516 Exhaust valves

BeepBeepRR said:

I need to send the block to be cleaned and checked to make sure its atleast good to use. I need to check the bore size. I do believe its standard. Has a Maltese cross so I assume .001 undersized bearings. The cam might be no good but I would do new anyhow.

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Not 100% sure here, but aren’t 383 blocks/engines just about everywhere and for sale cheap? Before going to try and rescue a turd why not look for a better starting point?

Its a 66 Not that thats a big deal but My car is actually a 66 as well. If the block is savable why not save it? Otherwise I just threw 200.00 down the drain.

BeepBeepRR said:

Its a 66 Not that thats a big deal but My car is actually a 66 as well. If the block is savable why not save it? Otherwise I just threw 200.00 down the drain.

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Didn’t know you paid for it or that your car was a 66. But sometimes you may be better off to start over than stick with it cause you paid a small fee. I know because I’ve spent more saving somethings’ in the past when I should have just cut my losses. Is your cars undergoing a date code correct resto?

Have you measured the bore too?

The way I look at it is if a quality repair costs a couple hundred bucks (not sure what that would actually cost, and also from others, understand cast iron welding isn’t that easy and you really want someone who knows what they’re doing), why not find a verifiable good core motor for a couple hundred and start over. Same over all investment but now you’ll have two sets of tin and other hard parts to choose from. It sucks to buy something and find out its kinda junk... been there done that.
All this is just a thought, and I understand you’ll make whatever choice is right for you and wish you the best of luck with it!

V it out. Find a stick welder. Start where its thin you may not need to heat it. But the thicker areas like where the freeze plugs are will likely like some heat. Get some muggy 77 rod $70 or so for a pack...do a little weld..., then another weld , watch your heat..repeat till it's done. Clean up with a grinder. The welds don't crack with the muggy rod, sometimes it takes some extra heat to get the weld to stick...its very impressive stuff. Once you grind you would be hard pressed to even see the repair.

Thanks, I know cast iron is a bit tricky to deal with. I will take out the pistons and crank this week and see what the bores look like. If they don't look terrible I will push on and fix the crack.