Hi all,

I recently picked up a rare early big block - well worth saving if its possible.

Apparently, it came out of a can am racecar for a routine refresh, and had been running perfectly fine when it was pulled.

During rebuild, the mechanic noticed damage to #4 main, so they put it on the shelf and built a new block as 'they had half a dozen sat around at any one time, and didn't want to chance reliability on the race car'

40 years later.. Ive bought this block of that same shelf.. it's got loads of surface rust and needs machining, but is potentially usable except for this damage..

The old chap assures me its usable, or he would have thrown it.. but I'd welcome other opinions?

Damage between crank and cam journal- it has never spun a bearing (original half is still in cap) and shows no other damage...

Many thanks for your thoughts?

 

I would repair it. I was once looking for a similar part for my own vehicle. I managed to find it only at https://www.scrapi.com/blog/how-do-i-scrap-a-car and it wasn't in such a good condition as the one you presented on the picture. My advice is to repair it and install it on your car. The main advantage of these one is that they had been made for race cars and are calculated to withstand huge overloads, such you wouldn't create in regular traffic. Therefore, once repaired this block will serve you for ages.