Cylinder Head Work for Power - PLUS - Mecum Auction SHOCKER 

Joe mondello was a legend here in California and throughout the U S did the heads on my fathers 348 tri power chevy, was a badge of honor to be able to say he did them.

I never knew Mr Nick was a Mondello man! Awesome! RIP Joe Mondello, the Oldsmobile legend!

One of the fastest 340’s I’ve ever had was a 73 340… J heads 1.88 intake replaced with 2.02 , 68 340 pistons and a 509 purple shaft cam.. that little Duster was insane!

Those two Challengers will sell at a premium.............Nick did the work.....Look like two beautiful cars.........I have a 2016 Challenger I bought new, that car is my pride and joy......I am seventy years old last month...... My wife always tells me I need to grow up. Thats why I have my Challenger..............Thanks for your RU-vid channel.........Jeff Thompson Rockford, Illinois

This is why I love watching Nick's Garage. It really is the complete package. I learnt about the modern way cutting valve seats,raised my anticipation about the rebuild of George's Chevy 6 then enthralled as Nick took us down memory lane. And isn't it great his early restorations are still loved. Such background gives marvellous depth to Nick and the cars he loves. More than a car show!❤

In-line sixes are a thing of beauty. Thank you for building one on your channel.

Good afternoon, Nick, George, and Manny. Glad to be here for another Monday episode of Nick's Garage. I love these how to videos, especially watching Nick work his magic on a set of cylinder heads. I can't wait to see the unboxing of the new parts for George's 230 six, which will bring back some fond memories for me, when I rebuilt my 250 six, back in 1967. Here We Go!!!

Those 2 cars were beautiful Nick you and everyone involved save two special MOPARS thanks for the story Nick 👍🏻🇦🇺

Finally got to watch this video. When Nick bought that valve cutting unit I thought it was brilliant to bring that job in-house. I’ve said this about so many videos on this channel, but this is my newest favorite. Great stuff. Great to see George’s engine coming together too.

Really liked hearing the history of the convertables and seeing the pictures from years gone buy Wonderful Thankyou. Rory

It's a joy to watch somebody do this kind of work that has true command of it. You can learn so much.

Mondello - the Oldsmobile specialist? That's a great place to learn stuff I can imagine :-) From what I've seen they're the go-to guys in terms of reliable Oldsmobile power, fixing the oil starvation issues etc.

As an 18 yr old I built and drag raced a Chevy 235 6cyl in a 55 Chevy wagon in 64 & 65. Can't wait to watch you finish and dyno the 230.

I just noticed how smart Manny is he's fun bless all love it shows jack

I hope you buy them back Nick, beautiful story

A few years back I had a 1968 W-30 Olds 442, the engine was a hand built 513 cu in stroker done by Joe himself for the guy I bought it from. I have been a Olds guy for many years, and I spoke to him many times for advice before his passing. The wealth of knowledge he commanded was amazing, especially about Oldsmobile. He used to have a tech line once a week that you could call, and ask him questions personally. I have my last Olds right now in my shop, it’s a 1972 W-30 that I ordered brand new. You have a picture of it Nick, if it arrived, the Orange car, with white stripes and interior. Just finished a 5 year frame off restoration on it, including a full upgrade to the mechanicals, it remains number matching, but modified. I really enjoy your weekly videos, and live casts, old school is slowly fading away, unfortunately, and the people like yourself who carry on the old traditions.

I'll be watching for the sales of those two Challengers this weekend. What wonderful stories about those cars! George's engine is going to purr like it never did before.😊

Nick! You say that you don’t have time to go to the auction, make time to go because you deserve it! I love your videos! 👍🇨🇦

it takes skill to do cylinder head grinding . Nick is the man . ! i have been waiting to see this. the average machine shop will not even attempted to do this .

Hey Nick ,George, and Manny , great work Manny on explaining the valve machine operation. George will be great when your engine is up on the dyno and back in your Baby ...Nick very touching story on the 2 cars coming up for sale and also about you daughter helping and liking the car . You did beautiful, beautiful work and details on both cars !!!!! Wow !!!! Great Monday show and hanging at Nick's Garage!!! Have a great week everyone!!!!

The Silver Challenger must have been a blast to drive. I almost bought a 70 Challenger in 79, 383, pistol grip. I was 22 but my insurance was crazy high, that was the reason the owner was selling it. Insurance companies did not like the power. I did.

When I worked at a local Auto Parts and Machine we used something similar. It was. Serdi valve seat cutter. The biggest difference was that it cut one angle at a time, like the old stone type seat grinders, but with a much higher degree of accuracy and a better looking seat. We even had one cutter that cut the throat of the port below the seat. That made blending the seat much easier. We got great results with that setup, but this one looks so much easier and faster to use! The one thing I think we had an advantage on was that we could use the Venturi cutter on the valve pocket first, then smooth out the rest of the pocket.after that we could cut the seat along with the other angles in case you slip, because you might be able to save the seat.

