Broken Lifter Spider Mounting Hole

[Majoraslayer]

At this point I'll just be satisfied if it just drives to the junk yard I guess.

 

[Road Trip]

@Majoraslayer,

Any status update on your project? I think about this every time I
look at a photo with a spider assembly in it.

Fingers crossed you've just taken a break instead of deciding to
give up on your build.

Cheers --

 

[Majoraslayer]

@Majoraslayer,

Any status update on your project? I think about this every time I
look at a photo with a spider assembly in it.

Fingers crossed you've just taken a break instead of deciding to
give up on your build.

Cheers --

I didn't give up completely, but I've taken a break and slowed way down on it. I've needed help figuring out some things, but I've kinda ended up nervous to ask for help here. Every time I do, it seems like the critical responses I get make me obsessively second-guess every single thing I ever do to it. So far the engine is back together and mounted to the frame and transmission, but I've not fully reassembled everything to the point I can start it yet.

 

[0xDEADBEEF]

I didn't give up completely, but I've taken a break and slowed way down on it. I've needed help figuring out some things, but I've kinda ended up nervous to ask for help here. Every time I do, it seems like the critical responses I get make me obsessively second-guess every single thing I ever do to it. So far the engine is back together and mounted to the frame and transmission, but I've not fully reassembled everything to the point I can start it yet.

I think you had a little unfortunate timing. There was this other guy just a little before this asked for advice and we kept telling him how to do things the right way and he stubbornly went and did things his way with predictable results. So, I think maybe it was a "here we go again" thing.

I want this repair to work for you, but I have strong doubts. It's a lot more expensive to fix things twice than to do it once the right way.

 

[Majoraslayer]

I think you had a little unfortunate timing. There was this other guy just a little before this asked for advice and we kept telling him how to do things the right way and he stubbornly went and did things his way with predictable results. So, I think maybe it was a "here we go again" thing.

I want this repair to work for you, but I have strong doubts. It's a lot more expensive to fix things twice than to do it once the right way.

I called around, there are no shops or metalworkers around me willing to braze cast iron. I can barely weld, much less do all the meticulous work to braze cast iron correctly myself. If this doesn't work, then it's going to require a block replacement either way. It's made it really hard to keep going honestly, I feel sick every time I think about the first time I try to start it. I literally don't have any more money to go back and redo what I've done though, and due to the state of the economy and no hope of this inflation ever letting up, I'm struggling to see a light at the end of the tunnel where I ever will again. It will either have to work, or become a permanent yard decoration I keep around as a souvenir to the good times I had in it. The big question is which thing I inevitably did wrong will kill it first: the spider hold-down, the one of 50 different ways I've seen to correctly torque the valve train that I chose incorrectly, or some gasket I didn't combine the magic amount of RTV with correctly that dumps coolant into the oil. It's like a roulette wheel of failures lol

 

[tayto]

just put non-roller lifters in and matching cam. probably cheapest solution here if you're not confident in your repair or can find someone to weld cast iron. i wouldn't lose sleep over this route myself especially if you are on a tight budget.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

It's like a roulette wheel of failures lol

DO you remember that old adage - when Thomas Edison finally came out with the light bulb after 100s of different tries, he said (something like this) "each time of those 100s of tries, I learned how not to make the light bulb"

Don't give up, just keep plodding on, one thing at a time. You can do it

 

[62barsoom]

For what it's worth, I agree with Road Trip in that I'd let my daughter drive that. You've welded the nut to the bolt, thats not coming loose. The tray won't let it slide up, so nothing coming apart. And the loctite will prevent backing out. You've got this sussed.