Nearly finishing my job on the Vortec Heads. We had to modify them to meet the lift specs of the cam, plus while having them apart I wanted to replace the valve seats and check the valves then reseat them. We also had to modify the guides to meet the dimensions of the springs I am using as well as ensuring no coil bind. In an earlier video we cut out the old seats and installed the new ones. We installed new guides with brass runners.
With the new seats in place we marked them and used a tool that inserted in the guide. The guides were new and tight. I learned this was an important step because seats that are not flat let one side or the other of the valve close first and that tends to try to bend the valve, a reason for a lot of carnage. The two shots below show the marked Intake seat before machining and the machined seat afterwards. You can see the marker below the seats in the second picture and can tell how much was machined. It took some effort to get the seat flat with the black marker off of the surface. The third picture is the tool we used. The long piece is to go into the guide while the cutting edge is on the right side looking at the picture. Notice how the tool cutting surface is concave which renders a convex surface on the face of the seat. The reason becomes obvious I hope later.
With the seats cut we took the valves and used an aggressive cutting compund with the stopper tool to insert them into the guides then hand finish a seal between the valve and the the valve seat. Essentially the seal is ground into the highest point of the convex surface of the seat. I have a piece in the video turning the valve by hand with the tool but do not have a picture of it. At any rate this is a finished job. On the second photo (5th) note the grey band around the valve. This is the seal. We inspected each closely uner a bright light. Sort of like fiberglass work, we were looking for high spots and low spots in the grey band as well as the consistency of the band width as well as a matching grey band on the seat in the head (next photo). So anyhow, 16 of these. We found several valves in these brand new heads where the grey band showed high and low spots so we had to rework the valves on a lathe. They were stainless steel. We tested each valve for seal with an air compresser and a jig, shown in the videos. My valve seats and seals are solid.
So that pretty much completed the bottom side. Next we turned to the valve guides and the spring seats. If you look closely at the guides, the larger is the stock guide and the smaller one is the machined guides we did. The limiting factor on these heads is the lift. About .450 is all they will take. My cam has a .450/.460 lift so we shortened the entire guide after it was installed. The wider area around the base of the guides is also too thick on the stock guide to allow the double springs to fit, so we had to cut down the diemeter on the bottom and lower the lip so the springs would not coil bind due to the retainer hitting the guide. Also, note the spring seat around the bottom of the guide, we had to widen that seat for the new springs to sit flat.
I am not pretending to be an expert on this. I have taken my time with a machine shop that was willing to let me watch, ask questions and even do some work. Like paying for a graduate level course at the local University. Here is the movie
I have been going through a set of SBC Vortec heads in preparation for instlalling them in my 355 Ci motor. Even with my flat tappet cam had too high a lift for any spare room for the heads which are limited to .450 lift. My cam was a .450/.460 lift so we went to a machine shop to prep the heads. The man who owned the shop was gracious and allowed me to participate in every step of the process. It was a better learning experience than any postgraduate program I have been in. In this segment, we are lapping the valves which essentially means establishing a seat on the heads for the valves to seal against. We had drilled out the old valve seats and replaced them, then recut them. Lapping w2as the final step and it is a good thing we decided to do it. Some of the valves, though from the factory and never installed, had flat spots on the seat area. Enjoy the video.
Understanding we are a diverse community of many nationalities I do have a passion for the Flag. I am particularly fond of the American Flag though in my life I have saluted those of the UK, Mexico, South Korea, Austrailia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany and most of NATO (Netherlands, Belguim, Italy and a host of others. I did stand respectfully at a Soviet Ceremony, though I refused to salute. With that background I love to see any flag displayed proudly and respected. My passion for Hot Rods and Factory Five Racing, and well heck, this forum also has led me to enjoy photographing flags with my car. So I did some photography around Plano recently. Enjoy the pictures or just pass them buy. Thanks
Thinking about the build I had to conclude that it was never about the car, it was always about the people that I made friends with, counted on, asked for help, or offered words of support. So it was never about the car, it was ablout the people. Let's see if this will work
Thinking about the build I had to conclude that it was never about the car, it was always about the people that I made friends with, counted on, asked for help, or offered words of support. So it was never about the car, it was ablout the people. Let's see if this will work
You’re right Bill. I am not looking forward to completion. For me it’s the people, the build, and I enjoy the research.
