Why, oh why... do Model A's crack between exhaust seats & cylinder bore ??? !!!

[Special Coupe Frank]

Why do they do it?

Or do I just have a special talent for finding Model A engines thus afflicted.

Speaking of the all too-common crack(s) in the deck radiating from the exhaust valve seat towards the cylinder bore, on cylinders 3 and 2.

I've been tearing-down and examining a spare '29 engine, and things were going pretty good until I cleaned-down the deck today... sure enough, a noticeable crack from # 3 exhaust seat, and a barely perceptible one from # 2 exhaust about 1/2 way to the bore.

The 88,000 mile engine in my driver '28 coupe has the same cracks, which I've been band-aiding with stopleak until I found another engine / had one rebuilt.

The common advice I've read here at the Barn is that decent Ford blocks are common enough not to warrant fixing cracks.

I'm beginning to wonder if this is still the case ?

I still have to mic the cylinder bores and check the babbit in the upper main saddles; if everything else looks decent, I'm inclined to have a go at pinning this block and trying to salvage it...

Otherwise, unless I can pull the head and inspect before buying, every other old Banger seems like a crap-shoot ?

Disgusted at the moment,

SC Frank

[columbiA]

With the number of times these 80+ year old engines have overheated & lost the coolant in there past lives,its no wonder a lot of them have cracks from valve seats to cyls.Buying a grungy old engine is a crap shoot,thats why I would never pay much for one.There are lots of A engines out there.There is likely a few dozen A blocks out there for every B block.All B blocks need to be checked for cracks in the valve seat area.

[DaveB]

I have seen that same crack in at least 10 engines I have torn down looking for blocks without cracks to repair for me or other people. But I have also seen several running engines that have that crack repaired by using pins and then adding a sleeve to all cylinders as well as valve seats. I only had one engine that was repaired as I said above give problems with the valve seat working loose 6oo miles from home .... and yes we made it home with that engine but it frequently bounced out of the block to bounce around for a while. I found that driving fast it was OK but gave touble with a slow idle. It made for a very nervious drive home.

[George Miller]

I have fixed many cracked blocks over the years. If done right they will be fine. My coupe has two cracked seat to cylinder wall. Pinned it, sleeved it, put valve seats in it. That was 17,000 miles ago.

But I would not do it if the engine is not original to the car. There are to many good non cracked engines out there.

If you have it repaired and the guy knows what he is doing, you will be fine. Problem is there are a lot of want bee's out there. Just read the board we hear about them all the time.

[AL in NY]

SC Frank, repairing the type of crack is difficult and costly. Like George Miller stated, if it's not original to the car, replace it. I had the same problem on my last engine after badly overheating it. I got another block from an engine builder in the Albany, NY area. He bead-blasted, magnifluxed it and did a thorough inspection before selling it to me for $350.00. I rebuilt and restamped it. No problems(except for a leaky rear seal) and it runs great. The price was a bit high for the bare block, but I wasn't buying a "pig in a poke" either. If you need another block, email me, and I can give you the builder's contact information.

[glenn in camino]

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The first time that happened to me, I bought a block pinning kit and repaired it myself with good results. Try it and you'll never worry about cracked blocks again.

[Bill in Al]

I recently installed a B engine that was built several years ago into my car.As I tightened in proper sequence the head,I heard a slight "tic".I pulled the head and found the deck had cracked between the #3 intake and exhaust valves.(ohboy)! The casting was very thin. Inserted and pressurized and other goodies. I decided after discussing with some other local A Buds with a lot of knowledge to button it up as it was. I changed the oil today after 400 miles of varied speeds and so far I don't have water in the oil or oil in the water or water in the cylinder. It runs like a scalded dog,idles fine and for the life of me I don't understand how! I'll put some more miles on her before I completely trust it. These old engines are tough!-Bill

[steve hackel]

To follow up with the cracked block issue, check out this web site: http://www.locknstitch.com/ I met with these people at the Hot Rod & Restoration show in Indianapolis and spent an hour just looking at their samples of repaired items....... an A' block was one of them! I plan on using it for my own engine.

[Special Coupe Frank]

Originally Posted by glenn in camino

The first time that happened to me, I bought a block pinning kit and repaired it myself with good results. Try it and you'll never worry about cracked blocks again.

Hi Glenn,

Sent you an e-mail via Fordbarn.

Regards,

Frank

[dumb person]

They do it to encourage people to invent new metal repair technologies.

[Special Coupe Frank]

Originally Posted by dumb person

They do it to encourage people to invent new metal repair technologies.

Indeed... I'm game to learn new tricks...

SC Frank

[dumb person]

Had this theory about Caswell nickel plating kit with a brush, clean the metal well & brush the crack until it is filled. Might have to drill & pin the ends of the crack first.

[glenn in camino]

Special coupe Frank
Check your privite messages
Glenn