very well said.

 

Tony,

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately my heads were "fixed" before I realized it. I knew they were going to be checked but did not realize that the work would be done immediately. I hope that the work that was done and needed to be done.

As for the bolts not being tapped that is a different issue. Two of the threaded holes on the front of the head were not tapped deep enough (they were drilled deep enough) to allow the stock ps/alternator bracket to be bolted on with the stock bolts. The same issue was found with one of the valve cover bolt holes using a stock valve cover, with a stock gasket, and a stock bolt.

My heads were from a recent (late October/early November) batch of heads. I ordered them from Thunder racing on September 6 and received them in mid November directly from AFR.

Well, I guess that I have learned a couple of lessons here...

Regards,
Mark Forbes

 

I have a set of AFR 205's on my car that I purchased from thunder and they work perfectly. I did not have any issues with them, all of the holes were tapped perfectly, etc.

I've got over 2000 miles on them and they have seen plenty of 7000 rpm runs.

Cheers.

 

That sounds very "questionable" at best. Certainly the shop should have brought these "issues" (which I can't help but question) to your attention so that you could ultimately decide what course of action to take.

Anyway...I hope things work out well for you with the new heads. If your questioning any of the work we would be more than happy to give them a quick look over at no charge.

Regards,
Tony

 

I also have a set of AFR 205's purchased from Texas Speed waiting for install on my 98 c-5 vert. It already has a procharger PS-1 that was perfectly installed by R---...the same shop that Vortech C5 had do his work! At the same time I am installing a comp cam/roller package and FLP long tubes to go with my z-06 titanium exhaust.
I have been advised by that shop to do what Vortech C-5 did! And has been bashed on this forum for doing?

What to do?

Do I take the word of the shop which has done my work...might I add very well?
Do I avoid making waves( I guess by making this post I already have)?
Do I simply put them on assuming AFR's procedures are not repeatably at the local leval and are fine?
Do I send them back to AFR w/o an R/A for no Apparent reason?
Do I risk the ultimate risk of shop labor at the local leval if not correct and failure occurs down the road?
Quite Frankly....after TWO Wonderful Corvette Fever Articles about Tony and AFR"s heads....I never expected this Dilema
Pickleman
vlasek@aol.com

 

Too late for not "making waves"...BUT

If you feel you have ANY issues with your new heads PLEASE send them back so we can evaluate them. This is exactly what I was trying to convey in my previous post. What exactly is this shop telling you is "wrong" with the cylinder heads that needs to be addressed?? AFR stands behind our product 100%....There are no "dilema's" nor do we create any....(Having another shop work on a brand new set of heads sounds like a self-inflicted one).

I will give you an RGA # to send the heads back if you have a reason to question that there might be a problem with them. PM or call me and I will get you that number.

More info for you guys relating to "bolt depths" in the end pad (accessory bolts) of the cylinder head. After checking some of the stock GM heads here in the R&D as well as Engineering department, we found that there is a huge tolerance in bolt depths from the factory....around .210 or so from deepest to the most shallow. The AFR thread depth is right in the middle of that tolerance. That means that a 10mm bolt will go into our cylinder head just under one full inch (about .980 or so)....total overkill to say the least. We are looking into drilling and tapping slightly deeper just to avoid ANYONE having an issue with thread engagement, but the reality is that a washer on the bolt head or slightly shortening the bolt will obviously still be a perfect solution should you encounter a problem. If Enginieering determines we have enough room to go deeper into that boss (without getting to close to "water") we will try to provide you guys in the future with the depth of all the bolts rivaling the deepest of the factory tolerances.

By the way, there was no issues with the depth we drill the valve cover bolts to....they are at least as deep as the factory GM heads or slightly deeper.

Thanks guys,
Tony M.

 

Thank You Tony Momo and AFR Products: I have decided to install the heads 100% the way delivered from Texas Speed. No Second Guessing or additional maching etc. I have printed "ALL" E-Mails foor the shop who will be installing. Just a FYI etc.
Pickleman
vlasek@aol.com

 

Thanks for coming on here to talk about this stuff Tony. I have your heads going on in a week. Looks like there'll be at least 3 afr headed ls1's running around Colorado Springs pretty soon.

 

He is absolutley correct; always take questionable issues up with the manufacturer. These may not have needed any workat all. I wonder, will the shop who sold you the work back-up their machining if you start to consume oil???

 

I seem to have created somewhat of a big deal and that was never my intention. I was just asking a question...

Tony, I will call you and give you all of the info that I have about what was found, what was done, and why. Thanks for your offer to take a look at the heads. The heads have been on and the engine reassembled since late last week.

Regards,
Mark Forbes