Fowl Jeff

Beautiful!

You're welcome TimO, good luck with Darla!

Glad to help John, good luck! - Jeff

Hi John, For what it's worth, here's another solution I posted a while ago:

Is that snow I see in the background?

I wonder if a brake lathe would shave the newer plate down to size..?

Here's a solution I posted a while ago:

I love the way it looks as-is!

Outstanding! For those of us without spare hubs, I'm wondering whether we might be able to go through one of the rivet or lug bolt holes, since obviously we can't weld anything to the hub. Great idea though and gives me plenty of food for thought..

Hi Guys, Just wanted to thank everyone for contributing thoughts, ideas, information, etc. A couple of the Craigslist ads seem promising, although none of them are within an eight-hour drive from me (I'm in Maryland - not far from DC). Just to share my thinking: I've already been through two trucks & engines - the original purchase and my parts truck - and both had cracked blocks. So I'm 0-2 when it comes to buying usable engines, and having been burned twice I'm gun-shy about buying a third engine on Craigslist and hoping it'll be OK. Plus I really don't want to buy a third truck and spending the time breaking it down - I've done that twice now, and I want to starting putting stuff back together. I'm leaning towards the Vintage Powerwagon folks even though at $750 they're pricey. Why? Because - as they put it - they'll "make it right" if I get another cracked block. I can't get that from Craigslist. As far as using the cracked block anyway, I trust my machine shop guy (http://precision-engine.com) and he advises against it. The first block had a 14 inch long crack (I saw it myself) and he says the second - which I haven't seen - is worse. Yes he can fix them also, but he said it would cost more than replacing it. He's looking for a replacement also. Anyway that's where I'm leaning at the moment, but I don't like rushing into decisions so I'll give it a few days. I plan to head over to the machine shop this week and I'll post pictures of the cracks. Again, I really appreciate everyone's suggestions and I haven't ruled out anything at the moment. Thanks guys. Fowl Jeff

Hi Guys, The machine shop said that in both cases he believe the cracks were caused by freezing. He showed me the cracks; the magnaflux process really brought them out. It was amazing to me because I had cleaned up the outside pretty thoroughly via pressure washing and wire wheel but didn't see a thing. I'm going over in a couple days and I will take a couple pictures. Probably nothing you guys don't already know but 'freeze plugs' is a misnomer. My guy said they should be called 'casting plugs', and they rarely prevent a block from cracking if it freezes FYI the power wagon folks said they have an engine core for $750 plus shipping. What do you guys think - is it worth it? - Jeff

I'm really feeling down tonight guys. First I spent a few weeks breaking my L230 engine down, tagging parts, taking countless pictures, etc. Brought the block to a machine shop for mag & boring and they said it was cracked in several places, with one crack over a foot long. So I broke down the engine from my parts truck - also a 230 - and brought that block in. My guy called me a little while ago and guess what? It's cracked worse than the first one. Quite a punch in the gut. If you know anyone with a 230 block I'm in the market. I noticed VintagePowerWagons.com lists one (it says "call for availability") so I left them a message. Anyway I guess I'll spend a few hours with my buddy Jim Beam tonight..

Bill - you and I are in the same boat. I'm about to start cutting and welding mine. i have a half-ton with the ridges with a spare set to chop up as needed. Planning on doing most of the work from the bottom as my welding skills are mediocre..

Hey Kevin - just a tip: it might be reverse thread. I know my 1/2 ton had reverse bushings - pretty sure it was the driver's side. I'm at work but can check when I get home if you want. - Jeff

Nice post, thanks!