Cracked Block - Options Revisited

C

CleaningTheGarage

Junior Member
My block is leaking coolant at the front of the motor in the same place as in this thread. It's apparently been repaired before.

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=329310&highlight=Cracked+block


To summarize the options from the other thread somewhat in order of complexity:

Clear non-filled epoxy w/ slow cure rate (=> 24 hrs @ room temp)
JB Weld High strength/High Temp
Belzona 1212 Epoxy
Stitching
Welding w/ Muggy Weld
Replace the engine.

Anyone have new and/or improved options?
Maybe some Double Bubble?




Thanks!
 
"Stitching" is probably the way I would go. We've used stitching in the nuclear plant and it works just fine - providing you can "qualify" the repair in some manner after it was done.

The problem for the Model A block is that stitching, and the commonly done "peining" as part of the process CAN open up a crack or defeat itself. So much of the area around the intake and exhaust ports is quite thin and I would want someone who has "stitched" and possibly done it repeatedly in this area to do the work.

It is a specialized art with a specialized price. Expertise has its price as does failure. And either but preferably not both might be in the offering.

Joe K
 
The change engine option depends on what you want to do with the car. Do you want to drive it until you give it to your kids or grand kids? To you plan any long distance trips? If you answered yes to these questions then consider a Burtz engine. Otherwise you could repair it with any of the options or find another original engine that is in better shape.
 
Are there any issues with brazing the crack after drilling the ends, V-ing out the crack, and proper surface preparation?
 
When my uncle and his grandfather poured the babbit in his Coupe in 1951,they found the engine had been cracked and repaired before under the water pump.He used it until he went into the service in 1954,and it sat in the barn until he gave it to me in 1968.I've used it off an on since the early 70's,and have put 54000 miles on that engine.Had it bored once,and the babbit poured twice.I cracked the water jacket in a couple of places a few years ago,(low-tox antifreeze ain't permanent).Showed it to the guy that does my babbit,he said,it's just a water jacket,what's the big deal?He welded it,pressure tested it,and handed it back to me.That pre-1951 patch was still not leaking.
 
i am surprised the JB weld did not work for you. the engine in my truck has a 3/4 x 1/2 hole rusted through at the back or the block. i used the die grinder cleaned it real nice outside and the best i could on the inside edges as well tapered the outside edges a bit. (nice shiny metal) and every thing bone dry. i mushed that JB weld through the hole so it was like a plug.
4 years ago and no leak at all.

stitching will work and i have done that but it take a bit of talent. it is the better repair for sure.

personally i would not try to braze it.

a welder maybe able to fill it for you
 
My engine had a long crack in the block, which was welded by a large boiler manufacturer. It held for 6000 km, then it started leaking again, right next to the first weld.
A good friend from this forum got me a good used engine block.
 

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I've stitched an A block that had cracks near the number 2 & 3 exhaust valve seats. not an easy job but i got it to hold nicely. i used material from a bad cylinder head to make my own plugs so there is a 100% match of material. if you try welding or stitching with different metal things will expand and contract at different rates and can reopen the crack.
but given in your case it's not in a high temperature area regular stitching plugs will work fine. another method can be used like copper wedges then get the engine ceramic sealed. once it's sealed it will never leak again
 
Everything has a life expectancy. Maybe after 95 plus years, it’s time to retire your old block.

I had a wooden boat once with a bottom that constantly needed repair. Got to the point where it was just no longer sensible.
 
I'd say never scrap any engine block. you can't exactly drop by a ford dealer and pick up a new one. one day there will be very few blocks left and it will get to the point where any block regardless of damage is worth the effort. Nobody cared back in the 40's and 50's when they were scrapping Duesenberg Straight 8s or Cadillac V-16s but now if you can find one it's an absolute fortune even if it has a foot long split down the middle. Burtz engines aren't the same as an original A engine and there are many that will go the distance to keep them going.
 
