Crack in inlet port divider on VVC Head = Scrap?

[PACR]

I’ve just got round to stripping down a VVC engine from a MG ZR 160. Good news is it does look to be a 160 bottom end with 160 on the piston crowns. Bad news is that the head has a crack halfway up (or down I suppose) the inlet port divider on cylinder 3. This was spotted on removal of the manifold before releasing the tension on the through bolts. It’s not changed to my eye now the head is off. The other cylinders seem to have a mark on the divider at the same point - I assume from the casting flow or rough cores. Other than that the head seems reasonably flat and the fire rings haven’t left big indentations - not sure if it’s been skimmed, it’s certainly been rebuilt at some point with a multi layer gasket. I didn’t see any major signs of gasket failure either prior to buying, stripping or on the head, but I have to assume the guy wanted to get rid of the car for a reason... I’ve not found my valve spring compressor so can only look down the port at the moment hence can’t see how far down the crack reaches.

Is the head a scrapper? I couldn’t find any reference to a crack in this position in a quick search on the internet so I guess it’s not a case of it being common and likely to be ground out when modified. Is it worth rescuing by welding up - should I check skim history (is there a handy datum point to check a face depth to) and hardness prior to any further work anyway?

 

Piers

[oilyhands]

That is not a crack, its the line left by the join in the mold.

Oily

[PACR]

Great news. Thanks Oily! I’ll continue with my rather slow upgrade plan.

Piers