My 422 smallblock build

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SSG_Karg said:
I did verify. Twice. I suspect the cracks have been there since I bought the heads. Im wondering if they relaxed enough to pass the pressure test and when torqued down the crack opened up again. Either way, I think it’s junk.
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You may have listed the part numbers somewhere but if you repost it and where you live I know I will keep my eyes open for you. Let us know if you are open to buying a pair and it will save a little work.
 
pittsburghracer said:
You may have listed the part numbers somewhere but if you repost it and where you live I know I will keep my eyes open for you. Let us know if you are open to buying a pair and it will save a little work.
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These are 810 castings but we milled the saddles off to run blocks. So basically they are “race heads” now.
Open chamber for 59* block. I suppose I could look for either an econo head or a race head, just need to machine it accordingly. Also, mine oil the rockers through the deck.
I’m just really bummed because I have so much time and money wrapped up in this top end already. Now I’m probably looking at another thousand bucks or more.
 
SSG_Karg said:
These are 810 castings but we milled the saddles off to run blocks. So basically they are “race heads” now.
Open chamber for 59* block. I suppose I could look for either an econo head or a race head, just need to machine it accordingly. Also, mine oil the rockers through the deck.
I’m just really bummed because I have so much time and money wrapped up in this top end already. Now I’m probably looking at another thousand bucks or more.
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Ya I know it stinks. That’s why I abandoned ship. What was that old saying my Dad used. Once shame on you. Twice shame on me.
 
SSG_Karg said:
I did verify. Twice. I suspect the cracks have been there since I bought the heads. Im wondering if they relaxed enough to pass the pressure test and when torqued down the crack opened up again. Either way, I think it’s junk.
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Maybe they could have been closed up enough to pass a pressure test but I doubt it. If you didn’t do the PT yourself you can’t be sure how it was done. I’ve seen some pretty shitty techniques for pressure testing.

On top of that, they should have been magnafluxed first. I never pressure test iron first. In fact, I very rarely PT iron. I only do it if I find something I can’t determine exactly what it is.

I don’t have any single castings left, but I’ll make a call today and see what I can find. I doubt it will be a late model casting though.
 
Hi
SSG_Karg said:
These are 810 castings but we milled the saddles off to run blocks. So basically they are “race heads” now.
Open chamber for 59* block. I suppose I could look for either an econo head or a race head, just need to machine it accordingly. Also, mine oil the rockers through the deck.
I’m just really bummed because I have so much time and money wrapped up in this top end already. Now I’m probably looking at another thousand bucks or more.
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I know nothing about W2 heads. But I was just on moparts race car/ parts for sell section and somebody had a set of 208 valve ported W2 heads for sell. I do not know the person selling them. But if you want I can send you the link to them.
 
Little update.
I was able to source a single replacement head for the cracked one thanks to a VERY helpful member here on the board. He has been a huge help to me throughout this project and I don’t know how to thank him enough. I won’t name him but he’s free to take a bow if he chooses.
As for the cracked head, I used a small dremel bit to grind a small groove over the cracks and cleaned the casting the best I could. Then I handed it over to my brother and he attempted to tig weld it using EZ-Rod which is supposed to be the ticket for welding cast. Well, after he ran the first bead, the crack reappeared right in the center of the weld bead, almost like the crack just rose to the top of the weld. So, no bueno.
I’m going to give it one more shot with the welding but this time I’m going to heat the head in the oven before I weld the crack one zap at a time and with my MIG then back into the oven for cool down. IF that doesn’t crack, I’ll then pour a little epoxy into the water jacket in the corner where the crack is and stand it on end in an attempt to seal it from the inside. If that all fails, it’s getting thrown off the highest bridge I can find and focus on getting the replacement head prepared. It’s going to need a lot of machining and porting to make it work.
At this point I really regret going down the W2 rabbit hole. It’s gonna take a long time and a lot of 11 sec time slips for me to get over this hassle.
 
That’s why i bailed when mine cracked. I almost gave the ported Victor away and two sets of econo rockers. A few years later I bought a set of race heads with Norris rockers and sold those too.
 
