Old habit S10

No, I didn't finish anything. But this happened:

In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :

Nice! Always a good day when you pull that off!

In reply to Mr_Asa :

My wife didn't seem to think it was as big a victory as I did. 
 

Both heads completely stripped. Hoping to get them cleaned, tapped, and ported this next couple days. 
Did have an old timer at work ask "are those camel humps?"

No, vortec

"camel humps are the best. Why don't you buy those instead?"

So anyway, some small progress. 

I mean, I guess they were one of the best factory SBC heads from '62 through the 80s, but those computer thingys finally helped improved cylinder head design 35 years ago.  

Can't wait to see this all together!

In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :

The wives almost never appreciate that victory.

Ah well.

In reply to eastsideTim :

I didn't think it was an argument worth having. Besides, I can just honestly tell folks I'm not build a race motor, just a cheap 350 we had laying around. 
 

It should be pretty good though. Hoping it lands below 3000lbs and makes around 300/350 hp/tq with 3.73 gears. 

I declare the heads done. Aside from tapping the second head for studs, they're ready for a final bath before assembly. 
I cleaned the the best I can without a dipping tank, and only took a small amount of material out. Just rounding out the exhaust ports a bit since the headers are round, and only a little squaring and blending on the intake. I did round off the exhaust guide bosses a little too, but otherwise didn't touch the bowls at all. 
 

hoping to get them ready for installation this coming week. 

Alright, enablers. Someone talk me out of buying 1.6 roller rockers. 

barefootcyborg5000 said:

Short block assembled, heads are just trying to pay for school. Truck serves as workbench.

Happy new year!

This is an extremely GRM sight to behold!

If you're doing a cam, 1.6 rockers are a waste. 

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

I did some math, and I generally agree. If I make a bunch of reasonable assumptions I'd be looking at roughly 6-8% increase. By the time I bought guides and pushrods and everything, I simply can't justify it. If 300, isn't enough, 320 isn't enough either. 

In reply to maschinenbau :

Almost as GRM as "rolling" fenders with a set of channel locks. Almost. 

If I had to guess, I'd say this thing was low on compression. The valves/seats were a little on the far end, but a little ghetto valve grind with a drill and flat file and they're lapping in nicely. One exhaust valve needed a couple rounds, but it's good now. More pics when I can. 

Ghetto valve grind:

that is the worst of the exhaust valves. They were all fairly pitted. I'm calling them good enough. The intakes were all pretty good, if highly carboned up. The process is to just chuck them in the drill, and using a brass brush and scotch pads, clean them up passably. Then lightly apply a flat file and some 180 grit until things are pretty again. The seats are discolored, but in better shape. I suppose that makes sense. 

uniformly worse on the exhaust. It's fine. I have one heads worth left to lap, and I'll be sure to get some pics of the results. One side done though. 

It isn't perfect, but it'll work just fine. Before lapping:

after lapping:

and the corresponding port:

Rinse and repeat, 16 times. 

And the heads are done. Still need to clean the rockers, but they won't be installed until the heads are on the block. Pushrods already cleaned and verified unblocked. 
 

Scored a free radiator today from a guy. It came from a second gen truck with a 4.3, so it should do. Still searching for a driveline. 

barefootcyborg5000 said:

And the heads are done.

Twenty three internet points if someone can figure out what I screwed up. Glad I didn't get farther along before I figured it out. Update when it's fixed. 

You found the valve stem seals for the second head on the bench, after the springs were installed

(I have never done anything like that, btw)

In reply to gumby :

Close. I actually did that last round, this is even more annoying. 

One head is finished. By finished, I mean ready for (hopefully!!!) final cleaning. 
 

See, I'm an amateur. I like to think I know things, but I get so excited to actually do things that I sometimes forget crucial steps. Like when you're assembling a motor, to measure things. Especially when you've modified a few details. 
 

I installed a bigger cam. I know that a smart thing to do along with that is to remove the pressed-in rocker studs and replace them with thread-in units. So that's what I did. I even took a file to the tops of the stud bosses to help them seat more securely. 

And studs installed:

looks good, right? Wrong. These studs share thread pitch and length with the old ones. Even overall length. But what they don't share is INSTALLED HEIGHT. The hex on the studs is just over .25". Which means those bosses need cut down. Otherwise the studs are too tall, which means the rockers can't seat low enough, with means the pushrods are too short, which means the valve geometry is entirely unacceptable. Doubtful it could even be forced to work. Bad. 
 

So, I disassembled the heads again. I'm getting good at that, btw. Fast. 
 

Now, this is an area where those with questionable tooling and experience should really hand the job over to a professional. At the very least, buy the proper tool. 
 

I'm too cheap and too stubborn. So what do I have? I've got a couple drills, a dremel, files, abrasives, burrs, and measuring tools. I can do this. 
 

Step one, masking. I'm leaving the stem seals in place because I think I'll destroy them in removal and I don't want to buy another set. But did you see tape in the list of tools? No. I have kids. The tape is gone. Improvise  

Step two: bulk removal. 
mark a drill bit for depth and start cutting. 

 

Step three, chisel. I didn't get pictures of this step, but it went about as you'd expect. Step four is experimenting. Dremel and abrasive wheel is faster than carbide burr. 
 

Step six, flatten enough to measure. Markers and a file will suffice. 
Uncut head:

After cutting:

Measurement shows .24 removed, so the final passes with the dremel and file take care of the rest. 
Step six is to tap the holes since the threads are now too shallow. 
Proof:

with hydraulic lifters, there is some leeway in this, but my measurements show .25-.26 all the way across. Not bad for a home job. 

Only trouble is I haven't even started the second head yet. Hoping to get it finished by this weekend. 

Bruh...this just get more and more grassroots.

Don't forget thread sealant. IIRC that threaded hole goes into some other engine passage.

In reply to maschinenbau :

Good advice. Half of them go into the water jacket, and the rest go into the intake ports. Sealant all the things. Head bolts too. 

Machinists mascara. The kids gave me such a look, I figured it was worth a selfie. Second head is 90%. 

I know folks are sour on Quadrajets, but I like them. Picked this one up a while back for $25

Sat on it for a year, and finally tore into it today. Everying came out with minimal effort, so that's good. Started cleaning it with carb spray and a copper brush, but ran out of spray. 
 

also planning to keep a couple old guitar strings in my toolbox moving forward, for cleaning out small passages. They're quite handy. 

i like q-jets