Technical 8ba crack

is this block kaput .. the end of the road or is it salvagable .. sleeve the cylinder?is the crack going into exhaust a critical failure..with all the carbon build up it must have been running for some time like that

 

It's a bad crack, and a sleeve will indeed fix the cylinder. The crack's extension through the seat and deep into the bowl is another matter. It'll need magnafluxing to see how far the crack actually goes, and then drilled and pinned by someone who is familiar with the process IF it's accessible enough. Lots of flatheads run with cracks...even some bad cracks...until they're cleaned up and rebuilt. Then a hidden or missed crack really spoils the fun.

 

Ray Beason from Kansas advertised an 8BA block on the Ford Barn. $500.00. Hot tanked, pressure tested and magnafluxed. I bought it. $150.0 shipping. 2 cracks headed for the cylinders. One deep gouge in a cylinder. A crack in the exhaust port just like yours stiched up with Iron Tight plugs. What a rip off crook!. I scrapped it. PS; He had the nerve to ask for more money for the tie down straps.

 

That really sucks! Thought you could trust folks on the Barn. I would say though that $500 for a cleaned, pressure tested, and Magna-fluxed block seems on the cheap side. I just paid CAN$150 for a 59A industrial engine that sat outside for close to 70 years, but was supposedly covered. You take your chances with these engines.

 

Many years ago when I frequented the FordBarn (was there when it was Shelly’s, long before a real website). I’d go through buy/wanted ads.
Before I’d buy anything, I messaged many “wanted buyers” and old time members for references.
I’d also ask, if I didn’t know the screen name, etc, for who they had sold to before on the ‘Barn.
Luckily for me I never was hooked up with a bad egg.
Nor did I (at the time) get a negative response from anyone who’d have done a transaction with the person.
Also, many of the old time members there, actually knew who I was asking about. Not from a transaction, but from knowing the person.
I realize things have or may have change.