cracked block...fixed

[cas3]

this is a 59 block i had out to a shop to be p tested and magged. we found a short, about 1 1/4" long crack between the pan bolts on the pan rail. the rest of the block checked good, and the shop said they could pin, or stitch the area and not a big deal. later while poking around with a pic and an air gun a chunk the size of a pencil blew out of the side (where i have drawn the circle), and along with it was lots of sand. this revealed that this whole area was very thin. our thought was this was a casting flaw and this pocket of sand was lower than the rest of the water jackets. perhaps the sand held moisture at some point and froze to produce the crack. sorry guys things were happening fast and in my state of panic i did not get a before photo. i know you feel cheated. so, i took it to buck at crow cast welding in hudson wi. and let him do his magic. he cut out the area i have marked in pen, and flame spray welded it all back in. 350 bucks later i am back to a good block.

[JWL]

You might get some arguments about how it "should have been fixed". But, not from me. It looks good and I praise you for making such an effort to save it.
JWL

[rotorwrench]

Repairs on cast can be hit or miss. You never know until you get it back in service. That repair looks solid from the photo. Folks that do iron casting repair work generally will tell you if they don't think it will work. They don't stay in business long it it doesn't.

[Dave Castle]

Looks good, it would always b in the back of my mind though.

[Fordestes]

Looks like a good job.

[J Franklin]

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Shoulda just put in a wad of bondo!

[tubman]

That looks good to me. I guess all pan rail cracks are not a "death knell" for the block. Different circumstances require different actions. The hemi in my dirt car had the block repaired at least 15 years ago and it's still going strong.

[RalphM]

Good work! I had a 59AB that was thin just behind your repair, in the wider part of the pan rail. It had a small hole, that after cleaning up turned into a 1/2” hole. I drilled it out larger and tapped it for a 1/2” pipe plug. Put plug in with jb weld and filed down the excess flat with pan rail. The motor is now in a 33 pickup and still running strong.

[supereal]

Cracks in and along the pan flange are often the result of freezing, and have damage inside. where it can't be seen.

[19Fordy]

That sure looks like a good "fix". Let us know over time.

[hardtimes]

Good for another 75 years, with the care that you will give it that most likely not given , i.e.- not allowing water to set/freeze; use of anti-freeze !