BBFTD!! ---- pdq67joe wrote: ↑Sun May 22, 2005 4:15 pm Since this has a bearing on the main topic I'd like to know what metal formulations (roughly) were in broad use by any of the big 3 back in the muscle car era .
Sometimes you'll hear people say "this block has high nickel content " or some such , but they do not know how much nickel in absolute terms.
I assume that the main line of muscle car engines had class 20 cast iron blocks with "nominal" amounts of nickel and chrome for that type of iron ? Is this so ?
I know that some of the special run 427's that ford made had high phosphorus which increased strength about 15% according too ford . These blocks had a unique , pale gold sheen when freshly machined.
All these things will have a bearing on block strength and nobody seems to know very much ,including me ! So ,somebody give me a clue !
I want to point out that back when I worked for the old AP Green Refractories Co., Mexico, MO that we sold a refractory product called JadePak-88 P. It was/is(?) an 88 percent tabular alumina, 10 percent paint pigment chromic oxide, phosphoric acid bonded plastic!
It was and I figure is still the best molten iron holding plastic ever made!
Now why do I bring this up??
It came about that as the molten cast-iron over time leached the chrome out of the JP-88-P and created a chrome rich metal that was a lot harder to machine than without the added chrome.
It just made a better cast-iron is all....
pdq67