I am jumping into my first Camaro restoration and I need a little engine block help. I have a 396 BB and there is a crack on the outside where the starter bolt hole. This will not allow me to secure the starter fimly because the crack is on the bolt hole. Can this be welded and retapped? Can this be welded without disassembling the engine? The engine runs great so I hate to mess with it but I have to get this fixed before it gets worse. I am afraid the heat for the weld will mess things up. I appreciate any ideas.

Thanks,

Greg

 

Yes
A compitant welder could do it rather easily, the engine is wrapped in a water jacket, so the heat should not be a problem (plus he won't be welding very long)

the crack needs ground out to a V-groove, probably 1/2" to 3/4" wide and as deep as the crack is, a good penitrating weld up the center and then fill the rest, cooling it in between
and since it Cast-Iron it must be a 7018 welding rod

Make sure the fuel line is covered, so he won't arc on it,
I would wrap the engine in wet towels so no oil could ignite
Have someone on firewatch, with a fire extinguisher

This is why I say a compitant welder will know all this stuff

 

Is it the inside hole closest to the pan or the other one?

I've seen this done on rare/hard to find blocks with some limited success. best success was not a quick fix with a stick welder.. but was when the block was completely stripped, turned upsde down. if the hole is off just a little it will **** the starter and the bendex and flywheel won't line up right. cast powder welding should work.

Also there was a big block starter that had 3 mounting bolts...a guy might could find one of those and drill and tap the 3rd hole....try
http://rockauto.com looked up a 67 caprice with a 396, it listed it..


g

 

I appreciate both ideas. The bolt hole is the one on the outside of the block. I will get the services of a good welder and see what I can get done. Thanks again for the ideas,I am feeling a lot better about this now.

 

I know with some of the antique tractor engines that are prone to crack they use a furnace welding technique, Ive not delt with the powder welding but it sounds good. I was looking it up and found this link about welding cast iron welding it just seamed interesting and a video explaination always helps me LOL. http://www.locknstitch.com/expansion_contraction.htm