I didn't say I was gonna use SB valves, just SB springs and retainers. Without reading back everything that has been posted so far I thought someone said something about maybe cutting down some SB valves and cutting new keeper grooves. I do now have a set of SB valves and springs, bought for the springs.

arrgh… think the computer froze up, hit "refresh and lost everything I'd typed in this box.... so "take-2" I hate when it does that.

Its been a bit since anything has been posted in this thread, I have been messing around finally with one of my peanut heads, done some grinding on 2 chambers..... It has been a LONG time since I have done anything with a slant head, and back then that was to just take a head to the machine shop for a "valve job" and bolt it on with no further fanfare.

I decided to start with the bare head, knowing that the seller didn't remember anything about it, when/how he got it or how long ago, though he knew just what the other peanut head he sold me came off of.... hopefully this don't wind up as being "for nothing" in the end..... winds up "cracked" or something. was gonna go as far as I feel comfortable with cleaning up the chambers, then take it for someone else to take over.... actually I wanted to try and do my own 3 angle VJ on it using my newly acquired valve grinder and stones/ but I may have gone too far, on 1 intake I will need it cut for seats, or cut for OS valves.... oops. plenty of room between the valves..... that's for sure. definitely would do the same to all, senseless to put a seat in just 1 or 2.....

I see how people are able to cut upwards of 0.100" off of a head, forgot how thick they are below the actual combustion chamber.....
I am trying to go "gun shy" on the head, having seen the bandsaw cut-away picture on here...
yet I went thru the 1st 8, (so far) of 83 pages of replies that came up when I searched for "head porting" took me a while, as I saw no pictures in those 8 pages that might guide me..... just many horror stories of breaking thru water jackers//// hope I don't.

I see how the guide bosses can be "streamlined", lots of meat there.... (all "above", "below", "top", bottom" etc are referenced as the head sits, valves up on the table/ I know all would be reversed, when looking at head, as mounted)
also just above the end of the guide boss in the bottom of the bowls the "ledge"/"shelf" where it appears a cutter was used to "counterbore" the guide that extends about 1/3 way around especially on the intake side, I smoothed that away and got rid of that bump.
Im gonna have to get some different carbide burrs/ different profiles and maybe the longer stem versions.....

I haven't touched the port side yet/ where the manifold interface is.... except to eyeball the ports with a Fel Pro manifold gasket loosely bolted on.... some port sides are already "there", most that do need cleaning out to port match are about even as far as amount of metal removal needed, there are 2 vertical sides of ports that need quite a bit, about double the amount ground out as most surfaces that need attention... and those 2 walls are not even square, the port wall on those 2 crooked as compared to the gasket hole..... was gonna gasket match that part of it....

back again... Done what I can (hopefully I didn't overdo) in 1st 2 cylinders so far, from bowl side. had to get some different carbide bits. got a few from Fastenal near work, also have a few "long" ones coming from an online place. then will finish tweaking those areas. gonna try to get the other 4 close to tehse 2 by "eyeball" for now. cast iron filing dust don't taste good, haha.....
Is there a difference in how far one should go based on intended usage? I mean with mine being a truck, that will occasionally be used that way, otherwise just driven back n forth to work.... vs an all out non street legal race car? I mean I have been looking at limitations regarding water passage break thru.... I certainly am not trying to chance that happening. but things like how much of the guide boss do I cut away? Like when balancing a rotating assy, there are certain places to grind from to drop the weight of the heaviest part to match the lightest.... is there a certain part to leave alone and just take out "just enough" to match the flow of the rest?

Most of the porting work, and flow benefit, is found within 1" of the valve seat. The ports themselves should not be made substantially larger, just given a little clean up. Gasket matching would be a good idea only if the gasket magically indicated the proper port size; it does not. The biggest gains in flow appear to come from working the short turn radius to make a smooth transition to the port floor. As delivered there is a sharp edge where the machined bowl meets the as-cast port. This sharp corner chokes off flow. A larger intake valve makes this short turn radius more gentle so the flow there improves more at higher valve lift than it would with a smaller valve. The valve guide boss can be slimmed down. What's dangerous is to try to make the valve bowls wider toward the center of the chamber as there is water in that area between the valves.

When I was building a near-maximum effort head I struck water in the intake ports when making them wider. I was doing this away from the cylinder centerline in an effort to maintain swirl for good combustion characteristics, but I ruined a head that had a lot of time and money in it. For a truck I would not enlarge the runners at all.

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Joshua

I found an article that Doc wrote; may be here on the site, maybe not, found via Google and printed it off.
Like mentioned a few posts ago I got no pix with the printout, like those 1st 8 pages I have gotten thru in a search here (so far!) searching for "head porting". I will eventually go thru some more of those, don't know if I will go thru all 83 pages. But I'm getting deep enough there to get to where what pix were posted at one time are screwed by photo bucket. I wish I could get into some pix besides the ones of the bandsaw cutaway.

I have kept the ramp shape but I have cut away about half of the thickness of the guide boss where it ends, and kept roughly the same contour/ angle of original. Ive wrecked 1 intake seat so far, slid out accidentally with the Burr.

The head side of the exhaust port can be slightly smaller than the exhaust manifold.

