I was wanting to know if there was a book out there that skimmed the details on porting cylinder heads. I plan on porting my factory heads and am in no hurry to get it done. I would much more like to do it myself and be proud of it than pay someone a whole **** load of money that I don't have. I plan on putting the cc503 or cc306 in it with all the necessary related parts. Any info or suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

I know there are porting kits out there, but if you have never done it before and have your heart set on doing it yourself, I suggest you get a set of heads from junk yard or something to practice on before you try to port your current heads. Just my .02

 

i agree practice on some junk heads first

 

If you don't have any luck doing it yourself I would rec Lloyd Elliott http://www.elliottsportworks.com/lt1.html

 

I plan to get a set of junk heads to tool around with first, but I was just looking to see if there was something out there that had a good refrence. I just don't see the point in paying a grand to have someone clean up my heads when I can just do it myself with a little time. I have the tools to do but I am just unsure about how far I can port before I start hitting water jackets and such.

 

You probably don't want to hear this, but you are making a mistake. You can slow it down easier than make it faster. Odds are that is what you will do. How are you going to know you improved it? Take that energy you were going to use grinding on those heads and get a 2nd job to make money to pay a pro to do it. Even if you had a flow bench (I'm guessing you don't) you still won't know if it will be faster when you are finished. We don't race flow benches either. It's a tool, but bigger cfm numbers is not all there is to it. If you could see all the long faces on young men when they bring ther cars in for tuning after them and/or their buddys worked on the heads only to find they make no more, or even less power than stock heads do. I see it all the time. I have never seen good power from home ported heads.

Also, don't "gasket match" the ports. Especially the exhaust! Couldn't believe the first time I saw that done. Send'em to Lloyd. I just tuned a 355" LT1 with his heads and the GM "847" cam that made nearly 450 rwhp. You won't/can't do that yourself.

Good luck, Ed

 

Listen to Ed, the man knows what he's talking about.
He does more than just tune those cars, he also happens to own a couple of fast ones

If you insist on doing it yourself, read this -> http://www.sa-motorsports.com/diyport.aspx

 

send them to the pros man!! alot of guys who can build motors like no other wouldnt touch machine work!!!! my dad has his own business and building diesels and wont touch machine work!! its tough stuff man and screwing it up can actaully cost you power! also can cost you more to have it fixed than it would have been in the beginning....just my .02..if you are going to do it tho you better practice alot!!!

 

There is nothing wrong in learning, but when it comes to heads, you really need too know how they work, what areas respond the best, matching the heads to a perticular cam, its not just about breaking a grinder out, most guys will start jacking with the ports & thinking bigger is better, this is the area that can screw **** up really fast (if you don't know what your doing), head work takes skill & research & above all, practice/patiance, you'll come to find (by reading) that most of your power gain is in the bowl area, not the ports, & like was mentioned in an earlier post, port matching the exhaust is a big No No, head work is just as (if not more) important then selecting the "right" cam, i've done some head work in the past on my Mopars, & did alot of reading 1st., there are so many areas in a head once you start researching, your best bet is to leave it to the pros, i know i can most likely get alittle power doing a set of LT1s myself, because i've done porting before (iron jobs) & seen gains, i'm still an amacher, but i wouldn't be afraid of tackleing a set.

 

I have seen a few sets of home ported heads in my time. When someone questions me about home porting a set of heads I always ask why they would want to spend MORE money for LESS performance? Don't believe me? Can't be true? Let me explain.

1. You need a grinder...Not a dremel.. If you don't believe me now, you will once you start porting. ~$50
2. 6" carbide burrs are not availible at walmart... you can get away with a 3/8" egg. $56.00
3. Catridge rolls / mandrels $30.00
4. Flow testing... if you don't have a flowbench, you are going to have to pay someone to use theirs. Normal rate is $30.00 a hole. I figure you will have to spend 4-6 trips to your local flowbench guy until he explains to you that you are asking the wrong questions. He explains that a VP must be done, at an additional cost of $40. Hopefully he will also give you some tips on where you should be grinding! 2 more trips @ $40.00 and you should be on the right track.
5. Unless you have $10k to run out and buy a nice recond Storm surfacer... figure on paying someone $75.00 to get them surfaced. NO...YOU CANNOT USE YOUR DEWALT BELT SANDER!
6. Those valve seats aren't going to magically get a valve job.. figure $250.00 for a "real" performance valve job.
7. Guide's... Again, unless you inherited a seat and guide machine... Get your wallet out. $125.00-$150.00. And NO... Your trick walmart titanium drill bit is not going to fix your egged guides.

So... for $826.00 (no...we didn't even think about buying parts yet) and about 30 hours of grief and pain... plus gas and electricity. On the plus side though...if everything worked out good you picked up 15-20 RWHP.... oh... wait, thats after we spend another $500-800 on parts... and pay someone to assemble them.

