Cylinder wall weld??

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1974scamp

1974scamp

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Hey all,

I just teared down my 1969 318 engine and found this (see pictures) between cylinder 4 and 6.
As I thought I removed the thin stock looking head gaskets I wondererd if this is maybe done by the factory? Anybody seen something like that before?
Actually I wanted to reuse the stock bottom end...

Thanks for the help!

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I highly doubt the factory would do anything like that.
 
I also thought that, just wondered because it seemed like it has never been apart before...
 
Definitely never seen that except for high dollar aluminum blocks. That’s not factory and I definitely wouldn’t use it.
 
That looks odd and shoddy to me.
I have never seen a repair like this before from the factory.
Did it run okay and seal before you took it apart?
Or, have you never run it?
I would be looking for another block to build if it were me, after all, it's only a 318 and there are a lot of cores around for cheap.
That's my take on it FWIW...
 
Dartnut said:
That looks odd and shoddy to me.
I have never seen a repair like this before from the factory.
Did it run okay and seal before you took it apart?
Or, have you never run it?
I would be looking for another block to build if it were me, after all, it's only a 318 and there are a lot of cores around for cheap.
That's my take on it FWIW...
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He’s from Austria so I’m guessing supply is not what it is here in the states. Maybe that’s the reason for trying to save it.
 
This goes against my better judgement and all common sense, but if the head gasket sealed and it was running good before you tore it down, I'd just pretty it up and run it. Unless you do happen to come across a cheap 318 block.
 
Not factory, and I doubt that was sealing with those thin metal head gaskets. Maybe with some better head gaskets it could be saveable.
 
The head gasket is black right where that goobers and rasinettes weld is. The pockets where there is no filler almost connects the 2 cylinder jugs together. Just grind that out and put a good weld with a quality rod in there and grind it flat enough for the head gasket to seal and you will have a repair that will probably outlast all of us...especially an old fart like me. LOL
 
TT5.9mag said:
He’s from Austria so I’m guessing supply is not what it is here in the states. Maybe that’s the reason for trying to save it.
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Agreed.
I did not realize that he was in Austria, I didn't look at his avitar.
That's a game changer for sure.
As mentioned, If you can't find a better block, then hit it with some Ni-Rod and machine it flush, and it might be good enough.
The previous repair was not very good, and the part that was actually sealing was maybe 1/4 '' at best.
Not good enough IMHO.
It really makes me wonder why it was repaired there in the first place...
 
I’ve done repairs like that between two cylinders and filed it flat with a flat file. Both held up great. The one I repaired I Tig welded it with stainless. The other block was in the car with the pistons in. I packed the cylinder with Kayo wool and fiberglass cloth and a guy stick welded it for me with nickel rod. Hurt it on a Sunday and had it back together for Fridays race.
 
Its as shame you are not in the states, I would give you a bare 318 block.
 
Not factory. A good machine shop could probably repair it so it would be undetectable. But at what cost?
 
Thanks for all the answers!

The story is actually I just broke my 0.30 over 360 block of my 408 stroker as the lower oil rings of two pistons broke and left deep scratches in the cylinder 1 and 4.
I first thought about fixing it with two sleeves but with the machine shop prices over here that is even more expensive than finding another 360 block and bore it 0.30 over so I can reuse my stroker rotating assembly with forged pistons.

The 318 was in the car before when I bought it and I drove it for maybe 1 or 2 years, ran quite strong and took some abuse but it started leaking in a lot of places and I thought the head gasket maybe gone in the end as I remember I the radiator hoses always had extrem pressure - so with this repair I think that proved right.

Because it can take a while till you find a 360 block here and the 318 is a 1969 with the higher 9.2 compression I thought ill just clean up the bottom end, put the aluminum heads and air gap on, and a comp XE274 cam which I have laying around and see how it works, maybe drive it for a year till the stroker short block is sorted out...

But with this damage I think thats not even worth the effort and actually just 2 hours ago I was at a guys garage who said he can find me a 360 block quite easy so I guess the 318 project is not happening now :(
 
Dicer said:
That almost looks like it has been welded by J&B.
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Back in the early '80's I worked for an auto parts store/machine shop that would repair cracks in Model T and Model A blocks with JB Weld. As long as the ends were stressed relieved (and the customer was understanding), it actually held-up pretty well!
 
sireland67 said:
Its as shame you are not in the states, I would give you a bare 318 block.
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Thanks for that, actually 318 blocks are not that rare here in Europe too and quite easy to find, but they are obviously far from free, or pick one for 100 at junk yard or so... so I rather invest that money in the 360
 
1974scamp said:
Thanks for that, actually 318 blocks are not that rare here in Europe too and quite easy to find, but they are obviously far from free, or pick one for 100 at junk yard or so... so I rather invest that money in the 360
Click to expand...
By the way, do all 318 blocks have the same deck height? Was the compression change only due to piston height?
 
I have seen aluminum blocks spray welded and redecked. This looks to me like a head gasket went and the gap became a blow torch which torched a trench between cylinders. There is no reason in a pinch it could be welded up and resurfaced. This was a very poor repair the last time.
 
If that block was running and not leaking, that would weigh heavily on my decision making. Regardless of what some may "think" or "say" about the repair, if it was working, it is probably better than what "they" can do. "Ugly" doesn't always mean "bad".
 
RustyRatRod said:
If that block was running and not leaking, that would weigh heavily on my decision making. Regardless of what some may "think" or "say" about the repair, if it was working, it is probably better than what "they" can do. "Ugly" doesn't always mean "bad".
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I just say ugly as it doesn't even cover the whole flame deck surface. As horribly drawn below, I would worry about a pathway for cylinder combustion to cross talk.

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What are the deposits on top of the piston here? Head gasket could have been leaking as OP mentioned was his concern.

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