Ive been reading everything I can about porting & polishing the heads. Im not ready to pull my engine & start on my own yet, but I figure ill dig into some junker heads to hone my skills first.
Ive found a lot of good info on these 2 sites:
http://www.sa-motorsports.com/diyport.aspx
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/engine ... d_porting/
These give good info on the P&P, but im having trouble finding info about cutting the valve seat & resurvacing the valves... Can this be done by hand tools, or do you need a specialty machine? Are the guides bored for larger valves, or are new guides pressed in? I suppose thats a specialty operation too?
S.

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1980 Volare Slant

For the last thousand years, well the last hundred or so, most performance valve/seat /port work was done by hand,an often back / eye and carpal tunnel destroyer... with the advent of such equipment as SERDI etc, valve grinding seating /lapping etc are all done by fast efficent machines... I am sure that there are still a number of places that still use stones of various shapes and sizes to produce beautiful work, but it is a labor intensive operation... seats if not too far gone,i.e. loose/sunken/ beaten etc can be reused with a simple hand or drill motor fix.. But remeber even one thousands out of round will kill your performance .. valves can be "lapped in" using a device that looks like a suction cup dart and what else, lapping compound.. You take the cup , stick it on the valve head and slap some compound ( a fine polishing paste) on and go to work like you are a cub scout trying to start a fire in the woods.. back and forth, twirling the stick between you palms.. If you are bucks down like i.m sure many of us are this can be a fine and acceptable way to freshen and improve your heads As far as replacing seats another of those operations that sdtill is done by one man and a hammer in many placesx .. but again precision is the key... I anm sure others can join in with additional info but that's the reader's digest version...you know short , gloses over much and sometimes in accurate or out of date...

I googled up this tool:
http://www.newayts.com.au/refacers.htm
Looks along the lines of what you were talking about...
Can someone explain the difference between Lapping & refacing? Sounds to me like lapping is done with multiple angles, does that make it the same as a 3 angle grind?
S.

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1980 Volare Slant

Correct me if I am wrong. Refacing is grinding the surfaces.

Lapping is using a fine compound to get a really tight seal. Pour alcohol into the chamber and see if the valves leak. If they do you apply the compound on the faces and a suction cup tool to get a better fit.

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'72 Duster 198 stock cam, 3:23's Hookers on jack stands for 8 years in the driveway
'79 Maxivan 360 Offy Qjet Comp RV cam/rusting in the driveway.
93 D350 160HP Cummins Auto Dually Clubcab needs a injector pump
2005 Golden Couch Buick

Lapping is simply a process to make the two surfaces meet. It has nothing to do with angles. You simply put the grinding compound on the mating surfaces and work the valve back and forth against the seat until the fit together. A 3 angle grind is done by using gringing stones at three different angles to shape the seat for best valve face contact and lowered restriction. A three angle job is kind of the minimum, a 5 angle is better, or so some say.

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David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

On the old heads I had on my 360? I had a 5 angle job on my valves for low rpm flow.

_________________
'72 Duster 198 stock cam, 3:23's Hookers on jack stands for 8 years in the driveway
'79 Maxivan 360 Offy Qjet Comp RV cam/rusting in the driveway.
93 D350 160HP Cummins Auto Dually Clubcab needs a injector pump
2005 Golden Couch Buick

Thanks, that clears it up considerably..
S.

edit: Here's another question. If a guy is intending on doing his own p&p, should he get the valves done at the shop before or after? I would think after, incase you muck it up...

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1980 Volare Slant

Do the work first. Leave the valves in when polishing the chambers. I didn't on a set of CC #302 SB318 heads. I messed up a seat and it will have to have a new one put in.

Just forgot where I put the valves!

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'72 Duster 198 stock cam, 3:23's Hookers on jack stands for 8 years in the driveway
'79 Maxivan 360 Offy Qjet Comp RV cam/rusting in the driveway.
93 D350 160HP Cummins Auto Dually Clubcab needs a injector pump
2005 Golden Couch Buick

use old valves if possible... that way, well you get the idea...

Sharp,

I don't mind doing 40 hours porting and polishing (a few hours at a at9me over several weeks!) but am not about to do valve seat grinding and valve installation. The reason is not time, it is the relative perfection achievable nowadays with machines made for the valve work. Porting is an art of hand work not really subject to machine work as is grinding. ( I am excluding NASCAR CNC porting) Most any competent head machine shop can set your head up to be done perfectly and matched to your valves plus install the valves and guides and springs and give you the install compression data and be done in a day or so and it will be right. Regardless of how much time you allocate you may not get this task done right. You can do porting very well with a hundred dollars of tools, but not valve grinding. And yes, I am old enough to have done valves with a suction cup, and still do lawnmowers that way. Nnot quite the same performance expectations.... Go watch what is involved in the two tasks of P+P vs. valve work....you will see what I mean.

rock
'64d100

Fair Enuff
Like i always say, you gotta work smarter, not harder...
Im gonna hit the junkyard when I get home for some practice pieces. If i cant find any slant heads i was thinking about going with sbc heads.
S.

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1980 Volare Slant

There is a book on porting the small block Chevy that is a good guide and teacher for nearly any head.

_________________
'72 Duster 198 stock cam, 3:23's Hookers on jack stands for 8 years in the driveway
'79 Maxivan 360 Offy Qjet Comp RV cam/rusting in the driveway.
93 D350 160HP Cummins Auto Dually Clubcab needs a injector pump
2005 Golden Couch Buick