Opposite for intake (head side slightly bigger).

The small step up in size doesn't really affect the flow much.

JUST DON'T STEP DOWN in size in the direction of flow.

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

ok... looking at this head, even with NOS OEM valves, they look awfully shrouded at the sides. I hear of "being able to work the head, to unshroud them more" with a 60-over overbore more than with a std or "only" a 30-over bore job. What can be done about that regarding porting?

I recently got some NOS connecting rods for this engine (cuz this engine came to me without any, and the price was too good to pass up) and in the box was also some 3/8 stem, 1.75 and 1.5 valves/ I dropped one of each into a port while grinding on this head just to see, and I can see where the "shouding" would be worse with these. IDK that I am gonna run these yet, nor the NOS OEM stock /6 valves in this head (that is if I haven't already gone past the point of FUBAR) I will probably split the difference on this head, and go with the SI valves that are talked about here.... (or else go with the new stockers, if the seat I screwed up can be fixed w/an insert) but how much/what should be done in the chamber in the interest of unshrouding them? I do definitely plan to shave this head, which will make the deck thinner and will go a little ways in and of itself to help unshroud things, given the depth of the combustion chamber within the head.... take away some of that thickness and take away some of the "walls" of the shroud, so to speak.... I'm thinking I'll have to wait til after the shave job to do much porting within the chamber itself to unshroud things, huh? I do have 2 more /6 heads sitting here collecting dust that I can play with that can take these 2 sets of valves if need be..... plus whatever original valves from those 2 heads, that can be salvaged within the valve grinder.

with all else being equal within the short block, along with carb and manifolding choice and mild porting, would bigger valves, or a little more cam, do more for performance, than the other??
I know that Uncle Tony has a series of You tube clips on the /6. I aint an expert. I'll be the 1st to admit that. I haven't seen all of his You Tubes, but of what I have seen some of it just "don't seem right" to me based on what I DO know. I know he has a few on porting heads, of which I haven't watched yet. but judging by what I know about a slant, and what I see here, (and have seen, way before Tony or You tube were around) Id rather see what is being said here on the subject than there, keep it coming guys, please.....

Ideally You'd want to get shrouding to .200-.250" minimum, but with the tight bore in a Slanty, that just ain't happenin' unless You're willing to open the block above the pistons too. Not that You can't get creative with a lower lift cam to make it work, but as a generic "deshrouding" cut, that much ain't there. And that will require a head gasket with the appropriate bore dia. as well. Where You're at, I'd stay within the bore of a stk. replacement gasket & make the most of it.

ok, "progress" I hope, and not "ruination".
Got 7 of the 12 opened up "below the valve" (again, as it lays on the table upside-down) am seeing some of what I have read about, more on some ports than others. got some 6" long carbide burrs, using that in a "short" die grinder ("regular size") and using my std length burrs in a "long body" die grinder.... took a few minutes with the long burrs in getting used to working with them// but I think I like working with those better now, than the std length.... too much "musical burrs" happening even with 2 die grinders to switch off between....
definitely for sure gonna need seat inserts if I go back with std diameter-headed valves, or OS valves by the time I get done, if only because of the "oops's" in coming in/out of the bowl area.... usually not intentionally...
I have the bowls, for the most part, opened up to the same dia as the ID of the seats..... and am working on the burr at what I think is the "transition" between port and bowl esp on the intakes.... I have watched a couple of the Uncle Tony videos "just because" and if he is right about anything, its the inconsistencies among different ports in the same head..... I am surprised by that/ I can see it being that way from 1 head to another but wouldn't think it would be so much between either 2 intake or 2 exhaust ports, on the same head....

ran out of daylight too soon today, I'm working on this head on an old foldup card table just outside the side garage door..... don't mind the filings as much in the grass haha.... besides, my garage is a disaster as it is....

Arrrgh. I just got off the phone with SI valves and they will not sell them to me because I don't have an actual business with a resale number.
I told the guy that I had heard of them doing just as I would be, his reply was that they got busted doing so because they aren't set up for collection of tax money. So I guess I have to go thru Hughes to get them.

Ok, who here has a business license and is set up for parts sales ?????

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

There are many SI Valves dealers.

Other inexpensive valve options include early (1965 and older) Ford 289 valves at 1.78" intake and 1.45" exhaust. They are about .045" longer than the 1.78" Ford 240 I6 intake valve. The Ford 240 exhaust valve is 1.56" which requires cutting down to fit, but the 289 valve does not. You want the early 289 valve as the later ones have a longer tip and will reduce the valve spring installed height.

Many folks use the 1.72" Chevy small block intake valve. MELLING V0399 is $2.05 on RockAuto, but it uses 2-groove locks. The matching exhaust valve is MELLING V1192 at 1.50" for $4.20.

I put Manley Severe Duty 1.72/1.50" valves in the Bonneville engine. Sold in set of 8 those intake valves are $240 and the exhaust are $268 from Summit.

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Joshua

What constitutes severe duty?

Sodium filled or something?

Just curious.

Greg

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http://www.youtube.com/hyperpack

The heat resistance and tensile strength of the material used. The first few pages of the catalog explains it. http://manleyperformance.com/dl/cat/valves.pdf

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Joshua