hey guys, i am planning on starting a port job on these heads i have, (after the slight dilemma which i face) but i plan on stripping the heads and getting them cleaned up, they are 73 455 heads. I wanted to start a porting job on them, and i plan on building them up pretty well, problem is, i dont have any experience in this sort of thing, and i really wanted to learn by doing it. I was hoping for tips/how2's/port kit recommendations. The heads have been sitting outside for like 20 years, so everything is pretty much rusted in there, i got the rocker arms off, the valve springs are stuck in there, along with the valves, i didnt know if i would need a valve spring puller to get those out, or just elbow grease. So any information that you can forfiet to help this newbie, i would greatly appreciate it. Thanks a lot guys.
Use the search engine (above) to look for threads on cylinder head porting. There is a bunch of stuff put here by our most knowledgable guys. I've done three sets of iron heads over for different engines over the years and think that most DIY folks can do the job. I vaguely recall that the Buick heads have one place in the exhaust port you should not touch.
i have been reading around and i think that a first time port job on these heads would prove disatrous. I think im gonna attempt it on a less valuable set of heads before i take a crack at these things.
Hey man, I am working on a set of '72 heads myself. Feel free to email me for advice/tips. I dont know what exactly you know/dont know, so I wont bother posting much right now. A good DIY guide is on the website for Standard Abrasives. http://www.sa-motorsports.com/diyport.shtm This is my first attempt at the 455 heads. I have done one aluminum head for my saturn though. Langston
If you get an understanding of what needs to be done to the heads, and you take your time, you'll be fine. A good die grinder, and some patience and you should be fine. I have read many articles, posts and such that made it seem like if you have never done this before, you will automatically ruin the first set of heads you touch....If you get a basic understanding of what needs to be done, and how you need to go about doing it, you'll be fine. However, practice does indeed make perfect. The more you do it, the better your work will become.
yeah, i think im gonna attempt it on a less valuable set of heads, cause my end goal is to use these on the motor i intend on building.
Cool man. I have been working on my heads slowly but surely. I stay so busy its hard for me to get in a few continuous hours of port work. (Not sure I'd even wanna do it for more than an hour at a time though...)
yeah i got you, people are telling me that you can put hundreds of hours into a port job, thats crazy. another question, completely irrelevant to the topic, but i have never stripped a pushrod head before and i took the rockers off, the springs/retainers/valves are just stuck in there, but i dont know if thats how it naturally is, and i have to pry the retainers off to get the valve train out.... if that is the case, how do i get the retainers out? I dont care if i damage the original valve train as i want to make them stage 1 spec anyway. thank you.
You've got to compress the valve springs a bit down the valve stem, so you can remove the retainers, then release the spring. I don't think you can just pry out the retainers, and if you did, the valve spring would likely shoot them halfway through your favorite body part. It's been awhile, but I think you can get a tool for this at Autozone. o No:
Quick tips Most of your biggest gains are in the bowl from around the guide and just before the guide. Look at some aluminum heads and put that guide on a diet. that guide is the biggest bottle neck in the stock port next to the short turn radius. Clean up 1/2" from the valve seat with a sandpaper roll. Take the short turn radius and make it into a smooth radiused turn from the floor to the seat. Do not lower the floor of the port. It should be shaped like a 90 degree arch from the floor to the 60/70 degree cut just before the seat. Open up the bowl just before the guide and around it in the upper portion of the port. You can actually take a 1/4" ball rotary file and make a channel on the inside of the guide. This will alow the air to flow around the guide more instead of just on one side. Don't worry about doing much but clean up to the back side of the bowl. Don't worry about gasket matching the port. Just sqaure the opening. On the port throat, Grind on the pushrod hump down, leave enough not to break through. Clean the casting off the port and grind on the head bolt side of the wall where it ramps it into the bowl- straighten the port out. Use the same methods and work in the same areas on both intake and exhaust. Don't waist time on the backsides of the bowls especially on the exhaust. The exhaust has been show to flow better with the black side of the bowl filled in to direct the air toward the exit of the port. As you play with the heads and get some hours under your belt you should start to see what I'm tring to tell you. I got 270/195 pretty easy without having to enlarge the whole length of the port. It was just smart porting.
Thanks for the tips, I'm about to start my DIY port job! BUt - "A channel on the inside of the guide"? I don't understand...do you mean just "ahead" of the guide, toward the intake manifold? Perpendicular to the valve stem? o No: o No: By "back side of the bowl", I assume you mean the outside radius, away from the manifold of that port. ?
thank you for that, as i do have a little bit of timthetoolmantaylor in my work habits, it definately would have been detrimental to my existence. thanks for the tips buicks4speed, thats a pretty thourough explanation.
In the stock port the air only flows around one side of the valve guide. Take a 1/4" ball and make it flow around both. That guide is way fat and restrictive. Yes, on the bowl. The side away from the port opening.
Ahh, So! (he nods understandingly...) Thanks for the info! :TU: btw, is that your car in your avatar? :eek2: What was the landing like???
My GS Yes. Its only a ruff landing if you have to lift. As long as you stay in the gas and it goes straight, its all GOOD!
