Real deal original stamp 1965 fuelie block... worth saving??

[Steven S.]

Obviously it has issues or I wouldn't be asking, but here it is, an original stamp '65 HG block. The history of this block is known back to the early '70's circa 1972, it spent most of it's life in a street rod, believed to never have been apart before the street rod was destroyed in a garage fire. The engine was then disassembled and everything was sent out to be cleaned and checked, the block came back with two problems found (they don't show well in the picture, only the general area), one crack in the water jacket and one crack from the cam bearing down to the main bearing bore. The block cleaned up real good but since got wet one time hence the way it looks now. Standard bore with very little cylinder wear just for the record. Not my block but I know the owner well. The rest of the engine survived, and the FI unit thankfully wasn't on the car at the time.

I have my own opinion on this one, but I wanted to hear what you guys thought of it.

Steve

[Dick W.]

Re: Real deal original stamp 1965 fuelie block... worth saving??

I believe the water jacket crack to be repairable, but the crack from the cam bearing bore to the main bearing bore is another story. I think that it would bear further investigation to see if the crack is surface or completely thru. Maganaflux will not differentiate.

[Clem Z.]

Re: Real deal original stamp 1965 fuelie block... worth saving??

I believe the water jacket crack to be repairable, but the crack from the cam bearing bore to the main bearing bore is another story. I think that it would bear further investigation to see if the crack is surface or completely thru. Maganaflux will not differentiate.

you can sleeve the oil gallery drilling if that is where the crack is located. i have done that to several blocks the spun the mains and cracked the block in this area from the heat

[Dick W.]

Re: Real deal original stamp 1965 fuelie block... worth saving??

I have never done that to a cast block, only the ZL-1 blocks. As long as it does not compromise structural integrity, I would see no problems

[John N.]

Re: Real deal original stamp 1965 fuelie block... worth saving??

Does the Corvette still exist?

[Steven S.]

Re: Real deal original stamp 1965 fuelie block... worth saving??

Does the Corvette still exist?

We do not know, the engine came in another car that the owner bought in the early '70's. He said prior to buying that car there was supposed to be a totalled '65 fuelie in a salvage yard nearby, and it was believed that the engine was from that car, but that is pure speculation. The car did have the correct exhaust manifolds on it and all, so it would seem possible the whole works was pulled from a wreck.

Excellent advice guys, and thats a great idea on that main bearing crack Clem, I'll have to relay that one back to the owner and see what he thinks.

Steve

[Clem Z.]

Re: Real deal original stamp 1965 fuelie block... worth saving??

I have never done that to a cast block, only the ZL-1 blocks. As long as it does not compromise structural integrity, I would see no problems

i would not do that for a high HP race engine but a street engine should be no problem.

[Mike E.]

Re: Real deal original stamp 1965 fuelie block... worth saving??

Without the original car, in my eyes, it's just another 327 block. To be correct for any other car, it needs to be restamped, which puts it back in the category with all the passenger car blocks properly dated in the same era.

[Richard M.]

Re: Real deal original stamp 1965 fuelie block... worth saving??

Gary Summerville or Bill Wilhime(ms?) may want to chime in on this, as far as the engine pad in the right car I believe the only deduct would be for the incorrect vin. Am I not correct?

[Steven S.]

Re: Real deal original stamp 1965 fuelie block... worth saving??

Gary Summerville or Bill Wilhime(ms?) may want to chime in on this, as far as the engine pad in the right car I believe the only deduct would be for the incorrect vin. Am I not correct?

I believe it's a small deduct for wrong VIN (25 points??). I could be wrong.

[Roy S.]

Re: Real deal original stamp 1965 fuelie block... worth saving??

You are 100% correct if an original fuel injected block was put in an original fuel injected car and the block met the criteria date wise of the judging standard the only deduction would be for the VIN derivative which would be 25 points. Or you could have it stamped and take a chance on loosing 88 points, I know what I would do, it would always have the original VIN derivative, machine code and broach marks if it was mine.

[Bill W.]

Re: Real deal original stamp 1965 fuelie block... worth saving??

I believe it's a small deduct for wrong VIN (25 points??). I could be wrong.

Steven,
That block should be usable unless there is other damage you don't know about. First choice would be to reunite it with the original body/frame. If that's not possible then install in a '65 fuel car built close to the time frame of the original.
The original block in my '65 fuel car had two or three cracks per main bearing bolt hole (six center bolts only) radiating down the main web to the cam journal. This was caused by detonation on the top end while drag racing. To repair the damage we installed four-bolt main caps on the center three mains, drilled and tapped holes under the bearing and installed bolts. These bolts went through the cracks and helped strengthen this area. Block was then line bored and assembled with care, completed engine was run on dyno and made 398 corrected horse power. During the dyno runs we made several pulls to 6500 rpm while tuning injector and getting timing right.
This work was done almost 20 years ago, car has successfully completed "Duntov" award twice, first time under my ownership.
Your friend's block can be saved and made reliable, you need to decide if it's worth the money. Good luck! bill

[Steven S.]

Re: Real deal original stamp 1965 fuelie block... worth saving??

Good discussion guys, some very good points here, I'm going to urge him to have the repairs made.

Any advice on what type of repair would be best suited for the water jacket?

I agree with Roy 100% on the stamp pad, for me if it was an original pad with wrong VIN I would much rather leave it be and take a small deduct. You preserve the history of that block, because for all anyone knows, the car with the VIN you are about to have milled off could still be out there, and once those numbers are gone thats it.

Steve

[Michael J.]

Re: Real deal original stamp 1965 fuelie block... worth saving??

I don't know, it would just be another NOM car wouldn't it? Kind of like having it decked and unstamped too.

[Joe L.]

Re: Real deal original stamp 1965 fuelie block... worth saving??

Good discussion guys, some very good points here, I'm going to urge him to have the repairs made.

Any advice on what type of repair would be best suited for the water jacket?

I agree with Roy 100% on the stamp pad, for me if it was an original pad with wrong VIN I would much rather leave it be and take a small deduct. You preserve the history of that block, because for all anyone knows, the car with the VIN you are about to have milled off could still be out there, and once those numbers are gone thats it.

Steve

Steve-----


The lifter valley crack can be repaired by "pinning", sometimes called "stitching". In this process, a hole is drilled and tapped at one end of the crack line and a special tapered "pin"is installed. Then, an overlapping hole is drilled into the pin and the crack line adjacent to the pin. The process is repeated until the entire crackline is "pinned". This is a tedious and time consuming process and, consequently, it's expensive. It also needs to be done by professionals who are well experienced with this sort of repair.

The lifter valley crack you have pictured is a very common crack area on small blocks. I'll bet there are a lot running around with a crack like this and the owner doesn't even know about it. Of course, once one knows about it, one does not want to "leave it be".