Ported Heads from e-bay - Q4 - Cracks between seats?

MrBlvd

Registered User
E-Bay is kinda like going out on a blind date only you can get out of a blind date a whole lot easier!

As I consider myself an "SC Apprentice" I'm not sure what to make of these cracks. Do these need to be machined out and then filled in or since the seats are steel inserts will the cracks have no effect? I'm concerned about crack propagation over time ... kinda makes my stomach hurt!

But if I do have an issue here, I will consider the expense associated part of my tuition towards SC Journeyman's Status ;)
 

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A few more crack pictures

Huh Huh Huh he said crack :p
 

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IMHO - those heads are scrap with those cracks. Maybe if the valve seats are removed they could be welded and refinished but the cost......

Just my 0.002 cents worth

Frit
 
ouch!!!!

:eek: that's gonna leave a mark!! we should count how many bad e-bay exchanges!! just for curiosity. these few vendors are really making it difficult to trust anyone for a purchase from there. seems like a licence to steal!!!
 
The heads can be repaired, but it will cost a couple bucks to have the seats removed and the cracks ground out and then welded and new seats put in. The plus is that you'll be able to with an oversize seat. :D

I don't see how anyone can call those heads ported. Nothing at ALL has been done to the chambers.....
 
The silver lining shines thru

Thanks for the optimism Dave :cool:

Regarding the chambers, did you look at the pictures in the other posts? At this risk of sounding like the total NOOB: it is my undestanding the chambers are beneath the seats. Is this correct? I can clearly see the marks from the die grinder in these areas. Perhaps what you are telling me is that just because the die grinder marks are there doesn't mean the porting is there!

I showed the heads to a tool and die maker here who is also a big hot rod builder. He told me to take them to a local machine shop and have them fixed. He did not act like it was any big deal.

As I stated earlier, all part of the learning process. No risk no gain ...
 
hey my head looked liked that when i removed it. luckily it was at the machine shope when they called me with the bad news. If i were you i would get ur money back. File a complaint with ebay and paypal and try to get ur money back, send em pictures of ur cracked head. If i were you i would just of got a set of spare heads that were good and just payed someone to do it. Its more of a good deal that way. But if u can try to repair it. Take it to machine shop. Pressure test them. If u want to spend the money of course.
 
No, I mean like this:

DSC05187a.jpg


The chamber is where the fire is. Beneath the valves is called the pocket.
 
Live and Learn

Took the heads by a local machine shop today. I was told the cracked head was basically scrap. It could be fixed but not by any local shop so in this individuals opinion, it was not worth the effort or cost. I contacted the machine shop in Utah which cleaned and decked the heads. Shop manager their told me he informed the guy who did the "port" work of the crack. He also stated he felt the heads would be OK. Not sure if he is trying to cover his customer's back or if he truly holds this opinion. I told him the SC tends to run much hotter than the N/A motors and as a result the potential for the seat to drop out due to distortion is much higher.

I did a reverse lookup of the individuals name and have his home phone number. I will be calling him tonight to discuss the situation. I will determine my next step based on his response. I will update the thread as time marches on. Also, if the individual is unwilling to work with me, I will most certainly post negataive feedback on e-bay and provide a warning in the bad sellers forum here (if appropriate since he is not a sccoa member ... gldiii?)
 
MrBlvd said:
(if appropriate since he is not a sccoa member ... gldiii?)

I would think it would be since he is selling crappy SC parts..It's a definate heads up for all of us who could potentialy be ripped off by this guy...
 
MrBlvd said:
Took the heads by a local machine shop today. I was told the cracked head was basically scrap. It could be fixed but not by any local shop so in this individuals opinion, it was not worth the effort or cost. I contacted the machine shop in Utah which cleaned and decked the heads. Shop manager their told me he informed the guy who did the "port" work of the crack. He also stated he felt the heads would be OK. Not sure if he is trying to cover his customer's back or if he truly holds this opinion. I told him the SC tends to run much hotter than the N/A motors and as a result the potential for the seat to drop out due to distortion is much higher.

The reason you ere told that was it's a V6 head and most machine shops scoff at anyone building one. It's not "worthy" of their time.

Jeff
 
I believe this is all going to work out

Sweet90SC said:
I would think it would be since he is selling crappy SC parts..It's a definate heads up for all of us who could potentialy be ripped off by this guy...

Since my last post, I've had some follow up correspondence and a conversation with this individual. He is going to give me my money back and is concerned I am going to post negative feedback on e-bay. He told me he quit his full time job and is now selling items over e-bay full time. Obviously, I will not be at ease until my pay pal account has recieved the refund. I will let you know how it all works out in the end.

He claims he is going to fix the cracks and then re-list them with a note regarding the cracks and that they were fixed. If he does this then I would actually have no qualms doing business with him in the future. Of course, one can make a very strong case that he should have seen and noted the cracks in the first place. Perhaps he was under the impression they were no big deal.

Once I get my money back (hopefully) I am going to go after a set of stock used heads without cracks and without warpage. I then plan on doing the work myself.
 
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