Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Taylor 3601
We had customer years ago that had split several 440 blocks in the mains and wanted to girdle it.
We built a .625'' thick girdle,can have laser cut to your pattern and Blanchard ground,we made a set of steel caps that were tall enough that they were flush with oil pan rail,girdle attached w/oil pan bolts and several countersunk bolt around oil pan rail and main studs and had a hole in each main to pull caps with slide hammer and attach to mains also,if you make mains don't use expensive hard material,want a low grade steel it expands close to same rate as cast,but is way stronger,they ran this block many years.
Now days,unless you could do it yourself and like to piddle,I say buy a aftermarket block,that wasn't really a option back then.
Mike Taylor 3601
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Yes, a girdle is an option. The one in the attached link appears to be the beefiest on the market. It seems very similar to what you were describing, Mike, except with aluminum caps.
http://www.bcrproducts.com/caps_and_girdle_system.html
Of course, now your talking about $800 for the cap and girdle system... plus another $400 to $500 to install and align bore. That's a significant investment in a 40 year old block, and a decent down payment on an aftermarket block... if they existed.