Block welding

[Greg55_99]

Any thoughts on this.  I've been tossing around the notion of having some welding done on a block I have but I'm not sure if this is a safe thing to do to a Rover V8.  Any precautions or procedures I should know about?

Greg

[roverman]

Gregg, My personal experiences are the Buick and Rover aluminum materials are readily TIG. weldable once they are properly cleaned. Next question is where on the block?  Inside a cracked cylinder bore might be tricky. Know that in leiu of post weld quenching or re-heat treating that the weld  itself and a variable heat affected zone will be quite soft,(weaker). #5356 rod is amonst the best hardness in as -welded state. I will need to weld block, deck areas to install #907 heads on a Rover. As a result this will permit "lengthly" strokes.I will post as time permits. Best of luck. Art.

[Greg55_99]

I'm asking because I'd like to beef up the P76 block I've been playing around with for several years.  It's simply a raised block version of the original Buick 215 with no extra bracing.  They are prone to flex and crack in the valley area when the torque output goes up.  Can one weld in bracing (like in the TA Performance 455 block) with no issues?



Greg

[roverman]

Greg,  Does P -76 have raised cam?  Appears to have less meat around lifter bores, like 215's. You may want to read "lifters", page 2.  Whats the desired build? Roller cam ? Of course with overhead cam heads, that area receives less stress. One could even install shrink-fit, aluminum insert where cam was for enhanced strengthening of block,(round girdle). How you going beef the bottom end? Trick on using the 340/350 cranks is 427 Ford main bearings. 2.75" dia. mains will alignbore to fit block ,leaving crank stronger than lesser dia's. One could argue of weakening the block by boring-out main bores but I think in reality, the main journals will be closer to load pick-up points,(studs)? Because the crank is stronger in this configuration, the main areas of block will receive less stress. If your not going to cross-bolt mains,(even more welding), you may want to use a billet girdle, ie. Huffaker ,etc. For sure, the build level should determine mod's. required.  Good luck on this rare block. Art.