I find that when machining some valve seats my cutter will get a build up and give a poor finish. I use a small knife to scrape the cutter clean, than I smear PAM (non-stick spray) on the seat and the cutter for the last .002”…
Randy Torvinen Torvenin’s Machine Menahga, MN
I found a great tool for deburring combustion chambers after resurfacing cylinder heads. I took a common chainsaw sharpening file, removed the “rat tail” handle, chamfered and radiused this end for a comfortable fit in my hand. I also radiused the business end so it would…
Jake Sampson Sampson Racing Engines (SRE) Saint Paul, MN
Small valve locks, especially those for obscure import applications, can be difficult to get into place and inevitably, if you’re not careful, can pop out and easily get lost on or under your work station. Magnetic sheeting is available in one foot increments and can be used…
Terry Kiehnau Terrys Rebuilding LLC Green Bay WI
Replacement Head I.D. for Ford 6.0L Diesel Identifying a Ford 6.0L head by dowel size alone does not necessarily get you the correct replacement cylinder head. Ford/International has two casting numbers for their 6.0L head, the early 1843080C1 through C4 heads which all have 18mm dowel holes and use an…
Dave Sutton Sterling Engine Parts Minneapolis, MN
Checking Valve Heights in Solid Lifter Heads I have made a simple tool to check installed valve heights in non-adjustable solid bucket cylinder heads. The tool is a short square bar with a dial indicator affixed to the end. This allows you to use the cam journal to easily center…
Sylvain Tremblay Competi-tech, Inc. Quebec, Canada
How to Resize OHC Oversize Lifters Occasionally, you will need to buy lifters to make valve adjustments because the one piece tappet is of a specific height and must be changed. This is the case with most overhead cam engines these days. But what do you do when the lifter…
John Edwards Cost Mesa R&D Automotive Machine Shop Costa Mesa, CA
Keeping Valve Locks in Place By using marine grease on the end of a thin flat head screwdriver, you can rest the lock on the grease while you assemble heads with puck style lifters. This way you are not constantly dropping the lock down into the head. Greg Goss Engine…
Greg Goss Engine & Performance Warehouse Denver, CO
Making Non-Hydraulic Lash Adjustments Quick, Easy On DOHC cylinder heads that have solid or shim lash adjusters, you can speed up your adjustments by scribing each valve with a number and numbering the corresponding cup. Grinding the valve, cutting the tip and cutting the valve seat sometimes cancel each other…
Jeffrey Myers MAR Automotive, Inc. Philadelphia, PA