Yesterday I drove to Nashville to pick up a motor I bought through Craig'slist. The guy claimed that it was rebuilt for the guy that he bought the car from and he finished the install and got the car running. He claims it has about 9 miles on it.
So I use paypal to send the money, and he says he will have it out by Saturday.
Friday I get an email saying it broke a mounting tab and the front cover where the oil line goes.
The front cover isn't a big deal, but the mounting tab is. It's for the water pump.



So my question is, Should I try and weld it? I have a friend with a TIG, but I'm worried about heat getting to the o ring.
Should I replace the end plate? If I open the motor I'm going to port it. What do you guys think?

 

Never trust an engine rebuild unless youve driven it. That's what I think. Even then, you still can't 100% trust them unless youve done it yourself. My buddy learned that one the hard way.

 

It won't weld very well.

You'll need to get a good preheat into the entire casting so yeah, the water o-ring will be ruined. If you don't preheat the casting, the weld WILL crack.

Theoretically, you could get by without it. You'd need to tap the hole in the water pump housing so you could still bolt down the water pump evenly. Remember the gasket only seals the area between the two studs near the water passages.

But really, if that is broken, what else is wrong? Notice how the area is rusted? It's been broken for a while.

 

He said he broke it when he pulled the motor. It was sitting outside with all the opening stuffed with rags, bags and paper. It did rain the night before and there was some water in little puddles on the block. so I think the rust happened from the rain. He did a good job closing up the openings, I don't think any water got into the motor. I think he used the mount to attach the hoist to and got hung up and it broke, but I wasn't there, so I can't be sure.
So Arron, you think I can run this? I have to say I'd be a little apprehensive about that. I would think it would be for support.