretty common and the 23 degree a little harder to find. The splayed valve head is the way to go but they are few and far between. The chevy is a rpm engine as most of them were 3.4 stroke and 4.125 or bigger bore. I guess the biggest drawback with the chevy is about 90 percent of the race motors are odd fire. I've always wanted to try one in my car but when I look at all the Buick stuff I've got I change my mind. Maybe some day.

 

[buickstage II]

hey,
thanks for your replys,
that would explain why ive seen very high hp chevs then, being very under sqaure,
i think if i have come this far im going to stay stage,
but i have thoughts for going a ta block, Stu you say that there ready to go?

can someone tell me what is the price for the blocks?, or if anyones got one new.
also is champion going to cast iron blocks?

thanks Simon

 

[Reginald West]

The hard block thing does work.I have been racing my stage 2 for over a year with block filled and over heating has never been a problem.It even does well on the street.

 

[LV GN]

hey,
thanks for your replys,
that would explain why ive seen very high hp chevs then, being very under sqaure,
i think if i have come this far im going to stay stage,
but i have thoughts for going a ta block, Stu you say that there ready to go?

can someone tell me what is the price for the blocks?, or if anyones got one new.
also is champion going to cast iron blocks?

thanks Simon

i understand the ta blocks to be around $3900.00 and going up after the new year. and champion is going to start making new iron blocks. btw john gallina had his whole block filled and only ran coolant thru the heads. worked for 7 0r 8 seconds at a time.

 

[buickstage II]

having crack isn't coool..

hi,
im going to try and stick weld the block again tomorrow, if it doesn't come together than im going to see to getting a champion block if i can, otherwise TA...
get a block sorted and machined, then ill have a long block ready. yay

thanks for all your input,
Simon

 

[67turboCamaro]

From what I have been told, "pinning" the crack works alot better than taking a chance with welding it.

 

[Big Stu]

i understand the ta blocks to be around $3900.00 and going up after the new year. and champion is going to start making new iron blocks. btw john gallina had his whole block filled and only ran coolant thru the heads. worked for 7 0r 8 seconds at a time.

If champion matches the stage 2 by reproducing it in iron, I will buy one. If they are doing the offcenter/"street" blocks only then it'll still be a cool idea. I could care less about the weight savings of aluminum.