Pinning a cast iron head crack

How successful does this work?? Hard to find a different core, SBC double hump 461 casting. The crack is about 1-1/4 inch long, about half of it is under the seat and the it drops down along the side of the comb. chamber. We thought it was leaking around the seat and were going to put an oversize seat in.

So, is pinning the crack a good fix or temporary?

 

Over the years I have had several heads repaired and some they wouldn't do. I suggest you take it to a good machine shop and let them make the decision. They know by experience if the area thats cracked will accept the pin repair

 

I picked up a couple of 1965 461 casting double humps last night. I know one is bad so I may have a core you can have if you can't get yours fixed.

 

1st off, you need to be able to find both ends of the crack to drill. You drill a hole in the ends because a crack will not propagate through a radius. Can you get to both ends of the crack? You should not pin into the valve seats according to my engine guy. The head would need to be welded, which would warp the head and require a bunch of machine work.

I would find another head that is good.

 

It is in the head shop, but one guy thinks it can be fixed and the other guy thinks it cant. I hate to take a chance, because I got to pull half the front end off to get the inner fenders off to get the fenderwell header out of the way.......

 

I believe it's World that has some cast iron heads that are as good as these

 

sounds like it is a 50/50 chance. will they give you a guarantee? the last cracked head i had pinned at a reputable shop they told me no guarantee. i normally wouldn't take a chance , but it wasn't for my car and the owner knew....are you willing to take a chance?

 

I stopped in at Andy's Auto Supply (in Santa Cruz,I can get the phone # if you want it.) last week,and the guy there told me he had a room full of cylinder head cores that he didn't know what to do with'em all,since most SBC guys just buy new heads now.

 

If the head was easy to replace I might try to repair it, but if it is that difficult to replace find another head.

 

They aren't that hard to find. For what you will spend, there are a world of options out there. Now is a good time to consider an upgrade.

 

Do you know if the other head is good, or just that one is bad for sure??

 

I spent ten years in an engine shop as the cylinder head guy, you need to find another head...If the crack is pinned through a seat area you won't be able to hold a new seat in place for very long. No need to take a chance tearing up the engine. Several companies now offer heads that will outperform these heads at a reasonable price, by the time you pay for machine work and all new hardware you could have a set of aluminum heads for your ride..

 

If you really want to keep the old head..."excelsweld " in oakland will repair AND guarantee it..
Howevever,,, The advice given here is very correct. For the cost of the repair you can buy heads that flow WAY better, are cast of stronger and thicker iron and already have all of the things that you need done to your old heads.( hard seats,screw in studs,guide plates, good springs,5 angle valve job,quality guides,etc,etc...)
Dave

 

4622 cast number
177 runners..make pretty good power.

 

unless your doing a #'s matching resto get a new head.