earthman
Fascinated by rolling objects!
..............[P
1946 gmc
- Thread starter 05snopro440
- Start date
Help Support Rat Rods Rule:
smallfoot
He's rockin' the "Nuttin Special"!
Might be able to inch a little compression out of them if you get the heads shaved while at the machine shop.
Old Iron
Well-known member
Not sure the cost of machining is worth the squeeze on a street engine
smallfoot
He's rockin' the "Nuttin Special"!
Yeah, probably not anymore. Along with everything else it's hard to pay the prices of anything machine shop related anymore.
Old Iron
Well-known member
The machine shops here want $600 to clean and rebuild a set of factory cast iron heads.
You can buy a new set of fully assembled angle plug 64 cc heads from Skip White Performance for $849 + $68 shipping to the lower 48, don't know what shipping is to Canada.
https://www.skipwhiteperformance.co...uminum-heads-64cc-angle-plug-nkb-272-a_95132/
You can buy a new set of fully assembled angle plug 64 cc heads from Skip White Performance for $849 + $68 shipping to the lower 48, don't know what shipping is to Canada.
https://www.skipwhiteperformance.co...uminum-heads-64cc-angle-plug-nkb-272-a_95132/
smallfoot
He's rockin' the "Nuttin Special"!
Holy cow!
05snopro440
Well-known member
Yes, one good set is good for now. I'll be happy if this fixes my issue.
Thanks for sharing, I'm looking for a set of SBC aluminum heads for one of my other vehicles. That's something I've learned, the unusual engines are cool, but you pay for it. It would cost me about $4K to land a set of aluminum heads for my 455 to my door today. Maybe one day our exchange rate will return to earth and I'll be able to justify it.
Until then, I'll run the big chamber heads on this one.
I wish it was $600. I was told closer to $1,200, but it depends what they need. Hopefully it's less for these guys.
DozerII
Well-known member
I hate issues like that. A little refresh and valve grind on the 440 heads was $900
05snopro440
Well-known member
Crazy, hey? I'll be updating some other stuff at the same time so it's going to be a bit spendy, but hopefully I'll never have to touch he heads again. Fingers crossed.
lowbudget50
Creators of all things awesome
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2012
- Messages
- 6,089
It's insane how expensive everything has gotten. I know around here is hard to find machinists who want to work on these older engines. Prices have gone up here also. Really hope this solves your issue so you can enjoy the truck this summer
05snopro440
Well-known member
Yeah, it's nuts. I'm afraid of how much my 283 rebuild will be. But hey, it won't be another 350...
I'm lucky, this guy is a one-man show and does all kinds of hot rod stuff. He came highly recommended by a friend that has had him do his engine work for 20+ years and actually 2 of my friends have engines there right now for big-power rebuilds. Around here, the engine guys you want to do your work seem to have a home shop. The ones with an accessible shop in town and the ones you shouldn't trust.
Thanks man, fingers crossed.
05snopro440
Well-known member
The machine shop called me Wednesday morning. Do I have the recommended valve springs for the cam? Nope. Okay, he'll track some down. Calls me Thursday Morning, got the valve springs and have the valves ready to go in and all new exhaust seats. Do I want a bowl blend done for better flow (power and economy) where he cut the seats in? Sure.
Calls me just after 5 yesterday and they're all done! Spring pressure will be up about 50 lbs and he shimmed a couple springs so they're all the same. From what he's told me it sounds like he did a great job.
The exhaust seats and valves were almost all pounded out. (This is one time when I'm glad I didn't listen to my old man and only send one head in). He used the two sets of valves to make one good set and got everything squared away. That should all make a difference. I'm picking them up tomorrow
The damage will hurt my wallet, but as long as the truck runs well I'll be happy. He mag'd and tanked both sets of heads, parts were $300, with parts and labour my total is just a hair over $1,700. I'll share my GoFundMe link this weekend [cl
Calls me just after 5 yesterday and they're all done! Spring pressure will be up about 50 lbs and he shimmed a couple springs so they're all the same. From what he's told me it sounds like he did a great job.
The exhaust seats and valves were almost all pounded out. (This is one time when I'm glad I didn't listen to my old man and only send one head in). He used the two sets of valves to make one good set and got everything squared away. That should all make a difference. I'm picking them up tomorrow
The damage will hurt my wallet, but as long as the truck runs well I'll be happy. He mag'd and tanked both sets of heads, parts were $300, with parts and labour my total is just a hair over $1,700. I'll share my GoFundMe link this weekend [cl
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Old Iron
Well-known member
Good deal
Hey, at least ya only have to do it once since the machinist done them right
Hey, at least ya only have to do it once since the machinist done them right
05snopro440
Well-known member
Yeah, kicking myself I didn't do this in 2014. But you don't know what you don't know. They're done right now!
One of the best machine shops in town back in the 70s has switched mostly over to the tuner crowd. I had thought they went out of business but was talking to a friend who said they moved. I understand they have a bunch of the 4cyl stuff the kids are running now. I have my 89 F150 that I had thought about rebuilding. It is cheaper now to just get a crate motor but they too have gone up. I was looking a year or so ago and they were in the 3K range for a stock long block. Closer to 5K now. Jim
05snopro440
Well-known member
Yeah, the same thing is happening with body shops, there's more consistent money in collision work than custom work. I'm happy I found this guy. I'm sure I could get a crate motor cheaper than redoing the 283, but today and in the future the 283 will be cooler to me in an early hot rod.
The good places still exist, but we pay for it. If it was all about what's cheapest we'd all be driving economy cars. [ddd
The 283 is very cool. Too bad prices got so crazy. Jim
lowbudget50
Creators of all things awesome
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- Sep 23, 2012
- Messages
- 6,089
Glad they found an issue, hopefully it fixes what was going on and the truck runs properly.
05snopro440
Well-known member
I picked up the heads Saturday. They look awesome. Just need to get a few more parts then I can get it going back together. I'll post up some picture this week when I unwrap them to paint them up.
earthman
Fascinated by rolling objects!
Being that the heads came from the machine shop how will you remove the oily residue on the surfaces before painting?
