Yet another head thread, Need advice |
|
Porsche, and the Porsche crest are registered trademarks of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG.
This site is not affiliated with Porsche in any way. Its only purpose is to provide an online forum for car enthusiasts. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. |
|
Yet another head thread, Need advice |
bbrock |
Nov 11 2017, 06:37 PM
Post
#1
|
914 Guru Group: Members Posts: 5,269 Joined: 17-February 17 From: Montana Member No.: 20,845 Region Association: Rocky Mountains |
This is related to the AA/HAM head GB but I didn't want to hijack. But that offer means I need to make some decisions sooner than anticipated on my resto. The main question is whether to rework these heads or buy new? My very strong preference is to rework what I have, assuming the castings are good. They have not been cleaned so I was thinking about walnut blasting them myself so I can inspect for cracks before deciding whether to move forward on reworking. Is there any reason I should not blast them myself? Any spots that should be masked or blocked before blasting? Basically, I just want to get to a decision point on whether to rework or buy new. After reading so much about how hard it is getting to find good original castings has me a bit spooked, and if I hit a dead end on reworking, I'd like to do it while the HAM GB is still an option. I also don't know what a basic head rebuild will cost. Anyone have a ballpark estimate? I used to be able to send them out to Cali for a couple hundred bucks, but those days are gone. Here's a short version of the history my engine. It's GA 2.0L engine that I rebuilt the bottom end on in the late 80s, but the project stalled before I got to the heads. My best guess is that the engine had about 110K-120K miles on it when it was split. That's a guess because the odometer quit at about 92K shortly after I bought the car. The engine ran strong when the FI cooperated when it was pulled, so no reason to suspect any major issues. Other than a busted exhaust stud, the heads look good with no broken fins and very little carbon in the combustion chamber. So, overall, I feel these heads are a good candidate for rebuilding but would appreciate any advice or opinions. |
bbrock |
Nov 13 2017, 03:02 PM
Post
#2
|
914 Guru Group: Members Posts: 5,269 Joined: 17-February 17 From: Montana Member No.: 20,845 Region Association: Rocky Mountains |
Thanks guys! I very much appreciate this. When I read that some of our best rebuilders were no longer working on used heads, it got me rattled. These heads only ran for 13 years before they got mothballed. Budget is definitely important, but mostly, I hate to replace expensive parts unnecessarily. I'll clean them up and give them my amateur inspection before sending them to a pro.
Another question, I have a set of NOS genuine Porsche valve guides I bought back when the engine was torn down. Any reason not to have those installed with the rebuild? |
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 4th May 2024 - 03:01 AM |
All rights reserved 914World.com © since 2002 |
914World.com is the fastest growing online 914 community! We have it all, classifieds, events, forums, vendors, parts, autocross, racing, technical articles, events calendar, newsletter, restoration, gallery, archives, history and more for your Porsche 914 ... |