Porting own heads
12-17-2011, 11:18 AM
#1
Staging Lane
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Porting own heads just curious not saying imma do this lol but has anyone ported their own heads? is it difficult? ad most importantly is it a smart thing to do and does it help with power...what are ways to mess up and ruin the heads?
12-17-2011, 12:04 PM
#2
Fastest way to ruin a head is to NOT know where to touch! There have been many home port jobs out there that have been successful. I have ported many many heads in my day with good results however I much prefer to leave it for the pros like LE,AI etc.
That said you can get away with some basic gasket matching but I would prefer to let someone else that has years of experience handle that job......
I am sure the next comment would be the cost from the previously mentioned companies well, how much is your time,tools,researching and the possibility of ruining a set of heads worth.......... I am NOT saying you are not capable, just seen my fair share of home port jobs that made almost no difference at the track with a bunch of time wasted.....
That said you can get away with some basic gasket matching but I would prefer to let someone else that has years of experience handle that job......
I am sure the next comment would be the cost from the previously mentioned companies well, how much is your time,tools,researching and the possibility of ruining a set of heads worth.......... I am NOT saying you are not capable, just seen my fair share of home port jobs that made almost no difference at the track with a bunch of time wasted.....
12-17-2011, 12:15 PM
#3
On The Tree
You can get about 50% of the improvement of a professionally ported set without taking too many chances. There are several videos on YouTube that show some of the basics. The combustion chamber, bowl, gasket matching....within reason and short side radius are going to net you some pretty good gains. The tendency is to think that bigger is better (We are men after all) does not apply to porting. It will not be near what the pros can do, but it will also be basically free. You'll need some carbide burrs and a proper porting tool so some of the freebies aren't really free.
Check out some of the Eastwood and YouTube videos and base your decision on your patience and skill level. In addition to the porting tools you'll also want some way to measure the volume of your new ports and try to keep them as close as possible. A graduated turkey baster may even work although a burette would be better.
Good luck and don't screw up because sometimes trying to save a thousand can cost you a few hundred. Have fun.
Check out some of the Eastwood and YouTube videos and base your decision on your patience and skill level. In addition to the porting tools you'll also want some way to measure the volume of your new ports and try to keep them as close as possible. A graduated turkey baster may even work although a burette would be better.
Good luck and don't screw up because sometimes trying to save a thousand can cost you a few hundred. Have fun.
even the first page 
lol 
12-17-2011, 02:23 PM
#6
Staging Lane
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thanks guys..i do want to go AI or LE EVENTUALLY lol just cant right now...i am alill scared to even try...only wanted to ask because i can get spare LT1 heads for 100 bucks..and thought about experimenting with em lol
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12-17-2011, 04:52 PM
#8
If you're willing to devote hundreds of dollars in the proper tools and equipment, several hundreds (or even thousands of hours) into practicing while ruining plenty of sets of junk heads, and investing another hundred or so hours into reading head porting books and watching how-to videos, then perhaps self-porting is something you'd be interested. 
12-17-2011, 09:23 PM
#9
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I have been doing port work for years and I still learn somthing nearly every time I put a set of heads on the flow bench. It is not easy but if you want to learn the go for it, just don't expect the first or even the second or third attemt to go the way you want it to.
The first thing I usually notice about a home port job is that none of the ports look the same. The second has already been mentioned, that is getting the ports to big in all the wrong places.
The best thing you can do is practice on a set of junk heads, that way you dont mess up something you could use later on.
We have people come to our shop from time to time and ask for junk heads just to learn on, you may could do the same at a shop near you.
Have fun and take your time. Also don't forget the Eye Ear and Nose protection, or you might end up blind deaf and have black boogers!
Andy
The first thing I usually notice about a home port job is that none of the ports look the same. The second has already been mentioned, that is getting the ports to big in all the wrong places.
The best thing you can do is practice on a set of junk heads, that way you dont mess up something you could use later on.
We have people come to our shop from time to time and ask for junk heads just to learn on, you may could do the same at a shop near you.
Have fun and take your time. Also don't forget the Eye Ear and Nose protection, or you might end up blind deaf and have black boogers!
Andy
12-18-2011, 07:35 AM
#10
Resident Racing Jerk
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i ported mine back in the day... spent a couple weeks on them after work. ran like a boss, considering. made 370rwhp through a th400/9"/slicks. swapped to a cnc head and picked it up to 425.
12-18-2011, 05:45 PM
#13
I ported mine and never touched a set before in my life . I had the tools already with the exception of a few bits. I think I spent more time researching than actual porting but I manged to get a best of 11.63 @ 116.42 with them and an off the shelf 280 XFI cam.
12-19-2011, 07:35 AM
#16
you can do it......if you are new to it id reccomend buying a book........read it then try porting a spare set of junk heads thats how i learned....you can pick up some decent power unshrouding valves, working on the bowl area and also the valve seat.........again one of the keys is consistancy between the ports......you can also damage alot if you dont know what you are doing.......by no means am i a professional porter I leave that to the big dogs but i do know how to do simple things to pick up power on stock heads.....like i said my main suggestion is read, you can never read enough and learn enough and a simple porting book will give you PLENTY of info to get in and get started on basic porting.......
12-19-2011, 12:26 PM
#17
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Experience is always a plus here but, it's important where to port. Having access to a flowbench will allow you to find out where the gains are or not, but most of us aint got one!!! Sooo, we rely on the info experts give us. This info we all need, will allow us to do the job right and to avoid porting everything in sight. Even experts have to study any newer head designs, to know where they have to cut, measure (casting material thickness), port design vs similiar intake port designs and all, to acquire the necessary limitations to improve flow. So, a newbie at porting? If you've done some light porting, have working knowledge of the head, access to the right information on how-to's, the right tools and patients/time? Then the job can be done.......
12-19-2011, 12:57 PM
#18
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12-19-2011, 01:31 PM
#19
Could contribute to rod damage.
Remember these are port injected, if one port flows really well and the average bank to bank fueling is good then that one port is lean and could easily detonate doing rod damage. Not saying that is what happened here but it is possible.
With the SBC be it LT1(worse) gen 1 or whatever cylinder to cylinder distribution is NOT very exact, combined a cylinder in a location that gets more air with a port you do particularly well and you are stacking things in a way to make that cylinder lean if the average bank AFR is right, throw in injector tolerances. It usually cost extra to get injectors flow matched to within 3% per set. Get a basic set with a 5% variance combine with intake distribution imbalance then a set of heads with flow numbers all over the place and things can go bad, cracked ring lands beat up bearings, bent rods are all possible consequences of detonation.
An older carbed or TBI injected setup where the air and fuel are mixed before the plenum wont be as sensitive to this.
Remember these are port injected, if one port flows really well and the average bank to bank fueling is good then that one port is lean and could easily detonate doing rod damage. Not saying that is what happened here but it is possible.
With the SBC be it LT1(worse) gen 1 or whatever cylinder to cylinder distribution is NOT very exact, combined a cylinder in a location that gets more air with a port you do particularly well and you are stacking things in a way to make that cylinder lean if the average bank AFR is right, throw in injector tolerances. It usually cost extra to get injectors flow matched to within 3% per set. Get a basic set with a 5% variance combine with intake distribution imbalance then a set of heads with flow numbers all over the place and things can go bad, cracked ring lands beat up bearings, bent rods are all possible consequences of detonation.
An older carbed or TBI injected setup where the air and fuel are mixed before the plenum wont be as sensitive to this.
