Cooling Jacket Pitting Idea's?

[BoostedRed89gt]

Pulled intake on the car yesterday to get it cleaned up and resealed and found #1 cooling jacket has minor pitting, #8 has pretty severe.

The intake bolt that goes through the coolant pipe didn't feel good when removing and upon inspection looks like a helicoil has come loose? Assuming since Edelbrock aluminum head and relatively low torqued to hold an intake probably wasn't helicoil from Edelbrock and is a failing repair?

I have had people say to pull the head and get it welded and also JB weld and send it?
You all experienced this before and what paths to repair did you take?

Pull one head I guess I should pull both and send out to get gone through?
Engine has approximately 20-25 years on it originally Keith Craft 306 with vortech.
I don't know prior history. Guessing old coolant allowed current path to do this pitting damage.

Looking for help, ideas, experience, thanks.

Worst jacket back of driver side head, heads are ported worth saving or would newer heads flow better?

Falied helicoil repair?

Front pass side by #1 cooling jacket just minimal

 

[limp]

Minor??? Who rated that? Look kinda bad to me

 

[BoostedRed89gt]

Compared to #8 jacket nightmare

 

[AeroCoupe]

You can remove the failed heli-coil and replace that yourself. YouTube that.

I would pull the heads with that many years and have them gone through and fixed properly. Do you know the pecs on the cam as the machine shop will need them to put the right spring gs on the heads.

As for replacing the heads it all depends on what is on there. I would have them put on a bench and flowed before I made any decisions.

 

[BoostedRed89gt]

F303 is what I read when car was in the magazine. Appreciate it. Leaning towards pulling both pressure check, rebuild and weld/mill. Still way cheaper than $4k all in to swap to new tags and ancillary required parts. Just have to fine competent machine shop. Not easy especially living in rural SE OH.

 

[BoostedRed89gt]

Think I can reuse the gasket at least lol.

 

[BoostedRed89gt]

I’m into this car for $5k in parts already. Hope it runs good once back together starting to get overwhelming. Still have to redo fuel system. No way I trust anything on car I haven’t installed now.

 

[BoostedRed89gt]

You guys have any idea where I can get intake lower stripped all of that spray paint while off and about to be stripped of parts?

 

[AeroCoupe]

Hot tank it at the machine shop.

 

[Bullitt347]

If this were my engine, in a car that was not being raced, but a daily driver that was used for normal driving, I would clean the cylinder head and intake gasket surface thoroughly, lay a bead of Permatex Ultra Grey around the coolant port, use a good Fel-Pro gasket and bolt it together and drive it. Then, years later, when I wanted to rebuild the whole engine or perform significant upgrades, then I would address the corrosion concern.
That area only sees coolant pressure and engine temperature. A good gasket and Ultra Grey silicone will last just fine.

 

[Blackhawkxx]

I have seen some minor pitting in the same areas before and have wondered if it wasn't from the RTV I always use around them as it never had old nasty coolant in the engine.