Hey, I think I may have a deal stopper, but need to know if any of you have come up against. I am about ready to purchase a nice but not too nice 51, 2 door chevy deluxe. Drives nice, except wanders all over the road, runs good , 2 -1 bbls and fenton splits on a 216 ci chevy motor..The seller tells me at the last minuite that the block is cracked , the water jacket, leaks to the outside, only thing is to watch water level,,,,,,Now I not sure of other stuff, but have any of you ran with a cracked block and is it a real show stopper?
216's can crack on the left lower side of the engine,is that were it is???.I think it can really be rusted through at the bottom of the water jacket.I ran a 216 like that in a truck all summer.A can of radiator stop leak kept it managable for local driving.
sounds reasonable. The guy is asking $6,750 and can't get him any lower than $6,000, then he pops the cracked block on me....just don't want to get screwed
Um... For 6k I think you should be able to find something running great and just needing little here and theres.
You got any pictures of the car,thats kind of high for a car with bad engine,wore out suspension.and you said its not that nice.hell,for 6grand you can find a better deal.
yup 6.000$ for a car with a dying engine is a bit much unless it has a really nice interiror and paint job and no rust and the chrome is good and new tires lol if it can be bought reasonable drop a 235 6 cyl into it
Check to be sure there is no crack to the inside, the oil will look like a milk shake. I repaired a flathead I had one time with a crack to the outside with JB Weld. Just drail the coolant clean the block around the crack, and apply JB Weld. Let it sit for a couple of days and reinstall the coolant see what happens. Mine was a 37 Ford pick up, turned it for $500. Truth is I'd tell him to do it and if it works you'll buy the car. On the other hand before I made that deal, I'd have someone tell me why it wanders. Could be a bigger problem.
For $6000 it should be just about perfect, I watched these on eBay for a while and nice ones were going surprisingly cheap. Not 100 point national show winner perfect, but nice enough you could take it to the average local car show and not be embarassed by it, quality.
Thing is how do you know it's not freeze damage and there's not more inside the block? I'd insist on being able to change the oil myself after it's run for a bit before I'd buy it.
as far as the crack.....I ran a 216 with the dreaded crack in the outter water jacket for 4 years before the engine finally blew to hell (plum wore out it was) Smeared it with JB weld and drove the piss outta it....never did leak.... HOWEVER in your case....6K....and major issues? I'd keep lookin....
My first car was a 52 Htp. First thing I did was ditch the 216 (Oil splaser) non-pressurized motor and went with a 54 full pressure 6...................out of Corvette. Here is a picture from 1964. I bought this car for $188 from a dealer (Ron Tonkin) which is about $1314.00 in todays money. $6k for a non htp with cracked motor is just too much............unless the car is a real show stopper! If it were me I'd tell the guy no! IMHO
Barrett Jackson price for a junk yard car. Well maybe not that radical but turn around and don't look back while flashing 4000.00 cash above your head.
Sounds like a lot of money as others have posted; but it may be an easy fix. My high school auto shop teacher told about fixing freeze cracks in the sides Chevy six blocks. He described drilling and tapping for small machine screws (#8's or 10's) every inch or so right through the center of the crack. Then put some Bar's Leak or equal in the radiator. The screws are to keep the two sides of the metal from flexing and breaking the seal of the stop leak. Never had the occasion to do this myself but it sounds like it should work.
Save your cash and buy something else IMO. I got my 50 for 1500, running 216, usual Northeast rot, and I thought I paid too much. I've got about 2000 or so into it, probably 5 when I'm done, at most. Got a 283/350 combo, power disc brakes all around. Wish I had waited for a car with a better body at the same price. Bide your time, you'll find a good deal!
At the last minute he tells you it has a cracked block that he knew about all the time?? Look around for a better seller and and a more reasonable price.
Six Grand will buy my 54 with 350/400, 12V wiring and all new fuel and brake systems..........that reminds me, some Canadian HAMBer wanted pictures adn I deleted my PMs! DOH!
I'd tell him that I'd have to sleep on it, wait a month and if he still had it, offer him $675 for it. Unless the car is really clean with some goodies in it and you happen to have a replacement engine onhand, pass it up. Bob
That wander you noticed may just be the slop in the bell crank steering. Radials may help, despite how they look. My '62 Corvette uses similar suspension and was improved with radials. My '50 Fleetline deluxe wanders even more...and it has entirely new stock suspension components, but with bias ply tires. Worse on the concrete highway with rain grooves.
The guy is scammin'! A cracked block 216 is scrap iron. They aren't much more than that if they aren't cracked! For that kind of money, you can have my nice '52 4-door, 235 dipper, stick shift, good interior, all original with minimal rust (rocker panels) and a great driver. Don't think I'd drive it to your town, though, a tad bit far!
Put some water glass in it. Actually if you have access to a stick welder get yourself some ni-rod (nickle welding rod) and weld the crack up. Maybe get someone else to do it.
Alright guys.."one4dad" IS my Dad and I was with him when we went to look/drive the car...it's my fault that he's even concerned with cars again in the first place!!!! (little secret: I'm really happy to be wrenching on a car again with "the Old Man") Anyway, Dad and I have talked this morning and we're passing on this car. The issue isn't so much the cracked block, it's the fact that the seller waited until the last minute to tell us that it's got a serious problem. The car has had some work done to it, obviously but, was it quality work? How many pounds of body filler are on the car??!!? I'm thinking that if the block COULD be fixed with JB Weld, some screws, a stick welder or liquid glass, he would have already done it..who knows, he may have already tried with no success. For those of you that are interested, here are a few pics.
I'm sorry it didn't work out. There's a better car out there for the Ol' Man. Grab that garage time while you can I damned sure wish I could still do it with my Ol' Man.
It looks pretty good, see if you can do some serious price negotiating and get a better deal on it. Bob
And if you fix it, it's still a 216. You'll be wanting something else in it before too long, even if it was in tip-top shape. Be careful not to want this car too bad.
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