Re: high nickel content blocks??
[Re: John_Kunkel]
#1093385
10/15/11 12:40 AM
10/15/11 12:40 AM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,234 Someplace you aren't
SomeCarGuy
I Live Here
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I Live Here
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Posts: 10,234
Someplace you aren't
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Quote:
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There's a place where you can send a chunk of metal (ore) to be assayed for content. Wouldn't be difficult to send em 2 different minute chunks from 2 different blocks to be analyzed. No idea on the cost or even the company name but it could be found if a person wanted to get serious about this
IIRC, that's what MA did and their conclusion was "While the blocks cast after 1976 do not appear to be "thin wall" castings, they do appear to be cast from a material which is inferior to the earlier castings. It could have been this knowledge that led the MP engineers to caution racers against using the later blocks."
Now now John, these guys who haven't tested anything know that CAN'T be true. Their naked eye tests are far superior-because they say so.
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Re: high nickel content blocks??
[Re: John_Kunkel]
#1093386
10/15/11 02:16 AM
10/15/11 02:16 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 31,092 Oregon
AndyF
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I Win
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Posts: 31,092
Oregon
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I wrote that MA article. What I did was cut chunks of cast iron off of different blocks and then had the material tested for hardness. We only checked hardness, not a chemical analysis.
The material in the later blocks measured softer than the early blocks. In some cases, the later blocks were quite a bit softer. Eberg talked to an engineer at Chrysler who told us that the material specification for the blocks had not changed over the years. So officially we have a mystery.
But my conclusion, based on my testing, is that the material did change over the years and that the engineer Eberg talked to was unaware of the changes. From the little bit that I know of Chrysler engineering, I wouldn't expect an engineer today to know exactly what the casting material was 45 years ago.
As for the original question about high nickel blocks, I really doubt the factory ever messed around with the casting alloy. Those are big, expensive casting lines and the production managers are not going to go to the expense of changing the alloy just so some racers can have strong blocks. It would cost $$$ to change a plant over to a different alloy so I doubt it ever happened. They might have had some small outside shop cast a few parts from a different alloy, but I doubt that the production lines were ever changed over to make race blocks.
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Re: high nickel content blocks??
[Re: DPelletier]
#1093389
10/15/11 12:04 PM
10/15/11 12:04 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 75,103 A Banana Republic near you.
JohnRR
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I Win
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Posts: 75,103
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Yeah, I know.....
There should be an Urban Myth section in the Archives where we could put some of this stuff and then we could just link it instead of typing...... Let's see, we could start out with the following;- thick/thinwall castings
- one of my personal favorites; '70 Coronet grills came from the Edsel! ![](/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh2.gif)
Dave
They didn't ?
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Re: high nickel content blocks??
[Re: John_Kunkel]
#1093391
10/15/11 09:56 PM
10/15/11 09:56 PM
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 4,761 Florida
BDW
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master
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Florida
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Probably not due to Nickel content, there's only 10-15% difference in the pure states compared to cast iron. So even if it was 100% nickel, only 30-50lb difference. "High" nickel content block might weigh 5 lbs more? Maybe extra ribbing / material? http://www.simetric.co.uk/si_metals.htm
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Re: high nickel content blocks??
[Re: quick77rt ]
#1093397
10/20/11 11:24 PM
10/20/11 11:24 PM
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 4,765
quick77rt
Parts Problem
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Parts Problem
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Posts: 4,765
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Re: high nickel content blocks??
[Re: runner12]
#1093399
10/21/11 10:57 AM
10/21/11 10:57 AM
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Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 3,544 Syracuse,NY
CompWedgeEngines
master
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master
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 3,544
Syracuse,NY
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If you ever ran a cylinder hone, and bored and or honed a cross sectiom of Mopar cylinders and blocks, you may have more questions than answers.
If you took a 66 block, a 69 or 70 block, s 76 block and lets say a early " good" Megablock, you would know what i mean. There are some distinct differences tupically.
RIP Monte Smith
Your work is a reflection of yourself, autograph it with quality.
WD for Diamond Pistons,Sidewinder cylinder heads, Wiseco, K1 rods and cranks,BAM lifters, Morel lifters, Molnar Technologies, Harland Sharp, Pro Gear, Cometic, King Engine Bearings and many others.
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Re: high nickel content blocks??
[Re: John_Kunkel]
#1093401
10/21/11 10:12 PM
10/21/11 10:12 PM
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 43,323 Bend,OR USA
Cab_Burge
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 43,323
Bend,OR USA
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Quote:
Quote:
As for the original question about high nickel blocks, I really doubt the factory ever messed around with the casting alloy. Those are big, expensive casting lines and the production managers are not going to go to the expense of changing the alloy just so some racers can have strong blocks. It would cost $$$ to change a plant over to a different alloy so I doubt it ever happened. They might have had some small outside shop cast a few parts from a different alloy, but I doubt that the production lines were ever changed over to make race blocks.
Back in the sixties my local race machine shop (M&M Speed Engineering in Sacramento) had a Hemi block that was being prepped for Chuck Poole's A-100 wheel-stander...it was sitting on the floor next to the door and everybody who came in was invited to try to lift just one end of it. I've wrestled a few Hemi blocks and I could tell a big difference in the weight of it.
Story was it was a high-nickel block that came to Chuck from Garlits who got it out the back door of the factory. It was too heavy for Garlits' dragster but was ideal for the rear motor in the wheel-stander.
That was probally one of the after market race only top fuel blocks that Mopar made for top fuel and funny cars right when the after market aluminum blocks where coming out from Milidon and Donovan Kieth Black had a bunch of them for a long time, thicker main webs but not sure on the cylinder walls or materials I'm thinking late 1960s, maybe early 1970 and after ![](/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shruggy.gif)
Mr.Cab Racing and winning with Mopars since 1964. (Old F--t, Huh)
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