Does anyone possibly know the type of iron that was used in 327 engine blocks produced in early 1965?

We have a crack in the block and the welder who will fix it needs to know the type of iron so he can use the correct welding rod.

Many thanks!

 

JohnZ probably knows.

 

Thanks - do you know how I can contact him??

 

He's usually on the forum. You can do a search for his postings and contact him that way with a PM.

 

I don't know the exact alloy but it's just iron. The early blocks didn't have a high tin and nickel content. Where is it cracked? If it's cracked into the water jacket you would probably have a lot better luck stitching it with tapered iron plugs. With 43 years in engine building I can tell you welding cast iron especially in water is more than likely not going to end well. If you try to stick weld it or tig it it's going to develope a hard crust between the weld and the base metal. Normally you will have a leak in this area. To successfully weld iron it needs to be furnace welded meaning completely heated and welded at around 1500*. In doing this carbon is going to form a scale all over the outside and all machined surfaces would need to be remachined. This is why they don't normally do blocks. There is a place in Missouri I think that welds blocks but the price is gonna be too much. I just bought an attachment for my gas welder and with iron rods and the proper flux you can weld some iron but a block is a whole different story. I'm going to weld a cast iron 4 speed case next week with the gas setup if you're interested in the result I'll let you know. If they did get it welded it's very possible that it will crack in the cool down phase. The tapered plugs I mentioned are designed for stitch welding cast iron. You have to have the correct tap. You start at one end drilling and tapping one hole at a time and screwing in the tapered plugs and breaking them off. Each successive plug overlaps the previous plug until you get to the end of the crack. Good luck

 

It's Grey Iron, which was used on virtually all Chevrolet-made iron castings. Don't know the specific recipe.

 

Thank you very much

 

Without knowing more about the size and location of the crack (a picture would be helpful here), I don't have a good feeling about long term success for this project. Considering the widespread availability of 327 blocks, is there a particular reason for salvage? If absolutely necessary, stitching often works, but one must always keep in mind the cost/benefit ratio for this method. I guess you'll just have to ask yourself, "Am I feeling lucky."