I agree. Not the cheap easy way, but do it once do it right or sell them off and buy good to go. BTW I'm currently JB Welding some stuff, but not nearly as critical as that. I'm not opposed to cheap fixes, just choose where and when.
I used some special high temperature aluminum epoxy on a set of Edmunds heads that looked about like those in 2016. They're still running today with no leaks. They have made tremendous strides forward in chemistry over the last few decades and some of the current stuff is just amazing. Outfits like Belzona and Devcon offer some amazing products. My big problem was deciding which one to use because there are so many choices. When it comes right down to it, surface preparation and application techniques are probably more important than the actual brand you use. I'm going to go against the gang here and recommend epoxies over welding. Old heads and manifolds are made of unknown alloys of questionable heritage, and by definition, they're old. Funny things can happen when you try to weld this stuff, not always or even most of the time, but I just won't take the chance, I even repaired some cosmetic gouges and imperfections in the actual combustion chambers with no apparent problems. I think my final conversion to epoxies came when I found out that more work is done these days with panel adhesive than welding. The only thing against it is that it is not traditional.
Me, I'd try the Muggy "welding" sticks, before epoxy. Made for this kinda fix. But there are some very good hi-temp epoxies out there. My nephew used some hi-temp epoxy-type "plastic-steel sorta" stuff, claimed for manifolds n such, on an exhaust manifold gasket surface + the head-side too. Exhaust chewed up the surfaces pretty badly. ***** of a time sanding it smooth & flat... . But amazingly, it worked. Not sure how long it lasted, but he had it for a few yrs before he sold the truck, w/o exhaust manifold gasket leaks. Just depends on how much time you wish to "invest". Marcus...
Modern repairing has made great strides in quality . Welding and machining would be my last go to .As stated , unknown materials and quality of casting can create way more issues than you presently have at this moment .
It is tough almost to weld aluminum after it has been exposed to antifreeze, particularly cast aluminum. It is very difficult to get it clean; antifreeze permeates the aluminum and comes out in the weld.
My experience with "Muggy weld" type sticks has been very "hit or miss". Every once in a while, they work great, but the rest of the time, results are usually terrible. I think it has to do with how well the composition of the stick matches the alloy being "welded". If you luck out and it's close, results can be good. If not, it can be a disaster. Try it and see. I wouldn't even bother on something like an old, used cylinder head.
Hmmmm. Seems to be a difference of opinion here. Which shall it be? Since the "welding" guys are a "maybe" followed by two concurrences, and the "Muggy Weld" guy ends his post by telling how well epoxy worked in a similar situation, it seems obvious.
I’m a JB Weld abuser. https://www.jbweld.com/product/mari...Tq6Aul2Cj5DymVi8ccwoxzc6iPMUYPNe3IcX9w_yS_0rG
Look into having someone machine a larger hole and an aluminum slug to press in place, then tig weld and machine a new coolant hole. Not sure if welding is necessary if the press fit is correct. Machine the head deck flat.
MuggyWeld depends on how clean & accurate you do the repair. Gotta get to good metal, no corrosion - which can run real deep. & it has to be clean. Technique is essential. But it works at a fairly low temp, original lit(~50's?) suggested using a propane or butane "torch" to heat up metal. Yea, lots of time n effort, was claimed to be designed to work for combustion chamber repair. The exhaust repair I mentioned was all on... - cast iron - , slightly different material than aluminum. I have played w/the aluminum "welding" sticks, repaired a friends' alum manifold. Worked well. I haven't done heads. I would use epoxy last, if for no other reason than it's not a similar material for expansion/contraction, but your choice. & as a last resort effort. Btw, I'm not a "Muggy-guy". Don't sell it, swap it, give it away, no financial interest(s) in it. Just a consideration. & an opinion. As requested. Marcus... BTW, where I used to work, they had a steel-filled epoxy, that it was claimed Caterpillar would use to fix crankshafts, instead of welding. I'm not that brave... , but it was/is really good stuff.
My process is to "Vapor Blast" with Dri-Ice then blast with Fine grit Aluminum Oxide then it Tig welds pretty nice. Time consuming but schweeet
The block letter logo was changed to script in 1949. There are a very few block letter late flatly heads out there. Your early heads were made some time after 1949.
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