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- Nov 11, 2013
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- 5,396
I shipped my FA head to Mr. C from and to NZ. Would do it again and I have only run it up ad down the drive half a dozen times. Lol.
I’d blast it first. I’d also boil it in a big pan to try and get as much oil out of the pores as possible.
Not sure what grade alloy to suggest, but I’m sure someone will do so shortly...
Yeah, I really would like to repair it if its possible. To be honest, I just don't think the first welder who looked at it was very keen on doing the work. I'll have a look around for a good welder. CheersI have had a few Brit alloy castings welded over the years, according to my local welder they are a pleasure to weld compared to Japanese castings. If an FA head costs £3000 even if you discount the cost of the better porting and other improvements made you are still looking at a lump of metal worth £2000 if fully repaired. I would expect to only have to pay a few £100 for all the welding needed, in fact I saw a Tiger cub head where one of the middle fins was broken recently (broken piece was kept) and that had to have the fins above broken off for access to the broken fin and then these fins re-welded, it was economic to repair compared to the cost of a good secondhand head with no broken fins. You just need to track down a welder used to alloy welding, doing the pre-weld dressing yourself and having the replacement fin pieces ready will keep costs down.
Yeah, I really would like to repair it if its possible. To be honest, I just don't think the first welder who looked at it was very keen on doing the work. I'll have a look around for a good welder. Cheers
Cheers Danno. What kind of heat needs to be achieved to remove the rocker spindles?The head should also be heated to extract the rocker spindles. A good, 3-angle valve job is some cheap performance waiting to be applied.
heat should be similar to what's used to pull the guides. I have done it with a propane torch heating locally for one shaft, but since you're pulling all 4, heat the whole thing.Cheers Danno. What kind of heat needs to be achieved to remove the rocker spindles?
"3-angle valve job" - sorry to sound thick, but what does that mean/involve exactly?
GP, all the fins are long gone...somewhere in the wilds of Nigeria, so they will be completely new. Engineer is confident that it will look good as well as function well though. I've looked at some of their other work and it's amazing, so fingers crossedAny competent welder with the right equipment should be able to do a decent job welding broken fin bits back in place.
Best situation is having the original fin bits. Second best is having British fin bits, cut to match dressed profile of broken head. If nothing else is available, Japanese fins work just fine, but may be slightly thinner material so will be noticeable on close inspection (so what?).