Building Your Own Motor
Heads
You can spend a lot getting heads ready for the Block. You may just go out and buy a new set of Heads already to put on your Motor, or you may just take your to a machine shop and have some work done to them. There are some things you can do yourself to your Heads. The main thing before you do anything else to them, is have them Magnafluxed to check for cracks. There is no sense in putting big money into a set of heads that have cracks in them. Once you know if the heads are good, you can go from there. You can have Screw-in Studs installed with Pushrod Guide Plates. Yes, this means back to the Machine shop. You will also want a 3 Angle Valve Job done on the heads, but, first are you going to install Larger Valves? There is real Horsepower to be had in this department. Larger Valves means more Fuel and air into the Motor, meaning more Power. The Intake Valves are the real problem here as most are just not big enough. If you are lucky maybe you can find a set already set up with Larger Valves. Most Valves run from 1.72” all the way up to 2.30“. But you will not be able to put a 2.30” Valve in just any head, you will have to do further work to find out what Valves will fit the Heads you have. If you are going to put Larger Valves in you will probably want to do some Porting of the heads. Basically here all you want to do is smooth out the passages. If you grind to deep into the head you can grind right into a Coolant Passage, then you would have to have the head welded, and that is not cheap. Just smooth the passages and be happy, or take it to a Machine Shop and have them do it. For better sealing you can have the heads O-Ringed. This is a thin Wire Ring that is pressed into grooves that have been machined into the Heads around each Combustion Cylinder. This helps to keep from blowing Head Gaskets and is highly recommended for use with Turbo or Super Charging.
When it comes to the internal Rotating parts you will want them Balanced. You will have to take the Crankshaft, Rods (W/Bolts and Nuts), Pistons (W/Pins and Rings), Harmonic Balancer, and Flywheel to a Machine shop to have them balanced together. This is necessary when you figure you want to turn your motor 8,000 RPM or beyond.
