I'm getting set to do a magnum head swap on my 318 and I found some really brittle cast around those oval ports for viewing the cam/lifters. I just wanna check with somebody to make sure it's not excessive before I drop new heads on it. Is there supposed to be a more iron near the distributor or is that the way these blocks are?


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Pretty much all sand cast blocks have the jagged edges around those holes. It isn't uncommon to find some somewhat loose pieces of cast in nooks and crannies in the block. I'd leave them alone. If you are rebuilding the engine and have everything torn apart then you can hit the rough edges and loose spots with a carbide burr and a die grinder. Shouldn't be anything that will come loose during normal operation though.

Derek

 

I did snap a piece off by hand when I was checking it out so that's what had me concerned. I'd hate to strip the shortblock and grind if I dont need to. This motor is an '84 but has just 25K on it. Thats why I opted for leaving the engine in the truck and doing a magnum head swap. I figured the bottom end should be in good shape.

 

its 22 yrs old an only 25k? that sounds like an interesting story

 

Sure it is not 125k?

 

It was a company vehicle that was rarely used, it just shuffled materials around town once in a while. The company dissolved and I got the truck. Except for some rust and dings inside the bed it's in great shape.

Oh and somebody get nemesis_SS a calculator

 

Gonna swap in a hotter cam, or just change the lifters?

 

Yeah definitely a new cam & lifters. I'm not set on which but I've been eyeing a summit combo with .448/.471 lift on 1.6 rockers.