I thought I’d got quite a good block for the special and have gone ahead with a light skim and rebore.
However now I’ve got it home I have found this crack emanating from the centre stud hole to the water passage. It looks quite old in that the edges are slightly corroded so it’s probably been there for some time. There are no cracks between the stud and the cylinders which have been bored to 57.25mm in preparation for Tony’s slipper pistons.
I will be using a standard cam and valve springs but a Ricardo head.
Is the block Scrap? Or is it worth chancing it given the lack of cracks to the cylinders?
This question has been aired before on the forum and I think the consensus was
- if you have a block that isn't cracked, use that one
- but plenty of people are driving around with cracks here
- probably only cause for concern if it starts heading for the bores; and then only if unlined.
Howard don't worry my block has the same crack and has not got any worse in 20yrs of competition a rebore and several sets of pistons. When fitting the head gasket seal with a thin coat of Loctite copper silicon gasket sealer and you won't have a problem. Terry.
Hi Howard, I agree will all other posters on this one.most blocks I have seen are cracked in that position, I wouldn't bother getting it repaired.
Gene
ive just got back in from collecting 7 reconditioned blocks from steve flake.
and i can remember seeing at least 5 are cracked in the same place.
ive been getting blocks reconditioned for my customers for nearly 30 years now. and yes most blocks have this crack.
none of them had further problems.
what i would do though, as the block is freshly bored. is to check the bores again after a week. to see if there are any poorus spots half way down the bores. they come up as little black dots.
porocity can come through at any bore size, and isnt always obvious when the bores are freshly bored, and nice and shinny.
i dont say this to worry you. its just easier to do any checks before an engine goes together. rather than second guessing when something goes wrong.
Howard, FWIW, I had a similar crack repaired by Surelock Castings. Various Austin sages advised against wasting my money. Nevertheless it was repaired about 10 years ago and is still holding out.
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