Yeah Might have gotten Lucky Mikey !!

 

Your on a roll Hyp!! Yeah both the machinist I have worked with here lap then in after as well as use dykem to confirm it. Cheaper to be sure it's right on the way out the door the first time.

 

What did he say??????


John

 

Translation:
Things are looking up for me.
Russ is not the only one who knows of machinists who still lap valves.
A good shop won't need two tries to get the job done right.

Say John, aren't you the one who noted the phenomenon of 360s turning into 390s on sale day? It appears this one is an exception to the transformation process.

 

Sometimes it makes a huge difference to have it splained.

Well a pair of shoes will not fit a guy with two left feet. Although it does not always apply, many times a for sale sign turns a 352 into a 390.


John

 

Russ, who do you know of that still laps valves ? That was obsolete tech 30 yrs ago. The current way of doing things is to grind the face of the valve on a flat stone, the valve spins as you do it, and the valve seats in the heads are done with a cutter. To check the contact lines, we draw on the valve face with a black magic marker. One fast smack of the valve into its seat will tell you where it hits the face. We also have a vaccuum checker to pull on the ports and see if they hold vaccum. But lapping.......um, no. The very idea is pretty funny. Where would you even buy the paste anymore ? I have never seen any offered in the catalogs of the places we get supplies from. lapping valves is stictly for the history books now. DinosaurFan, on Jr's 'puter

 

See it done almost every time I'm in Johns shop and his shop aint no backwoods hick shop. Maybe he's just to old to change ? Costa Mesa R&D

 

I guess you have to count my Dad and I among the backwoods hicks that still lap valves too. In fact, my dad lapped some last week. And we can still buy valve lapping compound at the local parts house....two part container....one side has coarse....one side has fine. Dad taught me how to lap valves over 30 years ago. I've since gotten my engineering degree...I understand that when it's all done right at the machine shop that it's not necessary....however lapping the valves is the best way I know to guarantee the best seal possible.....JMHO...

Tracy

 

Hmmmmmm....I had to do it....googled valve lapping compound....not so hard to find..

Amazon.com: VLC-4 Valve Lap Compound 2 oz ea.Grit: Automotive

how about that....you can buy the stuff on amazon....LOL

Tracy

 

Well not only is lapping compound used in some High dollar Heads so is ruby dust which is finer yet! And trust me!! There are guys out there that are useing compound and have been for years... But now rather they would admit to it ? "thats another story" Ever heard of the racers edge ? Or trick *****...the steps are never talked about ?

Just like with are Race cars back when....We use to lap in the metering blocks and the bowl sealing edges on our holleys .... there are so many tricks out there... Geez...

When Ray and I had our shop... we had the Sunnen Valve grinding machine with the stem tip grinder on it...and it spun the valve the opposite way of the grinding stone, As not to make tool or grinding marks on the valve.....Then ya put one up on the Magnifier and find they do have stone marks in them...

And I still have 2 green cans of Lapping compound and about a half a dozen lapping stick down in the basement somewhere ? But after moving from the west coast of SoCal..I havent been able to find alot of things, As boxes of our stuff was stolen from the 7' x 24' inclosed trailer I built to moves us with.. Thanks to the Crud running around just east of Palm Spring SoCal... But thats another story....

And Yes the Magic marker works great on the valve at 90* apert from one another to see where your seat is at and how wide the seal really is... So different strokes for different folks I guess...

But of course the Ray and myself werent into rebuilding "Stock" motors.... If you wanted that .....Take it to the shop down the road.... we were a hi-Perf shop and mostly did street / strip builds...accept for our race cars... JMO.... I wont beat this one dead either! LOL

RJ

 

RRuss, which John would that be ? Our John here !? It IS strictly backwoods hick stuff. In the time it takes a man to lap one valve into its seat with paste, I, or anyone else who knows how to do it, can do all 16 seats on a Serdi or a VGS. You couldn't pay me enough to lap a valve. I suppose, if one of the seats I had cut on the machine had leaked, I might think about why it happened, and was there a way to see where the leak was. And lapping compound would show you where the trouble was........but since I haven't had a seat leak yet.....maybe we will never know. I will tell you that a VGS 1000 and NeWay cutters are beautiful things to use .

DinosaurFan, on an old 'puter work threw out

 

I'll say one thing if your valve grinding skills thorough as your ability to recall what's only a few posts up the thread.. hmmm

 

Well Dino I'am going to TRY and explain this in a manner that you maybe able to understand... NOT all head porters will do the lapping ..and Most Machinst wont because it is time consuming!! and it not the first thing you do to the seats or the valves ..Its the last thing you do for a postitive seal..

Now even tho I live in VA now...doesnt mean I 'am a redneck...But I'am now proud to be accepted as one...and these boys can make ther ***** run..But its not only here, Its was out wesy where I learned this from a very prominate Racer...in his R&R department...

Like I said before...I'am not into working on stock *****....If it isnt Hi-po send it over to the next guy!! I have work as a Machinist anywhere from the Automotive Industry to Cantracts for NASA at Hughes Aircraft, and McDonnel Doulas, and Was heavly invoved with the T-3 and T-4 Tuboes from Garrett Air Research.... I was involed from stem to sturn on the M1 Tank Night Vision Radar and sight for the US Army... and the list goes on....I have been a Hotrodder since the age of 8 when my Dad held 2 track records at Lions Dra strip in the early 60's...

So once again..this will be my last post on this subject....because I dont need to get in a Gun fight with an unarmed Man !!

RJ

 

One of the guys from the net54 forum lives about 10 minutes away from me. He took his '61 heads to Rob at Blue Oval Performance, had no trouble with getting seats installed. The guy who did them before did not do so hot.

If I didn't already have a stack of FE blocks, I'd be emailing this guy:

FREE Ford 390 FE motor & xtras + xtras for sale EDELBROCK intake/carb

 

RRuss, I would love to know who laps valves, and who is buying lapping compound. It isn't good enough for a stock job, and it isn't even worth considering for high performance or racing. Is anyone really going to spend time and energy porting heads, and then maybe a few hours on the seats getting the angles exactly where you want them at exactly the right size, and then smear some paste on them ??!! Umm, no. Some guy in his garage at home working on the lawmower, where it doesn't matter if it works or not, maybe. Lapping valves isn't extra attention to detail, it is a waste and a way to ruin very carefully done work. Valve seat seal is checked visually to see the contact lines and then on the vaccuum. How you can do better than a total seal is beyond me. Knock yourselves out. DinosaurFan, on an old 'puter work threw out.