Block Repair Help

Does anyone know of or has anyone had their block repaired/welded? The number one rod blew and caused damage to the pan rail area close to the left engine mount surface. Part of the pan rail will need welding also. I''m looking for someone knowledgable and with competent skills in this area. It's the original block to my car.
Thanks

There’s a guy in Michigan named Rick Petra, third generation, from what I’ve seen does a great job. Don’t have an address he’s on my messenger page and don’t know how to send it to you

Thanks, Cudaman. I will see if I can make contact with him. If you figure it out, please send any info.

make sure you find someone with a great reputation for welding cast Iron , to do it correctly it needs to be heated in an oven to a certain temperature and held at that temperature until entire block has reached temperature evenly ,,has to be welded at that temp and heat kept on even keel until repairs are completed , then then cooled in increments over a period of time. saw it done a few times when I was young evidently my memory is as good on exact details as it use to be. Don't just look for car guys for this type of repairs , if possible look to find European or Russian immigrant professional welders as cast iron is a cheaply produced metal widely used in the east and they experts in cast iron repairs. Indy Cylinder head use to do it years ago.

MPD Welding up here in Orion MI can most likely fix it right up.

http://www.mpdweldinginc.com/

Bob Himes 317-831-8069
Mooresville Indiana
Welded a numbers matching 440 Six pack for me years ago with terrific results. BAD shape going in, holes, major cracks, rod left the block....still running to this day almost 16 years later. He has the oven and years of practice. Located just south of Indianapolis.
Todd

Thanks for the replies and suggestions, guys! As this is the numbers matching block to my 70 hemi charger, I want someone that knows their sh*t.


Thanks,

The one I said has all those capabilities mentioned below, using ovens and cooling a little bit over days. Just texted him for his number, got back fast! 708-749-3420

Thank you Cudaman for getting back to me.

X

Have those repairs been welded or brazed? Just looking at the bead color.

So what did the repair cost?

This is brazed! If it where my block make sure it is heated and properly stick welded using a strong alloy welding rod.

I agree, they are both absolutely brazed.

agree , but Brazing is an acceptable way to repair cast iron.I think its properties are stronger than cast iron.

As per google:

Filler Metal and Flux for Braze Welding The filler metal used for most braze welding is a copper alloy containing roughly 60% copper, 40% zinc, and small amounts of tin, iron, manganese, and silicon.

Not as strong as cast iron. It may be "acceptable" but if i where trying the save a rare hemi block i wouldn't be brazing it.

Brazing is very soft and has a different expansion rate than either cast grey iron or ductile iron
I had my first 400 block brazed up on the deck between #4 and #6 cylinders due to it blowing a head gasket before I bought it, I couldn't find another block so I had it fixed and had to put two sleeves in those cylinder to make the head gaskets and ring seal right
I had to put two sleeves in #1 and #7 cylinders also due to rust pitting being to deep to seal up at 4.375 bore size, that block was not a good pick to build
it did make a lot of power and lived as long as I had it

Years ago one of my Dad's big diesel engines had a crack in the block. He bought some special certanium alloy welding rods and his friend who was a welder sparked it up for him. Never had an issue with the repair.

I'll mention one other thing be sure to magnaflux to look for cracks. Drill out the end of any crack prior to repair to avoid chasing it and making it worse.

Good luck.

I was just going by the fact that the nickel cast welding rod is rated at 55,000 tensile strength, vs the brazing rod rated at 65,000

Yes brazing is acceptable, the repair on the skirt by the oil pan rail will most likely only fail if smacked by a connecting rod again but so would the rest of the block. But brazing that main bearing support would worry me, especially if a racing engine.

Fixed this block with Certanium rods. Not sure if they are still manufactured.

If the brazing rod has a higher strength than cast iron, why? I would think that it is the strongest part of the block. Just wondering why. Not trying to argue.

I’d like to purchase some of those rods, any ideas on where?

It would all depend on the brazing rod used for the repair. The Harris-Welco 017FC60 rod is 70% nickel and an excellent cast iron brazing rod. If the customer was sure the welder (brazer) used that rod it would be stronger than the cast iron and hold up well.

You can try Lawson https://www.lawsonproducts.com/Certanium/889-Cast-Iron-Stick-Rod-Electrode-532/P12006.lp There are other brands that are high nickel content. The certanium seem to flow real well, but pricey. Good deal on ebay for nickel rods https://www.ebay.com/itm/294318845754?hash=item4486c52f3a:g:GCEAAOSwxZRhDY2H

Yep, looked them up. A few have them forsale. Kinda wondering if these are what Muggy Weld is selling?

Ok I got a story for you. About 25 years ago I needed a Mega block repaired that had a small window and pan rail damaged.
I was told to go see Charlie in Middletown, NY. He was an older guy who did repairs on all kinds of engines and machinery.
He prepped the block and “cold welded” half inch at a time with nickel rods. He then ground smooth , dressed and stress relieved it with a hammer and punches...When he was finished you couldn’t see the repair.
The story was that in his youth he designed and built the machine that polished the lens/mirror on the Hubble telescope for NASA.

Anyone have experience with a block that the crack has gone into the lifter bore? How much thickness between water jacket and lifter bore oil galley on RB/hemi blocks?

Found this on a welding site - sounds like cold weld to me

“If you can find it, Certanium 889SP is magic for cast iron. It needs no preheat, is machinable, AC/DC, material doesn't have to be real clean, just a good V prep. Do little, skip, do a llittle more, skip, etc. If you can't hold your hand on it, quit till you can, and go back at it. You won't be disappointed.“

Sent an email to the company asking for a dealer close so I can buy and try some.