Follow-up to Cracked 216 head - options Please don't shoot me - after all the really good advice here, I decided to take the quick and dirty route as I wanted to use the truck before the summer ended. So - drained the coolant level down below the crack - cleaned the crack area multiple times - solvent, brake clean, alcohol - then ground a shallow "vee" with a conical burr and Dremel tool - then JB Weld (the slow cure version) - let it cure 3 days. Then topped up the coolant - and - the coolant seeped right through the thin portion of the JB Weld ! I thought that was impossible - photo attached.
So did a deeper "vee" and thicker layer of JBW and it held well. I just unpacked her after winter storage, and so far the JBW is still holding well.
And - listening to others talk about a parts truck - I found a similar truck that had the cab removed but everything else there (though rusty). So I now have what looks like an intact head for rebuilding, and a transmission that looks good - and a whole bunch of other good parts.
More questions to come. Thanks again everyone for your help. Jim
