Welding a Ford flathead 60

My buddy has a Flathead 60 1937 block with the welded on sides of the block. The bottom part ( near the oil pan) is expanded off the block about 1/8 inch and will leak. We see that someone had brazed one of the areas and Mike thinks he can silver solder it. Is this a boat anchor or fixable ??
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I've seen these fixed by welding/brazing. soldering and even JB Welding. If it will hold you can't kill them.

 

You are describing a cracked block at the bottom of the water jacket. A really good welder can fix the crack, but it is not usually a permanent fix. (I ain' sayin it can't be done by a top notch welder, just that it is really difficult to get a lasting repair.) That typically requires oven welding so the block is heated up and welded while hot. That helps prevent the weld from cracking again due to the normal heat expansion - cooling contraction cycle of the engine.

SAFU

 

Goodson crack repair pins. Out of the Goodson catalog. That is how cracked cast iron is repaired Machine Shop style.

 

The 1937 V8 60 you are discribing is a one year only engine. It was made by Ford with stainless side panels welded to the block. They were much lighter and very popular with the circle track & drag racing boys of the day.
These engines are also quite rare now compared to the all cast iron V8 60's. It is well worth salvaging if possible.

 

If pining it with a system like http://www.lockns***ch.com/ will not work and you want to do the work yourself, put the block in the oven at as hot as it will go until the whole block has warmed evenly (1+ hour) and then do your welding repair, if the repair takes longer than a few minutes, put the block back in the oven to keep it hot. After you are done, put it back in the oven and drop the heat slowly over a couple hours.

If you don't have an oven, a kerosene blow heater at close range can keep the block hot while you repair it.

 

Those that are suggesting cast iron block repairs obviously have never seen one of these little babies... the side of the block is sheet metal welded in place.

Any repair that stems the tide is gonna be valid like pasadenahotrod says.

 

Answering your question, Monkeybiker is right. Reading comprehension people. It is a sheet metal side block. Spelling don't count. Reading does.