Sunny the Model A said:
I'd say never scrap any engine block. you can't exactly drop by a ford dealer and pick up a new one. one day there will be very few blocks left and it will get to the point where any block regardless of damage is worth the effort. Nobody cared back in the 40's and 50's when they were scrapping Duesenberg Straight 8s or Cadillac V-16s but now if you can find one it's an absolute fortune even if it has a foot long split down the middle. Burtz engines aren't the same as an original A engine and there are many that will go the distance to keep them going.
Click to expand...


Those are worth a fortune because the cars they go into are worth a fortune, so your advice that we should all be hoarding junk engine blocks assumes that someday Model As will be highly valuable. This goes against all experience for the last 75 years.
 
apparently you haven't been paying attention to A prices as of the last 10 years. correctly restored A's are not getting any cheaper and some are cracking $30,000 plus. you can buy certain Packards for less than that in restored condition. the last 5 years alone has driven A prices higher and higher. finding a good stock A under 20,000 is getting to be a challenge. restored engines are also getting more and more expensive to build every year. within 20 years it will be impossible to find a restored A for under $25,000. mark my words.
 
The water jacket under my water pump split open and dad JB welded it. It never leaked until it sucked a valve seat and I swapped engines. It had several thousand miles on it as well.

Mike
 
Sunny the Model A said:
apparently you haven't been paying attention to A prices as of the last 10 years. correctly restored A's are not getting any cheaper and some are cracking $30,000 plus. you can buy certain Packards for less than that in restored condition. the last 5 years alone has driven A prices higher and higher. finding a good stock A under 20,000 is getting to be a challenge. restored engines are also getting more and more expensive to build every year. within 20 years it will be impossible to find a restored A for under $25,000. mark my words.
Click to expand...


This is a bad prediction, but even if it were true, that would mean that the number of people who could afford one of these cars would be drastically lower than it is today. Which means there would be a huge surplus of engines from the existing stock of cars we have now that someone wanting to do a proper restoration could buy and rebuild. Which means there’s still no reason to hoard engines that are junk now.
 
Maybe in your area Model A's are bringing more money, but you can get a decent one for 10k and under around me. I paid 12k for mine and it was pretty much immaculate. They aren't going to go any higher. Everyone wants the car they had when the were 18 years old, and anyone who had a Model A at 18 is dead. Their kids don't want it, the grandkids don't want it. Around me there are more than a dozen chassis on Marketplace from people who stripped it to make a hot rod on a modern frame.


Just buy a Burtz if you're going to run it, otherwise fix it if it makes sense, or send them off to be ground up and turned into a Toyota.
 
JB Weld or Devcon put on a clean surface lasts for years. Don't waste the time and money to pull the motor. The 24hr. stuff is a little harder to use in the front of the block but just
cover it with masking tape to hold it in place.
We even used the 5 min. stuff on a water leak in the middle of a race and finished with no problem. The stuff dried almost immediatly with the engine being so hot.
 
nkaminar said:
The change engine option depends on what you want to do with the car. Do you want to drive it until you give it to your kids or grand kids? To you plan any long distance trips? If you answered yes to these questions then consider a Burtz engine. .
Click to expand...
The $10,000 dollar fix......
Grab the old stick welder and fix it with this stuff. Don't even need to take it out of the car if you can get to the leak.


https://www.homedepot.com/pep/RIDGI...MIuvz6wPTukwMVYSRECB0gRgGVEAQYBSABEgIYV_D_BwE
 
" Everyone wants the car they had when the were 18 years old, and anyone who had a Model A at 18 is dead."

I'm not dead and I bought my first Model A at age 16.
 
nkaminar said:
" Everyone wants the car they had when the were 18 years old, and anyone who had a Model A at 18 is dead."

I'm not dead and I bought my first Model A at age 16.
Click to expand...

My first car was a 31 Sport Coupe, that was in 1962. I will be 80 later this year.
 
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