Hi, What does 'shot' really mean? I've brought some really bad heads back from the dead, so I am curious. Additionally - is the bad head for sale?
Toby, Aerokurt has a good point about repair. i think most problems can be repaired for less than the cost of a replacement head. I had a machinist weld and re-machine badly corroded combustion chambers.
Guys, I'd be very happy to be wrong! But here's what it looks like. The metal is porous. There area few fine cracks from some of the combustion chambers to the valves. Finally, I believe that a previous wrong headed owner might have tried to race the poor beast, and shaved the head to within a millimeter of its life. (I shouldn't call it "the poor beast". It is in pretty good shape, and I've done a lot of work to it in 14 years. It seemed like unloved old hound when I got it.) Any advice? If someone can work magic on it, I'm game! Thanks! Toby
Hi Toby, My cylinder head had the same porosity problem you describe. Here are pictures of before and after. The machinist that did the work is in the NYC area and will have no problem doing it again. Best, Lou Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Lou, That sure looks familiar! If you could give me the gentleman's contact info, maybe he can take a look. I'm on Boston's South Shore, but I like driving to NYC. Thanks for the comraderie! Rich P.S. I have a friend Guilio Damore (he has a 1960 Alfa 2000 Touring spider.) Any relation?
Hi Toby, Give Scott a call at 845-279-6922. His email is [email protected] Take a look at his website - he has a whole section on Aluminum cylinder head repair. Some of the stuff he's tackled was way worse than what I had. Of course, it is not cheap, but when I was trying to figure out my situation, I had a couple of people offer cylinder heads at $5-7k. No relation to the guy you know, but I also have an Alfa 2000 Touring Spider! Project car at the moment..... I work in Boston, so nearby to you. Best, Lou
Lou, Thanks alot! I will try him. I also have a 1960 Alfa 2000 spider that a previous owner "modified" by putting a 2600 engine into it. He also turned in it into a "gentleman's racer" by putting in a fuel cell, kill switch and roll bar. It has been on the back burner for a while. Toby
Hi all, I guess that you may look at guys able to make laser aluminum deposition and welding : it's better than Mig / Tig welding to repair you "shot" head. Look at Aircraft repair shop or people making "Nickasil" cylinder repairs in your area. Laser welding is less prone to stress the welded area and can restore the full height of your head with minimum machining and better metal health than TIG / MIG classical repair. it would be a shame to scrap you head without using those modern, durable repairs. It will be cheaper and more reliable than a used tired head and will restore your original part. If height is beyond repair : you can try thicker (soft) copper head gasket instead of the composites one, to try to save few hundredth of and inch if required. Last tip : if the head is still porous (water jacket areas) use cyanoacrylat resins (alike "instant" glue) Lot of european repair shops are doing that and it works nicely.
Hi Villard, I wish I had known about the aluminum deposition you speak about. I would have preferred to do something like that vs the welding. I hope I won't need to have it repaired again... Lou
Hi Lou, Have a look to this paper, it's better than 1000 words. This welding process is very common in Aerospace (Jet engine repair) so I guess it could work for rough cast aluminum cylinder head made during the 50's ! I've no connection with those company but as an aerospace engineer i'm quite familiar with the process and 3D aluminum printing which is more and more common and cheap to operate http://www.e-m-p.biz/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Historic-Racing-Technology-Editorial.pdf cheers
