I'm still looking for a place that will rebuild the cylinder heads for my 2.0. I'm starting to consider looking for a local place in Wash. DC, Maryland, or Virginia only to rebuild my heads.
If anyone knows shop I would appreciate any input very much.

-Chris


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check out dorkiphus.net a local Porsche forum. Dont ask me what the heck Dorkiphus stands for, but it is filled with lots of helpful guys in the DC area.

Can you give a little more of an exact location than United States? I live in Vienna, VA and my answer/recommendation could change to make it more convenient to you. And Dorkiphus is more a state of mind than a descriptive label.

I have used Allied Machine shop in Falls Church near the intersection of Rt 7 and Haycock Rd. They are located in the basement of a building accessed from behind the building. If you were traveling eastbound on Rt 7 from Tysons, turn right at the McDonalds at the intersection of 7 and Haycock, then left into what looks like the Volvo storage lot; entrance to shop is on left.

Be prepared to look for other options. A machine shop could not make a living doing type IV heads and the skill to do the heads is disappearing so Allied may no longer have the tools or skill or interest in doing your work.

A fellow on Dorkiphus has posted a thread about rebuilding a 2.7 -6 motor and referenced Burtonsville Machine Shop in MD.

I have read I believe from an engine builder Jake Raby that these 40 year old heads are basically not worth rebuilding. They have been heat cycled for 40 years and are now just plain ole worn out.

He has a connection with Len Hoffman of LN Engineering and have an online store and sell new heads (made by AMC if I recall) and I don't think Len rebuilds heads anymore.

Chris Foley at Tangerine Racing may either rebuild heads (don't know) or recommend a place to send yours. Maybe some of our California/West Coast members can recommend rebuilders in their area (I doubt you'll find a type IV head rebuilder on the East Coast).

Good luck with your search and post what you find, I have several pair of heads that need to be rebuilt.

If you're lucky, you might find heads at Hershey.

type954 on dorkiphus.net

Len Hoffman or head flow masters in CA.

Call both, speak to Len, he may do them if they are in rebuild able shape...

Either shop would need to see them first.

+1 for Len, I sent my heads, he evaluated them and we decided to go with new ones. He would have rebuilt them if I wanted to. Great guy and honest....

Thank you all for your help!
I spent most of last night compiling a list of contact info for various places both in my area and elsewhere. Most of today I will be shopping around to see where I will get the best service. Cost is (almost) irrelevant as long as the work is solid and prompt. This is my short list so far:

(Semi-)Local shops:
- Joe Langlois Best Foreign Cars (VW Joe) in Severna Park, MD - they do head work for sure.
- Cookers Restoration & Fabrication LLC in Williamsport, MD (a real hike for me in Alexandria) - they do great VW restorations, but there is no mention of motor work on their site.
- Allied Industrial Machine Services in Falls Church, VA - definitely do plenty of motor/head work, but reviews are "love or hate".

Send-Outs (Non-local):
- Hoffman Automotive Machine Inc (obviously) in Georgia - legendary head work, but unsure if he'll rebuild heads anymore; definitely worth a try though.
- Chris Foley at Tangerine in CT - they do great fab work for 914's so I'm sure they can help me in some way.
- Headflow Masters in Santa Fe, CA - absolutely do head work, even have a rough pricing chart on their website.

A few other local shops I might call up include:
Burtonsville Performance Machine Service in Laurel, MD
Intersport Porsche in Mclean, VA
RPM-Perfprmance in Lorton, VA

Looks like I won't be putting down the phone much today.
I'll be sure to relay back any information I come up with on my fact-finding mission.
Again any input or feedback is always useful
Thanks

- Chris

Intersport sends their machine work out. You mention you want prompt in your service. I've had a mag case -6 case in for attention since last Oct at Intersport with no action/still waiting. Just sayin' ...

Hey good to know!
That small list is of last resorts and "just-in-case".
Thanks!

If you don't end up utilizing HAM (Len Hoffman) or Chris @ Tangerine....make double sure that the shop has real experience with these particular heads. Not saying a shop that has VW experience can't rebuild your heads but many of those VW shops work mainly on Type 1 VW. Related? Yes. The same....not quite. I chose to go ahead and buy new heads via Len Hoffman. Yes, they are more expensive but in the long run, most well done head rebuilds may be close to 2/3 of the way to the cost of the new ones.
It just made sense to get rid of the old head castings and potential for cracks and issues in the future.
Another place to consider....European Motor Works out in Hawthorne, CA can rebuild your heads. http://www.europeanmotorworks.com/