355 head rebuild shop

if you take the heads off send them to enginefixer on Fchat or Dave Helms of scuderia ramparte in boulder, co. also on Fchat. Joe Sanpaolo at concours atuo in lahabra california is really good too if you are in So Cal.

 

You don't want to use steel guides. The shops that know what they are doing use alloys of manganese bronze or silicon bronze. And they also know who the good suppliers are for seats, guides and valves because these parts vary in quality. There is some real junk coming out of the far east.

Also, most of the "Ferrari" shops end up farming this work out to cylinder head only type establishments that have machines like a Serdi, Sunnen or Newen Contour for cutting seats and valves. If the shop doesn't have those type machines and instead talks about "lapping" or "grinding" grab your stuff and run.

Here are some links

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=139185
http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=141944

 

I have a Serdi machine and use aluminum silicon bronze guides. I would be happy to help you out.

David

 

Serdi is excellent equipment. As for the guides the PM(sintered steel guides) are absolutely THE BEST hands down. The reason most shops don't use them is because they don't have a clue as to the metallurgy of this type guide. Aluminum silicone bronze is inferior to the Manga/Phos bronze(type we used for endurance racing for 20years).

Big factor in not going with the steel guides is cost, but IMO worth the extra cost due to longevity and reliability.

In the near future these PM guide's will be more affordable, and as new formulations are engineered they will even have the ability to support titanium valves.

 

Any competent auto machine shop can rebuild the heads...no need to pay extra to have it done by a so called Ferrari specialist...

 

Sure but will the random builder know the tricks to doing 355 heads? Will he use Ferrari oe guides known to fail? Has he even thought about the problem and what guides to use? Does he even know there is a problem? Does he have the right line hone set-up or will he skip some steps? Does he have a big enough oven to heat the heat or is he using a torch? Torch???? Yes torch...I've seen that too and there are probably 5 guys who could do it that way and get away with it. Have you seen the pictures of enginefixer's 355 head rebuild on Fchat? Can you match the reputation of Dave Helms? I do not think there will be a significant price difference with who you choose but there will be a significant potential quality difference in who you choose.

 

+1 Parkerfe is simply wrong in that assumption. Is he taking his car to the local Goodyear or Sears for services on his Ferrari? It is, after all, "just a car"...

 

I have seen those that love the torch too, but the toaster oven takes the cake.

 

Almost all of the Ferrari shops in the NYC area use a place called Olsen engine in Nyack,NY. Give them a call.

 

We also use Olsen machine service and we used them when we were at Ferrari of Long island as well. Top notch work, they have done complete boring/balancing and blueprinting on 355/360 and a 430 challenge engines. We have NEVER had ANY issues with them, and some of our race engines have gone over three race seasons without a problem or rebuild. They are competetive , professional and have a relatively quick turn around time. They will use your parts, so source accordingly.
The other half of your equation is who is going to do the engine tear down and assembly??? We just wrapped up a 355 head job at our facility and the owner is nothing
short of estatic. We can perform what ever work you request and supply references if you need. Pictures are posted on our website.Lots of luck, hope things work out.