Quote Originally Posted by 78Southwind View Post

Can a welder build the entire area up with a big blob of weld, then drill and tap it? I am not sure if that will work with cast iron. The rear plates use 4 bolts for each side (which includes the water crossovers).
If the plates go all the way to the water ports then you are in much better shape. I would still have it welded but i don't think it's all that necessary. No you really can't build it up with weld but you could make a small chunk and have that welded on. It was repaired before, you can see where it was drilled in areas to get the JBweld to stick better. I would still drill and tap all the way thru.