Thread: Head rebuild

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Does anyone know a decent place on the internet to get valves guilds and springs for fairly cheap? I got a set of heads for free and I was thinking of rebuilding em for the fun of it and practice porting and polishing. Since I'm gonna sell them when I'm done I'm looking for a inexpensive parts so I might turn a little profit when I'm done. There chevy small block heads. Thanks for yalls time.

i re build heads i am on the net .i have a real shop with all machines needed to do any head repair . not not cheap .. but fair. let me know how flipping heads works for you.. there not a hi mark up on rebuilt heads when i can buy alot of heads new that flow better and at most just need a trick vavle job when your done with your stockers my time = money tools/machines cost alot and when running need to make $$

Yeah, I'm not looking to make a lot if I break even I'll be happy. I'm doing it for fun and if I can make a little money then great. I just didn't wanna dump a lot of money in heads I'm not planning to use. Good to know your set up for when I finally build the engine going in my TA though. You do block work as well?

Bighoss---these days about the only time it makes sense(and thats questionable) to redo older iron heads that need guides and maybe seats is if its a numbers matching, date coded restoration--plus they are so heavy that I don't like to wrestle them around

Originally Posted by Bighoss

Yeah, I'm not looking to make a lot if I break even I'll be happy. I'm doing it for fun and if I can make a little money then great. I just didn't wanna dump a lot of money in heads I'm not planning to use. Good to know your set up for when I finally build the engine going in my TA though. You do block work as well?

i am setup to re build rods . bore rods. deck block with BHJ /mill heads intakes .ex intakes . line bore blocks. bore blocks .hone with deck plates . fly cut pistons . many other things. fully setup for head work seats .custom seats . guids . stud work . 3D seat cutting. welding heads . crank work as well

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

Bighoss---these days about the only time it makes sense(and thats questionable) to redo older iron heads that need guides and maybe seats is if its a numbers matching, date coded restoration--plus they are so heavy that I don't like to wrestle them around

yep have a set of 990 in the shop now that need alot of work can be saved but at the end of the day new RHS or PBM heads look very good

Yeah but again this is a side project I'm doing for fun. I know I'm not gonna make a lot if any off of em. I haven't even pulled em apart yet to see if it needs guides. I was just wondering where I could get some inexpensive parts so I don't lose my ass entirely on em lol.

you can buy cheap parts .... theres alot of stuff on Ebay some is some ok and i get good deal on stock OEM valves . i use new valves in most all stock head rebuilds as it takes more time to clean the old valves and re face them and stem them only to end up you may only have a 1/2 set of valves that are ok used valves ... you have to know what the cheap parts can take . valve train is not a place to go to cheap .when valves come apart or fall down from busted springs . pistons will drive valves backup in to the head or die trying this is when things get very ugly

Yeah but these heads ain't anything amazing to start with. I just want practice building heads. 1.94 / 1.50 I'll have no use for em since I'm thinking of going big block. Thanks for the advice.

Use them for a door stop---your going to need at least $2000 just in tooling to do the guides

"..... I just want practice building heads....."

If you want to use them to practice porting and polishing, knock yourself out.

What Pat and Jerry are getting at is that to properly “build” a set of heads takes a lot than what an average person has in his home shop, meaning that at some point a trip to a machine shop is going to be necessary.

The first step the process will be to clean the heads and check for cracks, make sure they aren’t warped, see how bad the seats are recessed, check the valves to see if they are reusable etc. Do you know what you’re looking for when checking heads? We are talking measurement in the thousands of an inch and unless you have the equipment and more importantly the knowledge to know what you’re looking at even this step should be done by a professional. Cracks are a good example, we're not talking something you can throw a cat thru, but rather something that will that is no wider than a human hair. Is there enough margin left on the valve head and are the stems suitable for reuse? Have the seats been recessed to the point where new seats are required?

Chances are when they are cleaned and checked, you going to find as Pat and Jerry are saying, that to properly rebuilt the heads it will take machine work that you will have to farm out and you will be into the heads for more than you will ever get out of them. They will be fine for practicing you’re porting and polishing skills, but as far as even breaking even after they have been properly rebuilt, you’ve got a set of door stops.

Thanks for the advice, maybe I'll just try my porting and polishing skills on these.