Metallic Properties of 351 Windsor

My friend Whitelightning suggested that I find a welder to weld a piece of an engine block onto a 351 Windsor that I believe I knocked off in the process of replacing a waterpump.

I want to do it myself if possible and would like to know the metallic properties of the engine to prevent chrystallization and brittleness. I have seen welders work and think it may be good to start welding the rust spots around the body also if I keep the van.

Anyone up to the challenge?

Thanks

Reply to
ladeeda
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Are you or are you not a welder? It's not as easy as "I have seen welders work and think..."

Reply to
Advocate

I'd be interested in seeing what kind of cast iron we could "knock off" an engine block during water pump replacement.....

Anyway.... "back in the day" before thin wall casting, it wasn't unheard of to see a block or manifold that had been welded. The 265 Chev (which grew up to be the 350) was prety much the first production thin wall block... we saw less and less in the way of welding on these since they are a bit more delicate to work with than their progenitors. I must say that none of this type of welding was ever done to attach one piece of cast to another.... it was done to repair stress cracks and similar problems.

The requirements are very simple indeed.... We start with a clean block and "nasty bit".... this doesn't stop at free of rust and dirt since cast iron is porous... we'll need to be sure to clean it well to avoid any inclusions. Once we have the metal prepped, we'll need to decide how to grind the pieces to ensure adequate penetration..... without beveling, our weld will be like beauty - only skin deep.

Next, we take our handy dandy "rosebud" torch tip and heat everyting up to about 500 or so degrees F.... IIRC, you can take it right up to a lttle over

1000 degrees, but I wouldn't go any hotter..... You can get one of your buddies to maintain the parts at this temp while you are welding it.... you don't want it cooling off during the welding process.

Of course, we had to leave the parent metal and the nasty bit quite thick to ensure proper alignment so we'll need a pretty hefty DC welder (an AC buzz box just wont do).... something that can deliver about 300 amps or so should be good. Then, we can take a high nickel electrode from a new, unopened package or one that has been properly stored (if the flux gets any moisture in it, it will fingernail from the heat of welding and wont shield the weld adequately..... the weld will be brittle or weak and contain inclusions).

It wont be long after we get the rod into the stinger that we realize there's a bit more to this welding thing than poking in the general area or our desires and the welder makes it look easy because he does this sort of stuff day in and day out....

So... eventually, we get this nasty bit joined back onto the parent piece with what appears to be a large wad of used chewing gum...... we grind it all down nice and use a die grinder to hog out all the inclusions we can see. We can reduce the amperage on our welder, select a thinner electrode, have our bud reheat the metal to 500 or so degrees F, and cap the inclusions....... the bubble gum doesn't look quite so bad this time and it's easier to grind the stuff off and it even almost nearly just about looks OK.

After we pack up the welder and the oxy-acetylene rig and pull the roof off a few brews congratulating ourselves on a job well done, things may be cool enough to reassemble. We get to the bolt closest to the "ex-nasty bit" and torque it to spec..... but, wait..... did I hear a little "POP" noise??? Hmmmm, better back this bolt out and take a peak.......

SOB..... our "ex-nasty bit" has turned into a new nasty bit. We pick it up off the floor and notice that our weld is good since the new nasty bit broke off right beside the weld...

About that time, we stroll nonchalantly into the house and look in the yellow pages under "auto salvage" to find a good engine core.

Disclaimer.... the preceding piece was written to entertain, amuse and inform..... no derision was intended.

Reply to
Jim Warman

Exactly... as a 50 year veteran of the amateur welding wars; I might attempt it, if my wife had a commercial kiln that was big enough to hold the block to start out with.

Welding modern thin body panels is a breeze, in comparison.

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

Well done Jim, thank you very much...

Reply to
351CJ

----- Original Message ----- From: "ladeeda" Newsgroups: alt.autos.ford,alt.trucks.ford Sent: Sunday, February 05, 2006 6:44 AM Subject: Metallic Properties of 351 Windsor

Like everyone else says, welding cast iron is not exactly a beginners project. I'd be damn surprised however if it was actually the block that broke. Are you sure it wasn't the timing cover? Bob

Reply to
Bob

I agree, Jim, a job well done. Entertaining and enlightening--much better than reading flames so often thrown out. s

Reply to
sdlomi2

How many pounds did the hammer weigh?

You need to do a lot more research. This is not soldering.

Reply to
Wound Up

Reply to
wolfpuppy

Sure you can weld it. WIll it be successful? depends. Will you do what it takes to do the job right? I doubt it. What does it take? Remove the motor. Strip the block bare. Take it to a qualified welder. He will put it in a furnace and slowly heat the block up very hot, and then use special cast iron rod to attempt to repair it. That's assuming the part that broke of is salvageable.

You can probably find some hack that will try to stick weld it in the car. Good luck if you do. Might be a chance of brazing it with a torch, but that's iffy too.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Urz

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