It's the nightmare of all those who really use their antique cars. And a problem that we will see more and more. Fatigue and decay of cast iron cylinder blocks. That castings made in a distant past were not meant to last for eternity. Cylinder blocks start to crack, to crumble, to desintegrate. First on micro level. And then slowly the proces becomes visible. Small leaks. Small issues. Sometimes still repairable with very simple WWII car medicines. We all know the names. But in the end the problems becomes massive.
At that point it's all over and the only solution is having cast a new cylinder block. A very costly solution, often too costly. Especially when it comes down to one or very few castings. Toby Ballard is a true Lafrance afficionado as he has been driving his massive 6 cylinder Lafrance speedster to all corners of Europe. He knows the issue very well and made a solid calculation of how many people possibly are interested. After all that he took a deep breath and decided to go for it. And now, finally he proudly presents the result :
"The cylinder is of cast iron is SL25 modified with silica calcium and barium. The cylinder has passed hydro test, turf, honed and is ready for montage. I've been working on this for a couple of years now. So I'm pleased finally being able to offer these to market. These blocks fit the 105hp engines. And we are working on the 150hp engine at the moment."
If you do not have the contact details of Toby feel free to send your interest to office&prewarcar.com (exchange & for @) and we will forward your request.