Hi guys, First off i will intro myself...My name is Bill, I live in Kearney Nebraska. I own a 1971 Trans Am 455 HO (WC block) (Blue/white stripe car) Numbers matching car....And hopefully wanna keep it that way! lol This can make a grown man cry, so i hope somebody out there can help me out.

Anyway, I have owned this car for 2 years now, and last fall while taking it out for a final drive, the motor dropped a valve and of course did some damage. About 2 weeks ago i took it into a friends shop to have the motor and tranny pulled and to have the entire drivetrain rebuilt.

The motor (WC) code 455 was stipped down and after the machine guy checked the block out, he discovered some cracks in the cylinder wall. At first inspection he said that he could save the block and put a sleave in it. But after further inspection, he found that one of the hairline cracks went all the way up the cylinder wall (the others were lower down, and ended within the middle of the cylinder). He told me that the block couldnt be repaired. Or to the best of his knoledge it couldnt be fixed...Now this is a guy with about 25 years of exp and with pontiac engines and he was highly recommended!

So im just hoping that somebody out there could give me some direction with this problem. I just find it hard to believe that this block cannot be repaired. Or maybe im just in denial here...lol

Thanks in advance for any advice!
Bill  

Bummer! I don't have any experience with this, I've never had a numbers matching block to worry about, but I can appreciate the bind you're in. I've seen ads in diesel truck magazines claiming to weld any cast iron block for just about any application, I can't vouch for the integrity of the actual repair, only that such places claim their work is as strong or stronger than original. How to find these guys, I don't know but maybe your machine shop can help. I hate to cast doubts on your machinist, but you should get another opinion or maybe two, some guys are shady and know what such a rare block is worth. Get it back and stamp it with some mark in an area such as the bell housing face so you can ID it and take a picture of the mark (just use a hammer and centre punch to make a series of punch marks). This way you can be sure what you get back is yours, not another block restamped with your VIN. There is an article in an old issue of Musclecar Review that dealt with a sleeve system that didn't have to pressed in, just over bored and bonded into the block with a resin compound, I was reading the magazine at work yesterday and left it there, I'll get back to you in a few days with more info.What a Bummer.....