All of this is making sense to me. Thanks

Someone suggested on another forum that after doing the basic grinding to finish up with an 80 grit tootsie roll.

I see now that a tootise roll in a sort of sanding drum, can someone suggest where to buy these for doing cast iron head work, id like to buy a bag that will last and am not looking for the cheapest on the planet.

Also has anyone used this grit, just curious how fast it cuts? Im assuming its more of a clean up after the carbide bit but it still does cut and I am wondering how quickly?

Maybe some of you guys buy these from a preferred source?

Im assuming tootsie roll is slang for something else and that is why I am having such a difficult time finding a source for these so what other key words might I use?

I didn't know they were "rare" heads either, I have 2.

Doing port work on a cylinder head can have dramatic effects on flow (& performance). BUT, if you do it wrong it will hurt flow & reduce the engine's power. This is especially true of the "floor" of the port- also known as the short-side-radius. If you don't understand what you're doing- leave it alone. Clean up the casting irregularities in the "bowl" area & call it a day.


Sanding rolls such as thesehttp://www.summitracing.com/parts/pow-p ... 7AodBQ0Aow
fit on a mandrel or rod in a air or electric grinder. They're cheaper than carbide burrs & come in various grits (some of them are shaped like small "wrapped" cylinders- like a tootsie roll candy)

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63 Valiant Wagon
225 - 4 bbl

Thanks for the link, none of us knew what we were doing the first time we did anything but we can all learn, Im not worried about screwing anything up. The head is replaceable if anything dramatic were to happen.

Interesting timing - just got in a book called "How to port & flow test cylinder heads" by Dave Vizard - literally just got it in yesterday and read till midnight last night. Excellent book, buy a copy. Lots of information - some not normally mentioned, and pay close attention when he mentions torque instead of horsepower. I have delusions of buying a slant cylinder head, having new valve guides installed, oversize valves (which I already purchased), and doing some port work myself so the fully prepped head can be swapped out with no vehicle down time and no rush at all in the porting and machine work. Only problem - I can't find a cylinder head in the entire state of New Mexico! Called all the junkyards, cylinder head service places, etc. Anybody here in NM got a cylinder head they are willing to sell? Just astounded that there isn't a single one at a junkyard anywhere. I'll be going the torque route as it will be for a truck.

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Tom
'86 Alfa Romeo Spider, red "Dinsdale"
'10 Corvette, red "" (no name yet)
'95 Ferrari 348, red "Zoom"
'04 Maserati, black "Evil"
'05 Aston Martin DB9, green "Bond, Treasury bond."
'82 Dodge W150 Power Ram, yellow "E. Valdez"

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There's no such thing as too much cam....only not enough engine!

I have plenty of spares avail to me here locally, I do not mind shipping the item but have no idea of the cost to ship.

If you are interested I can buy a used cylinder head, ( will cost roughly 65 dollars here ) and will ship it too you, I have no idea on the cost of shipping and do NOT have the time to get a shipping quote but will not ask for any monies above and beyond the cost of the shipping or the head if you just guarantee re-imbursement of no more than what I am out of pocket.

I would guess you may have 130.00 in the whole deal.

Hard to believe you cannot find a /6 in all of N.M

My understanding is that N.M is flooded with old power wagons/trucks, thats what I have been told.

I have heard of the book, Id like to get it but Im not planning to make a career out of doing cylinder heads so that is why I have not purchased it.

Let me know.

Ok thanks, this helps

You mentioned on another thread ( not mine ) that you suggest ............Its helpful to drill a guide hole to insert a locating pin to locate the intake and headers when you bolt them on and match your gaskets too. Since there is no way to positively re-install either when you bolt them on, if you cant line the ports back up with the intake or exhaust to align with the ports in the head, it really isn't going to be of a lot of benefit.............

Can you elaborate on this, I am not quite getting what you are saying here.

Do you mean a permanent locating pin? For the intake I could maybe see this but for the exhaust I am not seeing it cause that would stop the manifold from moving around as its supposed to.

Also any suggestions on where I might find an assortment pack of cartridge rolls of various shapes . I dont plan to make a career out of this and to buy a 100 pack of one shape but still need various other shapes that only come in 50/100 packs seems a bit wasteful/spendy.

Porting kits are available from Jegs, Summit, and others:

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

As mentioned, Jeg's or Summit offer kits. However, you will go through them pretty quickly, so 20-30 roughing grit cartridge rolls wouldn't be unusual for you to use up on one head. The longer thin ones are good for getting between the valve guide bosses in the bowl area and the bigger short ones are better for the ports. I did write a very in-depth magazine article series on head porting just like the cam degreeing article I posted on another forum for you. I just don't have it saved where I could create a PDF for you unfortunately.

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There's no such thing as too much cam....only not enough engine!

This is a very important step that is overlooked on most every porting job. Most aftermarket intake manifolds have a pretty wide port flange that you can drill a small 1/16" size drill bit through with no problem. With your head on a workbench and the ports facing upward, place the gasket on the studs first, then place the intake on like you are going to install it. You'll have to put a couple of washers and nuts on to hold the intake in place, but get it squared up as evenly as possible, then tighten lightly. Next, try to pick an inconspicuous spot on several intake flanges(one at each end of the head)to drill through the flange, gasket and into the head(only go into the head as shallow as possible). Next, just remove the nuts and washers and remove the intake and gasket. Get a couple of spare bits to insert in the holes for the flange you drilled while you coat the flange mating surface with machinist dye. Put the drill bits into the holes and stick the gasket on the matching holes you drilled so you can scribe the inside where the gasket needs to be matched to on both the intake manifold and cylinder head. Repeat this process for the exhaust next. When your ready to install these components on the engine before putting it in the vehicle, just insert the drill bits into the intake and into the head as you put it into position, tighten nuts and remove drill bits.

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There's no such thing as too much cam....only not enough engine!