SSG_Karg said:
Little update.
I was able to source a single replacement head for the cracked one thanks to a VERY helpful member here on the board. He has been a huge help to me throughout this project and I don’t know how to thank him enough. I won’t name him but he’s free to take a bow if he chooses.
As for the cracked head, I used a small dremel bit to grind a small groove over the cracks and cleaned the casting the best I could. Then I handed it over to my brother and he attempted to tig weld it using EZ-Rod which is supposed to be the ticket for welding cast. Well, after he ran the first bead, the crack reappeared right in the center of the weld bead, almost like the crack just rose to the top of the weld. So, no bueno.
I’m going to give it one more shot with the welding but this time I’m going to heat the head in the oven before I weld the crack one zap at a time and with my MIG then back into the oven for cool down. IF that doesn’t crack, I’ll then pour a little epoxy into the water jacket in the corner where the crack is and stand it on end in an attempt to seal it from the inside. If that all fails, it’s getting thrown off the highest bridge I can find and focus on getting the replacement head prepared. It’s going to need a lot of machining and porting to make it work.
At this point I really regret going down the W2 rabbit hole. It’s gonna take a long time and a lot of 11 sec time slips for me to get over this hassle.
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The oven won’t get the cast iron hot enough. Get a professional weldor to do it. If you choose to do it yourself, heat it with a torch.
 
Bobzilla said:
The oven won’t get the cast iron hot enough. Get a professional weldor to do it. If you choose to do it yourself, heat it with a torch.
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Yes take it to a professional that does head crack repairs.

You are likely making it worse trying to do this yourself.
 
I brought a block once to a place that specializes in fixing diesel heads, blocks and cranks. They used furnaces to heat as part of their welding process. They were able to fix a long crack in the lifter valley that was formed by freezing. Cannot tell the block was fixed. When it was rebuilt it was pressure checked first and passed.
 
The nice thing about the lock n stitch method is you’re not cooking the head during the repair process…….which often gets the head hot enough to require redoing the guide and seat work.
 
PRH said:
The nice thing about the lock n stitch method is you’re not cooking the head during the repair process…….which often gets the head hot enough to require redoing the guide and seat work.
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And the metal never seems to be the same again.
 
I've had luck heating the head with a torch and mig welding the repair then reapply the heat and slowly back off the heat. You can use welding blankets to hold some heat in.
 
I found a professional weld shop fairly local to me that supposedly has the ability and experience to make the necessary repairs. I will be dropping the wounded head off at their place in the next week or so. They said that they would like to bead blast it clean and mag the entire thing for cracks. I’m going to give it a shot.

On another front, I’ve been searching for a good deal on a carburetor for this engine. I currently have an ancient Holley 650 DP on the shelf but I don’t think that will be enough carb for the stroker. I found a low use 950 DP from Willy’s carb shop. I’m very tempted because the price is right but nervous that it might actually be too much carb. Any thoughts about the 950 on a 422 with W2s?
Appreciate your input.
 
SSG_Karg said:
I found a professional weld shop fairly local to me that supposedly has the ability and experience to make the necessary repairs. I will be dropping the wounded head off at their place in the next week or so. They said that they would like to bead blast it clean and mag the entire thing for cracks. I’m going to give it a shot.

On another front, I’ve been searching for a good deal on a carburetor for this engine. I currently have an ancient Holley 650 DP on the shelf but I don’t think that will be enough carb for the stroker. I found a low use 950 DP from Willy’s carb shop. I’m very tempted because the price is right but nervous that it might actually be too much carb. Any thoughts about the 950 on a 422 with W2s?
Appreciate your input.
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Is it the little 950 or big 950. Make sure because you want the big 950
 
SSG_Karg said:
Hahaha, thanks John. I’ll take that as your approval. Remember, this is just a street driver.
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Back in the 1970’s I removed a 750 DP and installed an 850 Dp on a very high 11 second engine. Boom 11.82 almost out of the box. Street driven every day.
 
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