Building a head.... suggestions? help?

Hey all, some of you may know I'm getting a head soon off of a member on the forums. Anyway, my plans are to fully build this head. As of now when I get the head I have a guy who is going to resurface/deck, pressure check, and port intake/exhaust valves over by 1mm. I already plan on getting new valves/guides, springs/retainers, lifters, valve stem seals, valve locks, DKS cams, Titan copper head gasket, new stock water pump, new thermostat, new exhaust studs, and new gaskets all around(turbo-mani)(mani-head)(intake mani-head).

I was wondering if I should just get the exhaust and/or inatake ported while I'm at it. I would rather not buy an intake manifold at the moment but, I could just get the stock exhaust manifold ported to match the head. I plan on using the same arp head studs that are currently on my car. I figure they are arp and they should be fine.

I am still fairly new and I still have alot to learn so what I want to know is there anything I am missing or would be a good idea to replace, or that I don't need while I have the head off of my car? I appreciate any suggestions or comments. Thanks.

They sell a 160 thermostat... I would put one of those in so you don't have to worry about nearing the overheating range again. lol Other than that it sounds like you covered everything for the head that you would need to do to build it. Perhaps a bit overboard but it'll work.

Yeah I was thinking at least a 180 but a 160 sounds good too. Why do you think I went overbored?

Just springs, retainers, lifters, and cams would be a damn good built head. I mean, its your head you can build it however you want to. I just thought it seemed to be a bit excessive to replace all that other stuff too and porting it out and etc. If ya do it all though you'll have a damn perfect head I guess. lol

I guess I'll see how the money situation turns out when I decide to build it.

The titan head gasket is ridiculous, and the dks cams are sweet as hell too. Are you buying it from ffwd?

Heres what I would do: SS valves (normal size) and cams. The stock springs/retainers are good enough unless you are running some fuckin FP3x's or something. IIRC, the benefits of O/S valves arent felt until like 600 hp so unless you are shooting for that, dont bother. Also, the maching for that and the new guides is going to be ass fuckin rediculous. The ARP's and hg is a good idea.

Actually you need different springs with bigger cams because the stock ones don't allow enough lift and they end up breaking from the excessive abuse... IIRC...

Actually you need different springs with bigger cams because the stock ones don't allow enough lift and they end up breaking from the excessive abuse... IIRC...

:iamwithst

Exactly what I was going to say.

The list looks pretty good, but there's a few things I would do differently. Since you're not shooting for some ridiculous numbers, I don't see any reason for the OS valves. Like Thor said, they won't do anything for you as of now, and being you're getting the head shaved, the pistons and valves are running THAT much closer now. Ask Thor how too short of a head fares with some valves, and he wasn't even running OS ones. Also I think you should be fine by sticking with the stock cometic HG. No sense in running a special one if you're just running mild numbers. If you're thinking about porting, I would get the head ported and have the intake/exhaust mani's ported to match. Again, no need for an aftermarket intake mani unless you're putting down some serious numbers.

Just my $.02

Okay, after pondering for awhile I decided not to port. I am still going with new valves, springs, and cams though along with the head getting "freshened up". I am still going with a nice(not stock) headgasket because I will be pushing close to 24psi of boost at the track. I am not getting the titan right away because when I do the 6 bolt block swap I am going to need a new headgasket anyway. My goal is to push the 7 bolt pretty far before the 6 bolt block swap so, I want to build everything pretty decently strong. After I swap in the built 6 bolt block I am going to be shooting for 550hp at the crank. Thanks for the input everyone.

Okay I did a quick calculation on parts cost for not porting. I got $1,200 for total parts. I am still trying to get an idea on the machine costs. I am not sure what all he can offer me but, I know he has a hot tank so I will probably end up getting the head pressure checked, resurfaced/decked, and probably hot tanked. I am still debating if I am going to take on the challenge of putting everything together myself or not. If I do decide too then I am going to need a lot of help from you all.

Okay I did a quick calculation on parts cost for not porting. I got $1,200 for total parts. I am still trying to get an idea on the machine costs. I am not sure what all he can offer me but, I know he has a hot tank so I will probably end up getting the head pressure checked, resurfaced/decked, and probably hot tanked. I am still debating if I am going to take on the challenge of putting everything together myself or not. If I do decide too then I am going to need a lot of help from you all.

IMO opinion putting the head together isn't all that hard, but depending on your technical skill it may be more difficult for you.

With everything practically new you shouldn't have a hard time.

The most expensive part of the machine work is definately going to be the port and polish. It is a very time consuming process and therefore very expensive.

If you're going to be putting on a set of cams, you might as well port to get the most out of those cams, I don't see why you wouldn't. Even a home port job will be better than no port job at all. You just need a Dremel (or die grinder if you don't want it to take as long) and some carbide burrs and a sanding barrel attachment for whatever you use. I ported the head on my car and it was quite a noticeable amount and I would say it's nowhere near perfect as of right now, but that will change soon enough.

My point is, even a half-assed port job at home will help in the least bit. Google "head porting" or "diy porting" and you'll come up with some pretty interesting and very helpful articles.

Yeah I intend on getting into my head here pretty soon too...and from what I understand the head is pretty easy to work on....What size cams do you intend on running?

I plan on going with the DKS 272 kit. The cams are www.ffwdconnection.com version of the HKS. They sell both sizes but, I am going with two 272s. As of now I do not plan on porting. I talked to the guy today who is going to be doing my machine work and as soon as I get the head he is going to take a look at the head and give me an idea of how much it will cost for all the machine work.