Classic/Antique Car Repair: Crack in Cyl block, old wood stove, chevrolet engine

Question

Cyl Block I have a 1927 chevrolet engine with a crack in the block and wanted to know how to repair it. Do they still drill and plug or is there a better way now. I am a retired mechanic lost touch with a lot of repair methods these days

Answer
Hi Giibert:
This is one of those questions that has no real right answer, it depends on what the person answering the question sees as right. Just a short time ago I did a crack repair for a customer using the drill, tap, and insert threaded pipe plugs and then cut them off flush with the block. The customer wanted the repair to look vintage. The only deviation that I used was to use two part epoxy on the threads to seal it up tight. There are those that weld using MIG or TIG and others using a combination. And there is the old brazing technique. I know of a couple of Model A engines that I brazed thirty years ago that are still running and holding coolant. I used to sit the block on an old wood stove and fire the stove up for 8 or so hours unit the block was over 200 degrees. Then brazed the crack while the block was on the stove still fired up. Of course I drilled the ends of the crack with a small drill to keep the crack from spreading.
Brad