Would you use this case?

[bumble]

Early 2.0L aluminum case - spigots bored to 97mm

Assuming no other damage and other measurements OK, is there any reason not to use this case?





Many thanks...

[afterburn 549]

was that a hole and fixed?....I could go on and on....yes the weld is probably fine...my concern is line bore...and or some warp to the case some where...

[Walt Fricke]

Some shops (Ollies comes to mind) have told me they can repair the early sand cast cases in some instances where a rod got loose and flailed about. The folks I talked to 15 years ago said that if the damage was bad enough, they usually could take a really junk case and cut out what they needed, cut the not so badly damaged case, and weld in the repair piece.

I had a magnesium case welded up. The rod had buggered the top of the spigot, and it was welded up and the spigot rebored. Worked fine. I stupidly had the crank journals rebored to first oversize (didn't know about the shave and rebore to standard trick), including the #8 journal (which one should probably never have bored, certainly not to first over, as that bore does not warp or wear - and the bearing does not wear either).

I suspect that if the case is bolted together when the welding is done, chances are good that the crank journals won't be disturbed, at least if the work is done by someone who knows how to do this kind of thing.

Anyway, if the crank journals measure out, using your trusty bore gauge (see Wayne's book), and the cylinder spigot does also, and you can figure out a way to see if the crank journals are still all coaxial (properly lined up), I'd reuse the case. They are hard to come by, and are a stout item.

[stownsen914]

As Walt suggested, make sure all the critical surfaces are flat, parallel, etc. The good Porsche machine shops can fix most of that in case something has gotten warped. I had one of the early sand cast alum. cases welded up years ago. It had spun a bearing and run very hot, and warped the case. A couple of the mating surfaces on the main bearing webs had at least 1/16" gap when the case was assembled. I had it welded up to fill the gap and machined back to standard. It's been in a race motor for the last 15 years and still running strong.

If you decide to use the case, make sure to clean up all the dings/chips that you show in the pictures. You could use a die grinder or Dremel. Otherwise they could be stress risers and cracks could develop.

Scott

[tom1394racing]

You can do a quick check to see if the bearing saddles are warped by installing a std crank with new bearings, torquing down the through bolts and see if the crank spins freely.

[Schwarzeritter]

I honestly can't say with out taking measurements. I have delt with both a number of blocks cases etc and modifed or welded over the years. It's like most above have said, have it checked out and and make sure things meet the clearences.

Good luck.

[Henry Schmidt]

Over the years we have repaired many cases with "magic windows" and like any other repair, the craftsmanship is key. There is no reason to believe this case is unusable.
Measure, measure, and remeasure.

[bumble]

Thanks for all the replies. Since they're becoming harder to find, I'll resurrect it.