Cylinder head work doesn't sound so expensive anymore does it?

time to call a professional!

 

Yea I highly reccomend you dont port your own heads if you dont know what your doing.

 

I have a grinder, a whole set of carbide bits (Matco), a flowbench at work, and have never owned a dewalt anything. I am just looking to see or hear from people that have done their lt1's heads and know a few tricks. I work for a shop, and between my stuff, and the shops I have everything I need. I was looking to beef up the ol' car, and for me, someone who can do everything myself, with time will end up with something nice. I wouldn't pay anyone to do a tranny sway or to put my cam in when I could, so why would I pay someone to clean up my heads? If I **** them up, I'll just buy new one's and oh well... if they end up nice then I just gain a little hp and saved a **** load of money, then what?

 

Id listen to Ed or Dennis. Those guys have years of experience, been there, done that, and they know what works and what does not.

 

I'm sure they have more experience than most people. I want to be able to do it myself. Maybe five years from now I'll be as good as them. I'm not the type to let someone else do something I can learn to do myself. I don't want to depend on others to get **** done for me, and no offense to them and I'm sure they do great work, but I would much preffer to LEARN something NEW and try it myself.

 

I agree, everyone starts somewhere. But I would still practice on a bunch of junk before hand. Good luck!

 

In this day you will never LEARN cylinder head porting... You can only be "LEARNING" the induction system. I would GREATLY welcome more talent into the industry as the demand has outgrown the talent. I would love to hire a good student of airflow.... but currently everyone is running their own gig.

I have been doing this for 13 years. I consider myself just finishing my Bachelors degree. Currently I can only think of one person that has their PHd.... and even then he is still a hard learning student of airflow.

You will need to be good at math and physics. You will also need a very open mind... Mother Nature has a sense of humor all of her own. Also expect that what you now think makes the induction system work is absolutely incorrect. Also understand that you will never know the answer, only how to get close.

If you are still game....with what I know now this is what I would do.

1. Read... and read somemore... when you are tired, keep reading.... long before you pick the grinder up.

2. Call this gentleman, his name is Bill Jones. http://www.ryanbrownracing.com/Bill_...o_Gallery.html.
Be very polite as he has forgot more about making stuff go fast than most of us will ever know. Tell him that you know me (Dennis @ Air Flow Development). Ask him if he would be kind enough to sell you a copy of his porting notebook. When you get it... read it until you understand the math...not the words.

3. Very talented individuals in this field hang out @ www.speedtalk.com. Don gives us a place to hang out. Understand though that you may be talking to an industry professional.... or your next door neighbor. It will take you a bit to figure out who is who.

4. Purchase a copy of PipeMax. It is VERY cheap for the work Larry has put into it. Larry is also a student.... A very good one I might add.
http://www.maxracesoftware.com/pipemax36xp2.htm
This is not a desktop dyno program...so don't use it as one. It will make the calcs in Bills notebook easier for you to do and understand.


5. Once you get an idea of what you are to do spend as much time on the flowbench as possible. Pay more attention to velocity and how you control it... Big clean air will come later.

6. This is a tip... and you will not understand it fully yet. Most of your porting work will be done on a seat and guide machine. .500" above and 1" below the valve seat is what makes a hero or a zero.

This is the best advice I can give you.... and I hope it helps.

If you are doing this just to save a buck.... I would tell you to save your money and pay someone to do it for you.... It will save you tons in the end. This is not nearly similar to fixing the plumbing in your house or doing a H/C install.


If at any time you have questions, you are free to email me. I am always glad to help someone that is willing to learn.....

Good Luck
Dennis
dennis@afdracing.com

 

I am going to break ranks here and actually answer your question rather than trying to preach a sermon at you.
" How to build and modify chevy small block cylinder heads" by David Vizard. http://www.amazon.com/Chevrolet-Smal.../dp/0879385472
Basic improvement of the flow of cylinder heads is not a dark science. Read this book, it will give you all you need to know in order to do a basic home porting job and not screw up your heads. You arent going to become a porting expert with it, but it will allow you to accomplish your goal.
Roy

 

Thanks I really appreciate the tips and direction. I don't plan to get 200 hp out of the heads, and I won't be disappointed if they end up bad. I have two sets of junk lt1 heads, and just want to learn the tricks, and how to figure it our myself. It's not that I wouldn't spend the money to have it done, it's just that I would rather be good enough to have someone else pay me to do it. Cylinder head work is about the only thing I can't do, and would love to learn how, and I just figured I would use my car as the guinie pig. I'm also an A&P mechanic so the math and stuff comes second nature. Thanks again, and I'll be giving some people a call.

 

Thanks I really appreciate it.

 

/pasted into notebook of excellent advice from people who know what they are talking about