Yesterday I bought a Mr Goodwrench 350 LM1 engine. Went to put it on the engine stand and noticed an engine bell housing bolt hole is missing a chunk of cast iron. How critical is this? A bolt can gingerly be threaded in. Can a bolt tightly wrapped with Teflon tape be threaded in to what is left of the bolt hole and then encased in JB Weld? Then unthread the bolt, remove the Teflon tape and install the bolt. May need tapping. Or, take it to a welding shop and have them lay welds large enough recreating the area around the bolt hole and then tap new threads?
My high school 1969 Malibu was like that when I got it, and was still like that when I got rid of it. My grandfather told me to not worry about it, so I didn't.
If this is a streetcar (mild performance) I would say leave it alone, the important bolts are the 4 bottom ones since they are in tension if one is using stock mounts for the engine and a trans mount. JB if that area is seen for cosmetics. Lot of work to weld or braze and then would need a fixture to drill a tap the hole again
In normal installed configuration and loading, that bolt matters not. Nice to have just to "look good"....yes...but not essential. Post 5 above offers a viable alternative and if you really wanted to get particular, a welding shop could reconstruct that, maybe using a piece from a junk block ........but that's a lot of trouble and expense for no real structural gain.
Leave it alone ! If the look offends you put a stud or bolt in there and build up some JB weld for cosmetics.
A long way from the first. If it worries you braze or weld a stud to it so that it sticks just the right amount to to get a nut on after the bellhousing is bolted to it. still that would probably be more for cosmetics than function except to hold the dipstick tube braket if you run and automatic. I'd bet at one time or another someone forgot to pull that bolt out when they pulled the engine and snapped it off pulling up on the engine with the chain hoist.
I had the same problem on mine. I took a short bolt chucked it in the lathe , put a 1/8" pilot hole in it. Screwed it in all the way turned on the mig welder and layed on the exposed area until it was built up then let it cool, cut it off flush, drilled it out with the proper drill for a 3/8" - 16 tap then tapped it out. It was good as new. Pat
unless your running some serious horsepower i wouldnt be to worried about it, run it like it is. between the dowel pins and the five other bolts its more than enough to keep it together. other than holding the dipstick i wouldnt be to worried.
Thanks everyone. I appreciate all the feedback. I feel a bit relieved knowing structurally it won't matter and that it is only a cosmetic thing and a place to anchor the a/t trans dipstick tube. Also, I mounted it on my engine stand to remove intake, carb, ram horns exhaust manifolds, HEI dizzy. My neighbor offered to sell me his camel bump heads (64 cc's) to replace the Mr Goodwrench 8.5 CR 76 cc heads. Seems like the engine may need 100 octane. Still thinking about it as far as hp gain.
Run your neighbors heads and keep the quench down in the 0.040 range and you'll have no trouble on pump gas. Steel shim head gasket should put you right where you need to be. 93 maybe, but no need for 100 race fuel. You can jump up quite a bit on the cam too with those 64cc heads. youll need to measure a few things first to be sure you can do it. Maybe Hoop will chime in with some computer dyno comparisons.
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