Hello everyone, just need a little help. I recently bought a 430 engine for my 67 wildcat; I stripped the block bare so the machine shop could have the block and heads cleaned and maged. After the block and heads were done they explained to me that the block was in good condition but the the two heads previously had cracks in them, but the cracks were repaired by someone else before I bought them. I don’t have any experienced with using heads that had cracks in them and then were repaired. The machine shop said they were still good to use if I didn’t find any water in the oil and since the block was in good condition. This car will be used for cruising and have a little fun with a heavy foot every now and then. Can someone tell me what they think, should I use the repair heads or just get a new set. Thanks
Lock stitching/pinning is one method of repair and an industry standard. And one way to skin yer cat. Basically it is "stop drilling" at both ends of the crack, and that will radius the force of the energy at the end/point of the crack and transition the energy in a radius in effect, dispersing that energy and help prevent furthering of that crack. Then a series of holes are drilled in equal spacing with a jig, then tapped, a proper bonding agent applied (for heat transfer) and threaded bolts installed, then ground flush to the surface, and the process repeated between the bolts. After, surface finishing and peening the repair, then MPI and or dye penetrant to verify the repair. It's a good deal of labor involved, and the price reflects that. The cost of repair vs trying to find a set of 1967 heads for a 430. Or using 455 heads and whatever mods might be required depending on heads used. If your heads are still serviceable, and the repair was proper, run with them.
