My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

I took my 59 AB block into Metro Engine Service in New Brighton, MN to be cleaned, inspected, and magnafluxed. Good people over there! After it was clean, I got the sad news. There were multiple cracks in the block and a weld that was starting to crack again. Back to the drawing board I guess.

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

Crow cast welding in Hudson can fix about anything. Might want to show it to him before you quit

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

Is it worth it after doing all that welding? The block was welded yaw before I got the car. I'm still learning about these motors.

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

Some cracks are easily fix and some are not.

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

I'd look for a different block

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

google it up. he cooks it in an oven then spray welds new iron. never know its been fixed. just a few miles south of 94, fun place to see engines of all kinds from all over the world. he will tell you fix it, or scrap it. I 'm sure you will enjoy the visit

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

I went thru four 59 series engines to get one block that I felt good about rebuilding.

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

Same here.

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

JSEERY hit it. Some cracks are easy and some are fatal depending on your level of motivation. In fact, some cracks do not need to be fixed.

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

It might be a long shot but is the machine shop flathead friendly? They might be highlighting cracks that are not particularly detrimental, like the head stud to waterway hole cracks.
Do you have pics of the cracks?
Care to share them?
Can you state categorically which crack or defect is rendering the block as scrap?
Sort of hoping against hope, but you never know.
Mart.

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

The machine shop is flathead friendly. A few guys from the Early V8 Ford Club chapter I belong to send their engines there, along with a couple of Ford Barn guys. He had a Flathead 12 out of a Zeyphr he was milling. Also, he had a Flathead V8 that was being reconditioned.

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

My block already had previous repairs and a big weld on the outside. With that being said, do I put more money in it and roll the dice, or find something in better condition? I will post pictures by the end of the day today.

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

Do you know the name?

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

Buck is the name of the boss. Really, its close to you and you will have fun seeing the stuff in the shop. https://www.castmetalwelding.com/

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

Something to note on welding of blocks: If they're going to use a furnace welding type of technique (which I've used on various blocks), then be prepared to have most of the machined surfaces redone/touched up. This can get mighty expensive. If you explore this route, ask them questions about what work will need to be done AFTER they've done their work - so you get an idea as to total costs. You may need to check with your machine shop as far as their costs in the project.

Personally, given the basic sound of what you're talking about . . . I'd try to find a good block first.

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

I would start looking for another but hold on to that one “just in case”. Even one that is running in a vehicle could have issues. Good luck and keep us posted.......Mark

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

simple let the welder say yes or no they generally wont take on something thats going to bite them down the track then its up to you if the cost is worth it

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

Yes, but they may have no clue as to what amount of machine work the block requires afterwards (and associated costs) - easy to see that as the machine shop's part of the deal. That is . . . unless they are also the machine shop that completes the block work. :D

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

Crow cast also does some machine work. He fixed a B block for me once that had a crack near the center main bearing web. Good B blocks are more scarce than v8's.The heat from the weld usually only affects an area a few inches from the weld, so in this case it had to be line bored again as the crank center line was no longer true. He also fixed an area on a 59 block that was a casting flaw near the pan rail, bottom of water jacket had a sand filled air pocket that exposed itself once the block was cleaned up. A tiny little pin hole, that once we poked around was a thin spot the size of a dime. In this case, nothing moved, no extra machining required. The spray weld has the same texture as natural cast iron, you cant see anything was done there, and its supposed to be stronger than the original cast material. I am not his salesman, but its an amazing place to visit. He does a lot of antique boat motors which often have cracks from freezing with water in them. I've seen frozen exhaust manifolds where there is actually a chunk missing, froze and broke out and gone, and he can back up the inside with some kind of screen and spray weld back in an area the size of a D cell battery. Ever seen a Kermath (?) boat motor? about 5' tall when standing on end, always some there. Once I was there and he had a duesenburg head on his mill table that was cut in half in the middle. Story goes, someone back in the day cut it in half to make an overhead cam head for some 4 banger. strangely enough, they saved both halves, and Buck was trying to figger out how much material was missing from the cut so he could weld it back together for a duesy. Never a dull moment at bucks, and it cant be 30 miles away. go see what he has to say...and have some fun

Re: My 59 AB Flathead is no good
 

Where is the crack and weld at? Did it pressure test okay?


Spider cracks are not uncommon, cracks along the oil pan area are not great.


If you can find another block, why not. Each one will have their issues. But some are better then others too.