Saving a small block Ford

A friend of mine brought me a small block Ford engine to Freshen up after 2yrs of abuse. I built the engine the first time and got into it I found an unusual amount of corrosion on a couple of the freeze or core plug holes. We wanted to keep the orinal block in the car. I cleaned the holes real good and installed the core plugs with JB weld. They still look good and haven't leaked yet. For someone with an early block that they want to install in their 40 or vintage car it's a way to save the thing.

Vic

CAV #51
Lemans Blue
Owner built engine
Getrag trans

 

[Mark Worthington]

Another alternative, and one that would stiffen the block, is to thread the core plugs and use the cast iron screw-in plugs. You'd need to invest some money in the tap though, as the holes are both large and shallow.

 

I investagated using the taped holes like a boss block, and you need 2 taps. One for a starter and a second with a portion cut off, as to reach the proper depth with the first tap you will run it into the cly. The cut down tap allows a proper tapped hole with out hitting the water jacket.

Vic

 

[Steve Toner]

Those are called bottoming taps and can be found at places like Enco...