Epoxy found on aluminum heads, will that work?

I appreciate all the great advice on the matter, it seems that the general consensus is to get new ones, I like the aluminum screw idea, that makes sense, but upon further epoxy removal, it seems who ever owned the car before me attempted to weld first ( and failed, hence the large amount of epoxy ).... ( just need to save up for them, and since there is so much else to do, I'll keep busy ).

The heads are original, and pretty thin, and who knows how many other places are near ready to fail on it.

Thanks!

Scott

I just put a set of Jim's heads on my S/C phaeton. They are really nice, with much larger water passages and are thicker overall. It's not just the holes in the old heads but whether you can get all the corrosion out of them to free up the coolant passages.

I just went through what you are experiencing. I had a head that leaked water into a cylinder. I have a friend who does great welding with alumium. He welded up the hole that had been eaten out. When we put the head back on it leaked out of the top at several spots. It seems that the alumium had eaten out on the inside. I decide after talking to others who had similar troubles to just buy new heads. The new ones are thicker with more water capacity. I bought them from Jim Higman, a club member and Cord owner. Jim's phone number is 435-640-1205. He lives in Park City, Utah.

Since none of the experts are coming in on this, let me tell you what I would do. I have used epoxy to make repairs on other cars but consider it a temporary repair. I have seen it last for years. I would see if a welding shop can fill the holes.

A lot will depend on your finances and goals for the car. New heads would be more reliable that repaired. The old heads probably have other spots that are thin but not leaking yet.

If you are short on money, you could try what the previous owner did to mine. He installed a small aluminum screw in the head with some type of sealant. Since I have more pressing needs, I plan to leave it in and cut it off flush with the head.

I just bought a 1/2 restored 1936 Cord Westchester, which was sitting in a garage since 1974.

After organizing everything and finding out what I got myself into, I noted a repair on both heads near the water temperature sensor.

I pulled the head, and noted that epoxy was used on the aluminum in many water related areas.

No epoxy was found where the aluminum touches the block.

Anyone know if that's a normal thing to do? Are new heads required.

I have ordered the Service manual, but it hasn't arrived yet.

Thanks!

Scott, Cord owner since ( Aug / 13 / 2011 )