Bo White

iTrader: (59)

Ive had a few emails in the last couple of days about this subjest so I decided to make a "from one DIYer to another" thread or some of you that have ordered or will order aftermarket LSX style heads that your plannin on "touchin up".
Start on the exhaust side(with any head, stock or otherwise) and go with whats already there. The aftermarket as cast heads flow pretty close to stage 1 or so LS1 head straight out of the box so its not like a total reshape. First, blend the seat work into the bowl, This will for one teach you to take your time and a steady hand. You want to pay attention to not touch the seat work thats already there and you will also see and feel were it need attention from the seat your into the port bowl itself. Start around the valve guide and shape it according and then blend it into the rest of the port. The look it over real well and see if there are any creases or dips that need to be blended out:
From this

To this

Bo White

iTrader: (59)

Now go to the intake side(if you still feel up to it lol). Go and do the same thing by blending the seat work into the bowl and pay attention to the short turn on the intake like you did on the exhaust but more so. You want it to be as round as possible by removing only the material thats need to make it a godd transition. The go to the guide and shape it into a wing but not aggressively but a tad bit of shaping is needed. Then blend all of that work into the rest of the port by only removing the materail thats needed:
From this

To this

Bo White

iTrader: (59)

No look all the work over in the intake and exhaust ports from every angle possible and make sure there are no dips or valleys.

Bo White

iTrader: (59)

Once you are completely satisfied with whats been done by your ability get those sand paper rolls out and smooth it all down. This is the most time consuming part of porting heads but well worth the effort once your done and you see whats been taken care of
This is a very general description but it has pix of a roughed in head to go along with it. If some of this makes no sence at all then maybe you need to get a how to book from Bookamillion or some other book store on heads in general because the technical names and general shapes are pretty much the same from one head to the other. Hope this helps some of you guys out

Proud2bSS

iTrader: (2)

Thanx! This is exactly the kind of before after info I have been trying to dig up for LSx heads!!

I used to p/p my own BB mopar ci heads in the mid-80s, and back then learned most from articles with before/after photos, etc. from professional head porters/DIYers.

I also plan on cleaning up the chambers to get rid of the casting marks.

Again, great stuff!!

Bo White

iTrader: (59)

Yep, no problem. Whe ya do the chambers just get some old valves to stick in there so not to touch the seat work by accident

Proud2bSS

iTrader: (2)

Yupper. Stock valves are great for this kind of work. Then manley proflows go in for the fnal valve work by the shop.

chino_man279

iTrader: (7)

Bo, where do you get your supplies from when you do/did heads and TB's?

GuitsBoy

iTrader: (4)

Bo, you are the man, once again. Nice write up. Excellent pics. Props on sharing all your knowledge with the community.

Irocss85

iTrader: (1)

what heads are those? just curious.

chino-man, I had a fella on here share his supplier with me. its

http://www.tylertool.com/heavdut112di.html
nice electric grinder for the DIY'r with no large air compressor and the prefered tool by the pro's.

http://www.ruffstuff.com/
for all materials. summit sells a good kit by standard abrasives that come with all the basics, although you will need the burr's still, and prolly a hand full of certain shape sand paper drums.

GuitsBoy

iTrader: (4)

Dont forget mcmaster-carr for just about anything. Theyve got a great selection of carbide cutters, cartridge rolls and mandrels for cheap. And theyll even break up full boxes of sanding rolls for you if you dont want the whole thing. I always get my order next day too.

EDIT: Sorry, did that sound like a sales pitch?!?

juicedSS

iTrader: (18)

those are dart 225`s

V6 Bird

iTrader: (15)

yes they are...I watched a very good friend port a set all last week....If you are not careful and know what you are doing and have the tools to R&D with, they can be messed up real easy...I watched these heads go 340+cfm on the intake and over 250 on the exhaust with no pipe. When he first started on them the customer only paid 500 for basic port work. So he did the bowl work. Put them on the flow bench to see where they were and found out quick the heads werent going to flow the numbers that he and the builder needed so they did some more work as R&D to the customer (good customer of theirs, and has another engine of his there). They are shooting for 700hp on the engine dyno with this setup before bottle. Its an aluminum block with Dart 225s and a 383 stroker kit. Its built to handle alot of nitrous but he told the customer the block simply wouldnt handle much over 1000hp safely. Hes sending it out the door with the 250 pills in the fogger.

The heads were complete as of Saturday. The initial blending did what i was supposed to do with the 2.05 valve in it and his valve job. The original Dart port backs up and he fixed this with the aid of a wet flow bench to see what needed to be done from there. He reworked the right side wall on the ports and blended them into his bowl work and they picked up and stopped back upping at .650. These heads flow up to .900 lift without backing up and he couldnt test much after that anyway. The key to making good power is to have a port that doesnt back up. Stay tuned for dyno numbers as early as next Friday. Waiting on the oil pan modifications to be completed by Moroso.

Bo White

iTrader: (59)

MSC out of Atlanta for my carbides and Standard Abrasives for the sandpaper rolls and other misc. stuff. Thanx Guitsboy, you know I will help when its needed.

Subliminal Hit

iTrader: (63)

5.3LJimmy

iTrader: (10)

I can't see the after pics.

Bo White

iTrader: (59)

I rehosted for you guys, took em down since this thread got old but hey its back

5.3LJimmy

iTrader: (10)

Thanks Bo. that is pretty.