cylinder head work

[Shadow1]

ok. ive been looking into this recently and i have a few questions:


1.) wheres a good place to buy some valves/full valve train for an F22a?

2.) what is it that shops do to the "bowl" of the combustion chamber?

3.) is there any of this work i can do myself? if i can, anyone have any suggestions?

4.) when choosing a head gasket, whats a good thickness to go with? i was looking on bisi's site and saw 3 different sizes. one is 85mm, next is 86mm, and the last one is 90mm. is there a difference?


im looking to do a light build on my cylinder head(cam, port and polish, and some new valves and valve springs) if that helps any. any help would be much appreciated.

[Shadow1]

dag. no one can give any suggestions or advice?

[d112crzy]

ok. ive been looking into this recently and i have a few questions:


1.) wheres a good place to buy some valves/full valve train for an F22a?

What kind of valves were you looking for? OS or stock replacements? Bisi has all the valve train parts you'll need.

2.) what is it that shops do to the "bowl" of the combustion chamber?

They blend it into the throat, and blend the throat into the valve job.

3.) is there any of this work i can do myself? if i can, anyone have any suggestions?

Highly not recommended, at least not until you have tried on a few heads. Unless you're willing to buy at least $400 in equipment. And that's just the beginning. Knowing where to remove material takes A LOT of math, and a flow bench makes a world of difference. But in my case, butt dyno's, real dyno's and track times will have to do.

4.) when choosing a head gasket, whats a good thickness to go with? i was looking on bisi's site and saw 3 different sizes. one is 85mm, next is 86mm, and the last one is 90mm. is there a difference?

Go with whatever your motor calls for. 85mm for 85mm bore.

[Shadow1]

What kind of valves were you looking for? OS or stock replacements? Bisi has all the valve train parts you'll need.

-just some OE replacements. looking to clean this heaqd up i have

They blend it into the throat, and blend the throat into the valve job.

-oh. id have to learn a bit more to understand that. lol.


Highly not recommended, at least not until you have tried on a few heads. Unless you're willing to buy at least $400 in equipment. And that's just the beginning. Knowing where to remove material takes A LOT of math, and a flow bench makes a world of difference. But in my case, butt dyno's, real dyno's and track times will have to do.

-then i wont try it. lol. i dont want to mess up the spare cylinder head i have. i just wanna clean it up a bit. i found a shop down here that does P&P jobs for like $500+. unless you can give me a better price

Go with whatever your motor calls for. 85mm for 85mm bore.

-i thought it meant the thickness of it. i remember hearing that a thinner(or thicker. one of the two) head gaskets will raise the compression.

[d112crzy]

The measurements listed are the bore size of each cylinder.

A thinner head gasket will raise your compression and vice versa. How thin or thick you go, is up to you. Use Cisco's calc to figure out what certain thicknesses will net.

Honestly, I wouldn't put money into porting a head with a stock compression motor. The only thing I'd do is have a really good valve job done to it.

Wed3k gives killer vj's.

[wed3k]

most of the time, you can usually get away with remachining the valves.

and yes my VJ services are for sale.

[Shadow1]

The measurements listed are the bore size of each cylinder.

A thinner head gasket will lower your compression and vice versa. How thin or thick you go, is up to you. Use Cisco's calc to figure out what certain thicknesses will net.

Honestly, I wouldn't put money into porting a head with a stock compression motor. The only thing I'd do is have a really good valve job done to it.

Wed3k gives killer vj's.

thanx for the info man. is there anything i can do to clean the head up myself? make it look new?

most of the time, you can usually get away with remachining the valves.

and yes my VJ services are for sale.

what do you do? is there any performance gain from it?

[d112crzy]

It's a valve job. Certain angles are cut onto the seats.

Fact: On a "street" to "mild" port job, the biggest gains are seen through the valve job, not the actual porting.

Even a stock angle valve job will work wonders(pretty much refesh a stock head).

[Shadow1]

It's a valve job. Certain angles are cut onto the seats.

Fact: On a "street" to "mild" port job, the biggest gains are seen through the valve job, not the actual porting.

Even a stock angle valve job will work wonders(pretty much refesh a stock head).

ah......i see.....i always thought it was the porting and polishing itself. ill be sure to PM him about pricing on that.

[wed3k]

how many miles do you have on the bottom end?

usually when you freshen up the top part, it will seal and take out the next weakest part in the engine.

ive seen it happen on my buddies ae86.

[Shadow1]

how many miles do you have on the bottom end?

usually when you freshen up the top part, it will seal and take out the next weakest part in the engine.

ive seen it happen on my buddies ae86.

lol. dag. well the motor i have in the cb now is an a6 owned by a grandpa. i got it from drummersteve. i think it has like 140k on it. but its in good condition tho. doesnt burn oil or coolant.


if need be, ill rebuilt the a1 block i have sitting in the shed with some new parts.

[d112crzy]

how many miles do you have on the bottom end?

usually when you freshen up the top part, it will seal and take out the next weakest part in the engine.

ive seen it happen on my buddies ae86.

You mean like an engine blowing? Never seen it happen and I've done plenty of top end refreshes.

It could have been a coincidence that the bottom end was on it's way out, and having refreshed the top end trapped the gasses in, like it was originally made to be. But by that point, the bottom end was just too weak to handle the extra cylinder pressure.

[Shadow1]

You mean like an engine blowing? Never seen it happen and I've done plenty of top end refreshes.

It could have been a coincidence that the bottom end was on it's way out, and having refreshed the top end trapped the gasses in, like it was originally made to be. But by that point, the bottom end was just too weak to handle the extra cylinder pressure.

dern. that doesnt sound good. but im sure the block i have in the cb now can handle it tho. its a healthy motor. i havent had any issues with it.

[wed3k]

You mean like an engine blowing? Never seen it happen and I've done plenty of top end refreshes.

It could have been a coincidence that the bottom end was on it's way out, and having refreshed the top end trapped the gasses in, like it was originally made to be. But by that point, the bottom end was just too weak to handle the extra cylinder pressure.

yea the rings are poo poo on one cylinder, it sounds like it has a cam though.

[d112crzy]

These motors can handle enough pressure to make 250whp, boosted. They're not going to blow because you decided to get a valve job.