Well guys, I'm going to say some things that are going to make me sound even greener than you already probably think I am...I took the head to a shop that specializes in cylinder heads, and the guy told me right away the seats hadn't been ground. Which makes sense, because I thought the sealing area on them looked a little thin on the exhaust and a little wide on the intake. I asked the guy at Old Car Parts in Portland, OR (where I bought the head) 4 times if he was sure they had been ground, and he said yes all 4 times. He said all I needed to do was lap the valves in and assemble it. Now I'm feeling a little hacked off because I paid him for that "machining" that apparently never happened.
Also, the cylinder head guy I just took the head to said there is some pitting in the head surface (which I noticed), and he said the gasket should take that up (as these wonderful old engines are pretty forgiving), but he said if it's level it shouldn't be a problem. So, hopefully they didn't sell me a junk head at Old Car Parts. I'm going to call them sometime in the coming week. I feel I should be reimbursed at least part of the extra money I paid for installing and grinding new seats.
This new machinist seems legit. All he works on is cylinder heads, and seems to stay pretty busy. He seems quite knowledgeable, and I learned a lot just walking around his shop as he explained what all the machines did, how valves and seats were ground, how heads are milled, etc. He showed me a couple heads he just milled with his new machine, and those things were smooth as glass and as shiny as a mirror almost. I was impressed with this place, needless to say.
Yep. Wally fixes em, and Gomer just fills em up with gas. Sounds like Gomer works for Old Car Parts. Your head guy seems like a good man. Is his name Wally? (I sure hope I'm not the only one who watches reruns of the Andy Griffith Show, so that this makes any sense to someone.) Carl
1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
