1930 Buick 64C Block repaired

[Guest Roj]

Well after bad news, there is good news.  I purchased this car from Frank Knapp on the forum, he had bought it from a dealer in Ohio.  After purchasing the car and owning in for 6 months I noticed the block was using antifreeze and overheating if you drove it for more than around the block.  Upon investigation someone, not Frank had made a poor patch of the cracked block and Bondo'ed the repair and painted the engine to hide it.

 

It was beyond me to fix the block, and I have done several the right way.  I took it to a guy who has done it for 45 years, yes you read that right 45 years, here is what I got.  A beautiful block to go back into a good car.   

 

If you have a really bad block, and need it repaired from a special car, PM me and I will give you the name of the shop who will do it right.

[Guest]

Great news! Nice repair work.

[wayne sheldon]

I am glad it is going back together and hope you enjoy the car for many, many, years to come! 

Thank you for the update.

[Guest Roj]

Got my 1930 64C back together after the block repair, this weekend hope to have both Buicks running like champs, the 31 Phaeton is coming along, but a few bugs persist to make it a reliable driving car.

[JACK M]

I was a boat mechanic in my past life and ran across lots of cracked manifolds.

There was an old guy in my town that claimed he could repair these. The first two (only) times I took him a job the manifold still leaked. So doing things over was OK in his mind. And it was OK to charge me the second tome around.

That guy didn't last long in my small town, last I saw he was making hand rails, next thing I know his shop has been sitting empty for many years.

Needless to say I am very wary of welding cast iron due to past experiences.

I guess the trick is to heat the whole piece in an oven along with a tub of sand. After the weld bury the piece in the hot sand and let cool slowly.

I hope your repair goes better than mine did

[Guest Bob Call]

Decades ago there was a company in Tulsa (French & Reynolds) that specialized in cast iron repair for the oil and gas industry. They went out of business at least 30 years ago but they had the secret for successful casting repair.  Somewhere there must be a shop still operating that can repair castings.

[Robert G. Smits]

Wasn't there a post within the past 2-3 years about a new technique for block repair out of England or Europe?  Bob Smits

[Guest Roj]

Weatsels in Greenfield Indiana has it down pat, they fixed my block which had a hole in it 4X5 in diameter. It ran great on the way home. The shop they have is strictly older cars, 1960 and before. You walk into the shop which has 6 bays and you feel like you went back in time.

Here's the only problem, the two guys working in the shop, both very heavy car guys, are both in there mid 60's. How long the shop will be there? I can tell you from first hand knowledge though, they are VERY VERY VERY good and no I don't get a penny from this. If you have a really bad block, and I did, they can fix it if anyone can!

They fixed my block because it was beyond me and I have been fixing blocks since 1989 when I first got into this hobby restoring tractors.