One of the last big pieces to get attention was the exhaust manifold. It received a first-pass cleaning before it came off the engine but has been sitting on a cart ever since. I gave it a good cleaning and prepped it for painting. After the primer was applied it became obvious that what I thought was a casting mark is actually a crack below the middle clean-out port, most likely from a freezing water jacket based on the location near the bottom.
I loaded up the manifold for a trip to the welder. (It’s heavy. It squatted my 3/4 ton truck pretty good. Guessing maybe 600 pounds.) He thinks there is some risk in welding and suggested a tapered plug repair. I’m going to install the end plates, seal the openings and do a pressure test. Looking at pictures in hindsight shows a little bit of leakage evidence but no idea how long the crack has been there. The pressure test will tell me if I need to do something about it. Just waiting on more gasket material to arrive for the end plates. (Like a lot of things right now, some materials are hard to get. Been waiting two months for the large gasket material I need.)