Thread: Wrecked Block?

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Ok, so its not a chevy, ford or mopar, but rather a BUICK! So the core I have is for a 455 Buick, but if anyone here is familiar with those blocks they know that at the bottom of the bore they are not solid, they continue down into a sort of lip or ridge. The blocks themselves are light enough to be comparable to a sbc, and thats the reason I took the block...power of a big block without the weight. The problem is that a rod broke and bashed the lip/ridge part of the bore on one of the cylinders. It broke part of the lip right out and its missing a good square inch of cast iron at the bottom of one of those cylinders. Is it repairable or is it possible to sleeve the cylinder and not have problems there? I mean, I don't think the block is good for high performance now....but is it useful or is it a really good boat anchor now?

Hopefully someone knows what I'm talking about.....

I think that a sleeve would fix this block, but HP is out of the question. With the bottom of the block weakened, you have weakened the integrity of this engine. If you want the HP, just buy a rebuilt. Sorry man.

If you have this block properly repaired with a thick wall repair sleeve, you can build as much horsepower as the Buick can make and have no problems. The block will be as good as or better than when it was when it left Flint, Mi. The cylinder walls were not the concern on these. It was the oiling system that will give you problems.

Yes, I heard all about those poor oiling systems but when you don't rev over 5000 rpm due to those huge bearings and you put in a nice high volume pump with a good pan there should be no problems. I talked to a good reputable engine shop and I explained to the guy the situation about the broken skirt area and he said it could likely be sleeved and that in the end that cylinder would be the best one, due to the high density material that the sleeve is made out of. I had thought I could sleeve it but wasn't sure. Thanks for the help. Now.....only to see if it could handle boost and stroking.