33 Hot Rod (Gen 1) Stage 1 delivered on 4/27/2017, Stage 2 delivered on 9/21/2018
LS3 495hp/480 lb. ft., 4L70E, Electric PS, Classic Auto Air, Lokar electronic sport shifter, 13 inch Wilwood front and 11.68 Cobra rear brakes, Ford 8.8 w 3.73 w 4 link, Billet Specialty Legend Series MAG wheels and Mickey Thompson
Sportsman S/R 26x8x18 front and 29x18x20 rear tires.
So I have had a lot of fun going around shooting images of the car with an American Flag backdrop. It is interesting to note the number of businesses that display flags versus those that do not. It is also interesting to note those that display the flags with care and appropriateness. One particular private school near me does a fantastic job. The adminstrator in charge is very knowledgable and a genuinely nice person. I had notice their flag was beginning to fray and was getting tangled in the rigging so I went out and bought them a new one. They were very gracious and I enjoyed meeting and talking to them. The principal presented me with a note of thanks from each student in the school. I had not expected that and was frankly overwhelmed with gratitude. I think I have found a calling. Enjoy
We were having a comfort issue with the ride. I have the seats sitting nearly on the floor, spaced less than an inch off of it. Made it an issued for me with my clutch foot (didn't want to ride the clutch to death). My wife was extremely uncomfortable because she could not bend her knees as they were flat on the floor. I went to the Upholsterer to make her a two inch cushion. When I got if back I tried the cushion on my side. It raised my butt enough theclutch pedal was easier to avoid with my foot flat on the floor. I am thinking about raising the bottom of he seats 1-2 inches to see if that helps the ride. Also, recieved the Hagan's Fatties Superview Mirrors. I pulled the trigger on them the other day. Alan Van Zeeland and the team at Hagan's makes a first class act. Give them a shout out.
Pulled the trigger on some Hagan's Fatties Superwideview convex mirrors. Quality of work looks great. They are good to work with and I look forward to getting out and seeing how much improved visibility I get. Here are a series of before and after shots.
Got a kitchen pass this am and went out roaming about. First stop was the local sprint car racer swap meet. Like going to a Chevy parts plantation. They was everywhere. Next I stopped off on the way home and took some shots of flags and of a really great company in the Plano area. Enjoy.
So I was looking at the car and realized the battery had some sensitive areas exposed to shorts, aqrcs, and so forth. I started trying to work out how to do a reasonably functional and not unattractive battery box. Worked through the dimensions, built a box, then decided to just use a cloth or vynl bag to cover the battery. Still deciding whether to co black or to do it the buckskin color.
Stopped by the Texas Thaw at Denton's Northstar Dragway. It was their official season start and included a car show. Did not get anything but had a great time sharing and meeting with friends. I really liked th4e T-Model Truck. It had a Corvair engine mounted under the bed. In the engine compartment he had a cooler, two cans of soup, and a V8 juice. So it had a souped up V8
A least you are practicing proper "social distancing" with others as you appear to be all alone. I can envision alot more progress will be made on projects now that we are restricted to avoiding others and staying home.
Sitting at a light the other day looked up and found an unmarked car had been following me. I do not really give a **** since I never drive spiritedly in the residential areas but it did cross my mind how clearly and effectively my Hagan's Fatty Mirrors functioned. Guess he had been following me for a while and finally got bored. I am however, not above the occasinal stupidity that would have rewarded his stalk. Thank you Hagans.
Reviewing my videos on the cornering the other day. Need to work on getting more effective footage but a few of the vids did reflect stress on the suspension.
some great footage Bill! really like the first part cruising the back roads and giving a sense of speed. man, the reflections passing across the hood give this crazy sensation that the the car is going straight as you enter the curves - looks cool!
Really kicks up vertigo symptoms. I often feel like I am leaning forward or to the left and right. I would like to get out and get some shots like that on a NASCAR Superspeedway.
So at the end of the day I have 16 quarts of moonshine sitting around in the garage. I have a friend who is suffering from an incapacitating disease and wondered if they are being affected by shortages. Hang with me here. Ethyl Alcohol is as effective as Isopropyl Alcohol for surface cleaning. So I contacted them to see if they could use some sanitizer. At 100 proof, the white whiskey is about 50% alcohol. So the answer was certainly. The challenge then is to brave the forces of social distancing and make the delivery. In a way, it is like the old days roaring out of Harlan heading for the Cumberland Gap. I am titling this the run to glory. This is the location of the Foundation page for anyone else wanting to contribute.
