LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

Used Heads

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Old May 21, 2009 | 04:00 PM
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Default Used Heads

I have a ?

Am I the only one that when I buy used heads from a un known source Its a rule of mine that I bring them to the shop and have them inspected for warpage , crack, leaks valves ECT...

I bought a used set one time off a ebay deal and put them on my motor . They were shot and over heated my new engine.

The point of this thread is , I look at used heads to buy all the time but I wonder if Sellers put this into account when they sell there heads?
Even though the seller says there fine I come to find every one has a a excuse bought something and if its to good to be true then it is.
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Old May 21, 2009 | 04:45 PM
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What did you pay for them? By "too good to be true' I take it they were cheap? That is usually how I siphon out the potential problem children from the decent finds...but occasionally people sell crapped up heads for the money good ones go for and it throws you a bit :-(
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Old May 21, 2009 | 05:31 PM
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you'd have better luck buying an item like that off here than ebay. the set I bought here w/ 918's was a steal, had them checked out and cleaned up and they were perfect. I've got lil faith in ebay..
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Old May 21, 2009 | 06:22 PM
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Trader ratings help.

I too would never put on used heads without having a machine shop clean them up, valve job, and pressure tested.
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Old May 21, 2009 | 06:48 PM
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Originally Posted by creepingdeath94
What did you pay for them? By "too good to be true' I take it they were cheap? That is usually how I siphon out the potential problem children from the decent finds...but occasionally people sell crapped up heads for the money good ones go for and it throws you a bit :-(
It was 5 years back but it was on my mustang . Round 800 on set of eddys. Ported and new valve job with roller rockers.
I had a SC and because the heads were fucked it overheated the block and it cracked.

All that money I spent on my setup down the drain just because I didnt spend a little more at the machine shop.
Originally Posted by ss.slp.ls1
Trader ratings help.

I too would never put on used heads without having a machine shop clean them up, valve job, and pressure tested.
Thats my point .
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Old May 21, 2009 | 07:34 PM
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Used heads are a risk factor. I myself am only putting on new for my future build. To answer your question about people posting up used heads for sale, I honestly believe they could give two ***** about where they end up just as long as they get paid. It's a sad thing to think but there are a lot of douche bags out there out to better themselves.
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Old May 21, 2009 | 08:59 PM
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I have a similar issue now actually, I have a couple sets of LT1 heads laying around. One of them was shipped to me off a 60K mile car is supposedly good condition. He shipped them with the water pump I wanted in the same rigety cardboard box and they weren't even bolted together or packed well enough to keep from banging into each other. Needless to say, they ended up getting some damage. However. it didn't seem to be too bad. It did however put a ding in the combustion chamber of one cylinder, and dinged the valve cover mating area on one. It can be fixed, but welding and fixing aluminum is time consuming and may not be worth the headache. Not to mention, the heads had been overheated in the past as a couple guides were sunk a bit. Would they be worth anything to anyone still or worth the time to fix for use? They are the "643" desirable heads for porting, but still. Not like it's a rare car or head yet. I have already stripped them and bead blasted them clean...just curious if they can be fixed and used or sold or if they are pretty much paper weights now for the effort it would take to fix them?
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Old May 21, 2009 | 09:26 PM
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Scrap is worth 1.20 a pound
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Old May 22, 2009 | 05:58 AM
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For aluminum? That's not bad considering they probably aren't worth much more than scrap as they sit now...hehe
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