Magnesium or Aluminum?

Imagine my dismay as I remove the oil drain plate (bolts came out nice I think to myself).  Peel back the gasket and voilà, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?!

I initially thought that the block was cast aluminum, but I think now it is magnesium, I haven't found anything on-line to tell me what it is exactly but I've never seen aluminum do this.  Magnesium however will corrode and dissolve into nothing.  It is a sacrificial metal on pontoon planes that is put on strictly to corrode so the aluminum doesn't.

Anyway, there was that and this:

This picture is of my 28 PICT carb, I had just resealed it and...I'm missing this very important piece off of the carb top.  Can't buy it separately, a whole carb isn't cheap and hard to find (not many people stick to the original 1200cc 40hp engines of the 60's).  I did however find a person on www.thesamba.com who was selling carb tops!  One small hurdle is overcome.

Now back to the block, well I did get two engines in this deal, except I thought the other was a 36hp 1200cc (which is designed differently) but upon furhter investigation it is what looks like a 40hp and the oil drain is a perfectly machine surface like it should be.  It is in rougher shape, some pitting on the outer cast and so on, but overall it's usable.

Oh, and before I forget, I was removing my old heads of the "bad" engine block and the head bolts were seized extra specially tight so once I cut the bolts to remove the head, and now I'm hammering the head bolt out..."CRACK" broke off a fin, to close to the bolt hole so much that I don't feel comfortable with it.  I was originally told these heads were the "new" style square boss, but again upon investigation I find out that they are the lesser round boss style which are prone to valve seizure when running hot, so no real big loss.  I was able to get a pair of used square boss heads off of www.thesamba.com for $15/ea plus shipping.  Not bad, that is until I had to look at the "older" thought to be 36hp engine and I instantly realized that the square boss heads are on there...I'm thinking this engine as old and rough as it looks has been rebuilt at least once before and I probably should have started with it.

Oh well, I AM learning.

jd

The Pick Up

I make no claims that this isn't going to be a lot of work.  It is, no doubt, going to be a royal pain in the posterior and wallet.

I bought it under the impression it was a 1962, but after doing some studying, when I went back for my second look (and to purchase it) I noticed somethings that told me it was older.  For one, the '62 does not have the "snow flake" brake lights, also there is no fuel gauge which came with cars in '61.  When I got home and looked up the chassis serial number it came in at 1960.

I received two engines, I was told that they were both 1200cc 40hp engines, but the serials numbers said otherwise.  I was also told that one engine was original but again I did some studying and the "original engine" was a 1965 1200cc 40hp engine (good for me, except it is seized solid).  The other engine though was a 1960 1200cc 36hp but by the serial number is not the original engine either.  It's for that reason I'm not going to return this car to factory (or a numbers car) because I simply can't due to the engines.

I have started the tear down of the 40hp engine, and I'll right more in another post but it has been trying to say the least.