>Assuming I'm facing the "time to change to an unleaded
>head" situation, I'm curious which would be the more efficient
>solution. Have the original head on my engine overhauled and
>refitted with hardened valve seats and the appropriate valves,
>or simply buying a ready-made, complete unleaded head from
>Rovers North, etc. I like the idea of a bolt-on solution, as
>opposed to running around hunting up a competent shop,
>collecting the necessary parts, etc. How common a procedure
>is this (the installation of hardened valve seats in a head with
>machined-in seats), and what sort of shops tend to do this
>kind of work?
Automotive machine shops; it's pretty basic stuff. The guy who does
work on your BMW probably knows a good one. Give them a photocopy of
the relevant section of the shopmanual.
>It appears a complete unleaded head (stock head,
>not some sort of semi-performance head) runs
>in the neighborhood of $1,000 by the time it's all
>said and done and shipped. Is having an existing
>head overhauled and set up for unleaded fuel that
>much less by the time it's over? I assume in addition
>to the parts and shop labor, it would be prudent to have
>the head magafluxed or zyglowed (or both) to make
>sure it's okay, and so on.
When I had the head on Mr sinclair rebuilt, it cost about $450 or so,
replacing all valves, guides, hardened seats, seals and having it
magnafluxed. It took the shop a day to tear it down, check for
cracks, call me to tell me what it needed. I ordered the parts, and
they put it back together the day they got them. I've had similar
experiences having other head work done (minus the having to wait for
parts; American and Japanese iron is nice that way). If you're
willing to pay for overnight shipping, you've looking at three days,
regular shipping yank it on the weekend, the shop has it for the
week, get it back to put it back the next weekend.
David
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