Took the car over to my suspension guy. I have raised the front end and wanted to tweak the alignment. It was in remarkably good shape considering the radical lift I did, about 2.5 inches. I attribute a lot of my success to having a good alignment guy and sticking with him.
I realize carrying a load of crap in your trunk is not the reason that we built these cars, however, a small number of items can prevent a $150-200 tow bill, especially if you are on a long haul trip like Biloxi in the summertime or the power tour. Had a friend ask for suggestions on what to carry and how to carry it for a long haul road trip. Some of you may recall I have been working on that for some time. Had a friend breakdown at a car show once and we had nothing to do simple fixes. So I went out and bought some Kaisen Foam and made up a couple of place holders in my hidden compartment and populated them. There are a milion combinations and permutations of things to bring, especially on a long haul. My thoughts go sort of like there are really must haves and a lot of nice to haves. Here is my current list:
Must Have
1. Electrical Tape
2. Fuses
3. Zip Ties
4. Dykes/vice grips/needle nose
5. Allen Wrenches
6. ratchet/extension/deepwell sockets
7. Adjustable Wrench of Combination Wrenches
8. Screw drivers, flat blade and phillips
9. Flashlight
10. Cell Phone Charger/USD/Lightning Cable GoPro Cables
11. Rags or wear an old shirt
12. Protection?
Nive to have
1. USAA or AAA roadside service
2. Jumper device or Cables
3. Multimeter
4. Bulbs
5. Jacks (sissor or hydraulic)
6. Chocks for Wheels
7. wrp n Ethyl hand cleaner
I realize carrying a load of crap in your trunk is not the reason that we built these cars, however, a small number of items can prevent a $150-200 tow bill, especially if you are on a long haul trip like Biloxi in the summertime or the power tour. Had a friend ask for suggestions on what to carry and how to carry it for a long haul road trip. Some of you may recall I have been working on that for some time. Had a friend breakdown at a car show once and we had nothing to do simple fixes. So I went out and bought some Kaisen Foam and made up a couple of place holders in my hidden compartment and populated them. There are a milion combinations and permutations of things to bring, especially on a long haul. My thoughts go sort of like there are really must haves and a lot of nice to haves. Here is my current list:
Must Have
1. Electrical Tape
2. Fuses
3. Zip Ties
4. Dykes/vice grips/needle nose
5. Allen Wrenches
6. ratchet/extension/deepwell sockets
7. Adjustable Wrench of Combination Wrenches
8. Screw drivers, flat blade and phillips
9. Flashlight
10. Cell Phone Charger/USD/Lightning Cable GoPro Cables
11. Rags or wear an old shirt
12. Protection?
Nive to have
1. USAA or AAA roadside service
2. Jumper device or Cables
3. Multimeter
4. Bulbs
5. Jacks (sissor or hydraulic)
6. Chocks for Wheels
7. wrp n Ethyl hand cleaner
Nice list, we are carrying a lot of the same things Bill...
I also have a can of fix-a-flat, DC Compressor, Fire Extinguisher, Gloves, Viking Quick Start, my Wiper Arm (keep off most of the time) and an Emergency Poncho. I have noticed there are several open cavities under the car that could be utilized to carry some, not so frequently used items. They can be placed in bags and strapped or locked in place, but I have not gone quite that far yet. I am planning on mounting a second, smaller, dry-cell battery with an inverter under the trunk that will charge with the car battery. I will be able to disconnect from the main as required during some car shows, but still run monitor, etc. as needed.
33' Hot Rod Coupe/Roadster (GEN 1), Fendered, Ford 302, 350hp, EFI, AOD, 4-Link, Double Adjustable Koni Coilovers, Split Rear Exhaust, Electric Power Steering, AC/Heat/Defrost, Moser 8.8"-3.55, Willwood Front/Rear Brakes, 18" x 8" Fronts/20" x 10" Rears, Ordered: 1.26.17, Arrived: 3.29.17, First Start: 7.2.18, Go Cart: 11.4.18 Paint/Body: 2.23.19, Back Home: 11.24.19, Completed: NEVER!; View More Pics @ https://starmobileone.com/
When I saw "protection" on the list I was expecting to see N95 masks and a box of nitrile gloves, or maybe a box of condoms, but your approach works too... Thanks for posting the list. It's something I've been thinking about but hadn't got to the point of writing anything down yet. Keith
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Originally Posted by wrp
Thanks for posting the list. It's something I've been thinking about but hadn't got to the point of writing anything down yet. Keith