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First, I want to say that I am 57 years old and have been into old cars for nearly 40 years. I have a lot of old parts, but they are mostly for Ford. I do not have much knowledge of these older hemi engines. Just stating this so you know where I am coming from.
I recently purchased a 1957 26A 345ci Adventurer engine that was disassembled but is mostly complete. It is missing 4 rods and pistons, the spark plug wire management cap for the valve covers, as well as the dual carbs. I do have the dual carb intake manifold, engine mounts, clutch, bellhousing, power steering pump, water pump, etc.
I had the block shot peened and I mag'd it myself. Two things I discovered: 1) the '2' in the S26-A-I3231 stamping was removed from the shot peening, and 2) the block has a crack.
I know that this is a very rare engine, but I have no idea of value. Here are some questions I have:
1. Can the crack be fixed? Is it worth fixing?
2. If the answers to question #1 is positive: I do have a picture of the stamping before shot peening to show it was there. Is this a problem? Can it be re-stamped? Who has the correct stamping tool to match the original?
Any advice is appreciated.
Hi and welcome to the forum! The block you have is, as you mentioned, specific to the '57 Adventurer. Given that they only made 1,950 Adventurers in 1957, it is indeed rare and there is desirability, especially for someone who might have the wrong block in their Adventurer. Unless the rods are different from a 341 to a 345, the only parts on the list that are missing that will cause you any real challenge to find are the carburetors.
Regarding the crack, block cracks CAN be fixed (welded), but that's usually a last resort and only attempted on a rare block, often times being a bit of a desperate attempt with no promises as to the outcome. Cast iron is difficult to weld and takes the right person with the right equipment to attempt it as the block has to be pre-heated up to welding temperatures and then cooled back down after welding. Welding on a cold block will almost certainly end in failure, the same reason why exhaust manifold welding rarely works. That said, I would find a reputable engine machine shop in your area and ask them about it. They'll give you the most expert opinion based on experience. You may even try a couple of shops in case experience, abilities, and answers vary.
Regarding the number stamping, I don't know of anyone off-hand that would have a matching stamp. You may just have to look around or ask machine shops. If you can't find a matching stamp, I'd just leave it as-is and retain the image you have of it before being shot-peened. That's proof enough as to what it is/was and I don't think it will change anything with the value or desirability. The "A" is the most important letter there and it's still very legible.
Here are a couple of additional sources for early hemi parts:
Hot Heads: https://www.hothemiheads.com/
Egge: https://egge.com/
Olson's Gaskets: https://www.olsonsgaskets.com/
I am tagging in @edwardpetrus as well since he is the '57 tech advisor for the club and owns a '57 Adventurer, as well as @MattRizzi who also owns a '57 Adventurer.
I hope this helps!
@davidfrank Thank you for all the information! I have a very reputable machine shop (they did the shot peening). They also do work for other machine shops, and they are old school racers. I'm sure they can point me in the right direction for getting it welded.
I still have no idea on value. Honestly, I purchased it to save it from the scrap pile. A guy bought an entire estate and this was in the detached garage. He had no idea what it was. I knew it was an old hemi, but I had to educate myself on it a bit.
@scottmiller thanks for saving it! Let us know what the shop says regarding the welding.
@scottmiller I agree with everything that David has said about welding, AND to leave the engine number as it is without re-stamping. The only thing I would add to the thinking (and I have no personal experience with it) is that you should look into STITCHING the crack in the block. I think you can find it as an alternative to welding cast iron, and from the few instances where I've known people who have done it, it has worked very well. You can do your own Google search for it, but here's one YouTube link I found in 2 seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq0wfU4ZaKk
Ed Petrus
