1971 Buick 455 GS F/SA G/SA Build

[HP HUNTER]

I was able to get my short block back together, she a rough old girl. 3.912 stroke with a 4.342 bore, 10.69 compression. After finalizing my head design I started on the valve guides, I also ordered some seats if they are needed.

[HP HUNTER]

I proceeded with the valve job, and of course after setting my valve depths there was one problem child, a seat that would not come in at the proper height after replacing all the guides, good thing I had seats made to fix this potential problem. I installed a intake seat, problem fixed. Valve job is done, CCs will be set at 59.5.

[Alan Nyhus]

Nice work, as always. Those Buicks are cool. -Al

[Daran Summerton]

Looks great to me! I play with Olds and tried the trick valve seat angles and now back to 45. I think with aggressive dwell square cams it leads to uncontrollable high gear problems, I even tried 250 on the seat. Also going back to cast iron guides, have learned bronze has different expansion rates and will tighten down. Good luck!

[Paul Precht]

Originally Posted by Daran Summerton

Looks great to me! I play with Olds and tried the trick valve seat angles and now back to 45. I think with aggressive dwell square cams it leads to uncontrollable high gear problems, I even tried 250 on the seat. Also going back to cast iron guides, have learned bronze has different expansion rates and will tighten down. Good luck!

Are they the thin wall guides you were using.

[Rich Biebel]

Solid bronze will seize up. I had it happen on my tow vehicle. Exhaust valve got hot pulling a hill and valve started to seize and bent hitting piston. Screw-in bronzewalls or thin wall types never a problem like that. They are softer and more self lubricating. They do wear more easily though. Cast iron guides also can easily seize. I honed thinwalls and screw-ins until the valve would spin free and never had one seize. Nice pictures and work on those heads. Makes me want to go back and do that work as I did for years.

[Daran Summerton]

Solid is for alum heads only - never knew. Liners are ok

[Rich Biebel]

Sold bronze will work in iron heads but they need a little more clearance on the exhaust side.
I have seen many places not use seals also to let a little more oil in there on that side.

After I thought about it the guide that seized on my tow vehicle was a screw-in bronze.....Only one to ever do that in my memory...

I like the thin walls the best....honed to fit with a Sunnen hand hone....

[HP HUNTER]

Thanks for the nice comments. Lets talk about valve guides and valve jobs. These particular heads utilize bronze knock in guides, the guides are bought with the ID .370 (undersize) the guides are installed which distorts the ID, I then cut a carbon relief slot in the bottom of the exhaust guide with a .450 reamer .125 deep. I use carbide core drills (similiar to a K Line core drill) which I had made, the guide is drilled to .3715 making it strait and round, the guide is then honed to final size with a Sunnen hone with Sunnen hone oil. You now have a perfectly round and strait guide, which allows you to cut a perfect seat. A perfect contact patch on the seat allows you to transfer the heat in the valve to the valve seat.

Rich.....I know you like this stuff, ck out this link

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/13-p...-pictures.html

Look closely at the valve contact patch (lap lines)

[Rich Biebel]

" I then cut a carbon relief slot in the bottom of the exhaust guide with a .450 reamer .125 deep."

You lost me on the above operation ? A picture is worth a thousand words.

Practically all the head work I did over many years was without the use of a seat and guide machine. Benchtop operations.....hand held drills and tooling.

I did buy out a machine shop in the early 1990's and that buy included a Kwik Way 019 S&G machine. I did not use it much. Eventually sold it for a giveaway price.

Nice work on the BB heads and I hated replacing the stock guides in them. I would leave them and thin wall line them mostly due to the rediculous way GM factory drilled the guides off center from the seats on some. Also the potential water leak issue passing thru the water jacket.

I have taken brand new aluminum heads from the big name manufacturers with nice looking Serdi cut seats so far off the old valve bounce test is a NO bounce and just a thud......LOL

Bought a set of Darts for my own engine. Operator who did the VJ on them must have been drunk......had to use my old school stones to fix it.....Not fun but I make it work...

Your work is excellent.....