Winter project

[Tony Betts]

I once heard of someone using LC heads as pavers!

Hi IAN,

I like the idea of pavers, but I'll only just finished the cobbles after 25 years. Plus they may be a bit slippy.

Most of the heads I took out had the bridge for the stud broken through.

There was one interesting one though, I'll picture it tomorrow.

Tony.

[Tony Betts]

Hi all,

This one wasn't burried, I took it out of the shed about 3 months ago. Well it was easy to reach. And I didn't want to loose it.

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For those who haven't noticed yet, it's a 1923 head number 1348. Deep recest plugs.

Yes lovely big hole in the top.

I didn't want to bin it, 1923 heads don't come up very often.

If anyone can repair or get it repaired cheaply, please get in touch.

It will save another early item.

Tony.

[Duncan Grimmond]

I may be mistaken but I would suggest a brazed repair might be less risky than a cast-iron weld? Scrupulously clean at the joins and allowed to cool very slowly to avoid thermal shock and distortion.
You'd need a fair old blow lamp though!

[Reckless Rat]

Cast iron can be welded quite easily using stellite rods, but the workpiece needs to be HOT beforehand. I'm sure there is information available on how this can be done. A good professional welder would know how to do a good repair to this head.

[David.H]

Cast iron can be welded quite easily using stellite rods, but the workpiece needs to be HOT beforehand. I'm sure there is information available on how this can be done. A good professional welder would know how to do a good repair to this head.

A few years ago a friend of mine in Germany smashed his TR4A cast iron exhaust manifold into three pieces (don't ask....buying Champagne & a low exhaust and a gate stop were involved!)....my TVR scraped over it without damage! I found him a replacement in the UK, but he decided to have the original repaired as well. A man near Dusseldorf (I think) did it & it involved it sitting in a charcoal fed furnace for over 24 hours. The company did a lot of work repairing large capacity single & twin cylinder antique diesel tractor blocks...very successfully it appeared. If interested I can find out more details. Is the broken bit around?

[Psuggmog Volbenz]

I have repaired damage such as this both by brazing and gas welding with cast iron rod. When welding, I heat the piece until it is red hot, the slow cool down by burying in an ash bin full of vermiculite(expanded mica). Now days with cheap computer co trollers, I would build an electric oven to heat and cool the piece being repaired. I have also repaired cracked blocks at the head gasket face by "botton holeing" the cracks and closing the crack with interlocking, shop made, threaded copper rods which were peened to expand them after installing. The plugs were then draw filed flush with the block after peening. I learned this method from a pre WWI era mechanics repair manual.

[Tony Betts]

Today was the first day of the shed built.

No pictures to show you, as no builders turned up.

Typical.

I'm now being told mid morning tomorrow, sounds like that's when the kettle goes on.

Tony.

[Bob Culver]

it is a curious fracture. Is it very deeply rusted or some casting flaw? Would hardly develop enough pressure to fracture. Has it been hit with a pick (mark on right?)

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Living in sub tropics frost damage almost unknown!

[daglocks]

Tony, couldn't you bundle together parts of a similar age, with a chassis and block, and sell to special builders.
Highly skilled and intelligent chimpanzees like me could give them a new life!

[Michael]

Today was the first day of the shed built.

No pictures to show you, as no builders turned up.

Typical.

I'm now being told mid morning tomorrow, sounds like that's when the kettle goes on.

Tony.

You've obviously chosen our builders...if you are very lucky their electrician will turn up in October.