Noticed the paint had separated when putting 69 sb 350/300 auto no air. The heater hose intake barb on. It looks to me to be a crack. I sanded it down to steal and it seems to be in the metal. If it is, what are my options? Can it be fixed? If I would replace it Id want to replace it with the same one. It is one thing after another with this car.

Thanks

 

If this is the original intake for your car it's certainly worth repairing. Any decent welding shop can repair cast iron easily. Cost should not be prohibitive either. Clean the area of paint before you bring it to them.
Good luck, Greg

 

Most engine machine shops have a magna-flux process they use to determine if castings are cracked. T

 

A machine shop or a welder can weld the crack.

 

Do I need to take the manifold off?

 

Yes... Cast iron is usually heated before any welding is done plus any and all contaminants need to be removed.

 

if that is all it is, it does not look like it is worth the effort to fix..
at most a small and probably tiny vacuum leak is minor. clean it out from the paint and put some epoxie on it, repaint and then it should be fine. if it is a vacumm leak then the vacuum will draw the epoxie down into the leak and seal it. why spend hundreds, be down for weeks, scrape gaskets, re tune/time engine unless you have to.

 

It's a heater hose port...
I would be tempted to patch it myself using some epoxy but it definitely could crack further. Think OP wants a permanent fix.

 

I don't think it will crack further. Its crack down the height of that nipple. Now you would have to make the whole manifold crack for it to crack further. He noticed the crack, I don't think he saw any water leaking out. I would be tempted to put a little Teflon tape in it with the heater hose fitting back in double check that you're not getting any leaks and then paint it Orange.

 

Is it just me, looks like someone has already tried a repair. Don't like down time either as Joe said, but these things will bite when you least expect it. Replace it and get that nice aluminum intake you've been wanting.

 

Cracks need to be drilled at the end or they'lll just keep progressing slowly till they reach their 'terminal speed' ( dont know if this is the right english translation tbh) and it progresses super quickly.
For such a non-structural repair you could weld it in situ. Even some JB weld willl probably hold after the crack is drilled.

 

Last person who put the nipple in probably over tightened it with an air gun. I would be tempted to pull the intake just to get rid of the rubber end seals.

 

Does it leak? If not than drive it.

 

I have repaired items like this myself. Cast iron can be BRAISED. Not welded. I don't recommend welding, but some guys can.
they will grind a v shaped slot in the offending crack and braise it up.
Fortunately it only has to hold say 30 psi 15 psi x2 for comfort.
this technique can also be used on cast iron manifolds.

good luck!

UnkaHal

 

Great feedback! After the panic, I realize that I do want a permanent fix. I've decided to put a new (to me and car) intake on. I just don't want to potentially have a bigger problem down the road (no pun). It wasnt leaking before but who's to say it wouldn't have... Once I start that I'm sure I'm sure I'll have questions and lean on the forum to assist! My biggest concern is making sure the distributor goes back exactly right...I'm not sure of the procedure - I want to minimize any tuning etc. Not sure if that's possible or not, I've never done it.

I don't think this is original to the car as it's a few months newer than the build date. As far as drive time....it will be a few months I think. I've got the body off now restoring the chassis - everything is easy to get at but seems to hemorrhage cash!!! I'll have this one welded up and keep it as a spare or find a new home for it.

 

Before I retired I was Q Manager at a shop with a number of certified 6G aerospace and Navships welders so I most likely would have taken it to one of them and had them weld it up for me. But only if I was interested in keeping an original part on the block. If you feel this may not be original anyhow then I agree, I would just replace it with a nice aluminum one most likely. There are a number of after market options out there. I have used a few over the years, but to be perfectly honest I prefer a factory intake. I am only a sample of one but I have had better luck with fit and seal using OEM parts. I'm sure others will not agree with this but like I say, I am only speaking from personal experience. Pulling the distributor and relocating it will likely be the hardest part of the job but it is no biggie. Just mark it clearly and read up on setting the timing, you will do fine.