Anyone have any exp with rebuilt heads from Napa Autozone or Checker?

 

not sure about their engine heads but i know the heads of the parts guys usually don't listen, tend to shake alot, and are quiet if the screen in front of them doesn't tell them what to say...mostly autozone and the napa near me.

 

Lol yeah same here I think I'm just gonna have a local shop redo mine they claim they can do it for about 400 for basically everything new and hardned seats so we'll see.

 

In general, brand-name places that sell rebuilt heads or motors, the quality isn't that great.

The valve guides may be knurled which will only last 10-20K miles, the seats are "touched up", the valve faces are touched up, and never checked for contact width. The valve stems may be worn but never checked, etc. etc. They are "dime store" heads, if you know what I mean.

Whenever I did my own heads (at my friend's machine shop) and no matter how good his equipment was kept, I always put some valve lapping compound on the valve and spun it around a few times to make SURE the seat width and contact was perfect all the way around. (I know, sounds antiquated, but it doesn't hurt to check).

If your local shop is doing guides and hardened seats for $400, that sounds VERY reasonable. Try to get a magnaflux out of them too

 

A go the local parts store (4 or 5 stores state wide) that has a machine shop. Haven't done much with them but have been happy with there head work(4 cyl sohc) and drum turns. I also get a great price after I started an account with them.

 

When you order heads from these places can you specify the type of heads your looking for? Like low riser or meduim riser etc...?? Or do they just send you whatever castings are available? I've never sourced heads from these places and just curious what they have available.

G.

 

They'll probably ask "what year" and go from there. So, if you specify a '67 390, they'll find a set of C7 heads. But if you specify a '70 390, you'll get C8's, and MAYBE D2TE's given they will fit perfectly.

I wouldn't expect them to give you a C7 head for a '74 360, but they just might.

 

Krewat thanks for the info. I did go on NAPA online and see they offer a C7 and or D2 casting. I saw some mention of a C8 there also. I didn't see any heads earlier than the C7's though.

G.

 

I did a little research before having my heads worked and they were mostly the C8 (or D2 for that matter) castings...

--Mike