What a fantastic video it’s something to hear and see how Nick took cars and rebuilt them way back in the day from scratch. I never knew he built other cars and did bodywork too. You truly are amazing man Nick.I used to paint cars back in the 70s but I never did engine work, and always wanted to, thanks so much for this great video !

Nick, thank you for explaining and demonstrating the proper valve seat finish. When people spend money to have the job done right, this is how I is done! 👍

For the Chevy 6, I would make dividers to put in the ports after carving out the ports. It is an old way to do it but it works and you don't have to do anything special to bolt the head on. It works with a Clifford Research manifold that has had the runners divided.

Great stories Nick. One of the best videos ever! You're a real story teller! Looking forward to a follow up video on these great Challengers.

The technique for doing the head work was great, along with the tech tip I should add. I've never seen anyone port out an aluminum cylinder head. How many have you done Nick? The stories of the 2 Challengers made for great memories. Thank you for the story of your daughter helping you and her love for the car. GREAT MEMORIES!

Too bad you have to missthe auction, would love to see you on TV. Great history about those cars.Hell, you never know might get them back again! LOL

As always great stuff Nick , George ,Manny 😎👍🔧. I remember doing at home porting work and having a valve job done to my 360 , 318 and slant6 at one time or another . ive done everything I can possibly do to stock slant6 parts like - head , intake , manifold and carb to get the maximum flow and power out of them

That red interior is awesome! I think I like the silver one just a little more than the black but not by much! Always look forward to Monday and Friday night to watch your videos! Thanks Nick! And Manny!

Nick you are an AMAZING man truly......Thanks Nick Manny and George.....From an Old Shoe🇺🇸

Nicholas, Great show . I, as you look at a project not for what it is now but, for what it once was and can be again. My Charger fits this description. Thunder Road!!!!

Bid on the Black Challenger hit 180,000 but not sold yet. Nice build Nick!

When I was a lot younger I ported a set of heads for my brothers 383. Did it on my lunch hour each day until every chamber measured the same. The worst part was the valve guides as he wanted them teardrop shaped which proved to be a real finger buster. Got them done. Took a month of work and measuring but they worked. What teed me off was he changed the cam he wanted to put in it and wanted me to again work the heads. I said no. I had enough LOL. The heads worked with his cam anyway and turned out to be just fine as I had done them. Headwork is tedious and you cannot at any time allow your attention to wander. Measuring was done before and after I did work each day. That seems like a lot but if I had the time I would have been measuring them in between while I worked on them too.

Loved hearing the stories behind the cars.

14:38 You'll save yourself hours of hand porting as well as ending up with consistent bowls if you purchase a bowl hog cutter for your head shop. They are typically 70 to 82 degrees in angle and in one extra process it will remove all of that lip and blend into the bottom angle of the seat cutting process. Check it out, what remains is a little hand blending into the casting.

Those old Chevy 6 heads are much the same as a Holden 6. Removing the divider is not really required. Grind the divider out then drill the head and press in a thinwall sleeve. Very little difference in power if any on a fairly stock engine but you increase the flow substansially. I would suggest going up 10-15% in valve size. That will increase flow again. You have the equipment. And with a mild cam and compression will make 30-40 hp more. Maybe more. Triple SUs will wake it up. Or Webers!! What we used to do was make the heads 12 port, Cast aluminium dividers replacing that cast boss with the head bolt going through it. Made slightly smaller but more efficient ports. Quite driveable with 45mm Webers. This on race engines primarily. 25 years ago a good one would make near 300hp. Now with the historics they are making 330hp with 9 port heads. In the day a Phil Irving Holden alloy head was 330hp. From an asthmatic 145hp 202 Holden that was flat strap @ 4400 rpm. Though the Torana XU1 engines with triple carbs etc etc as Touring cars made probably 80 more and 2000 rpm more. I am not a fan of tent cars or red trim but those two Challengers are an exception. I do like Challengers though, the one Mopar I would buy. 340 the go. No truck engines that make them push like a pig handling.

Only acouple of weeks ago built one 340. Using stock bottom end parts and sealed power flat top pistons.(Would have preferred something like Mahle, but this is what we had). Homeported the 915 heads and had them flow tested,251/172 at 0.5". CR ended at 10.4:1, still good for pump gas. The cam was a comp 20-227-4, stock valvetrain, 105 seat pressure, 280 open. The intake was not stock, it was an air gap, exhaust was '70 cast manifolds untouched, 2.5" pipes and mufflers.650 AVS2 Edelbrock carb, two point distributor, Blaster2 coil. It was surprisingly strong. Made 388 hp at 5500,didn't go any higher, and 409 ft-lb at 4500. Made already 332 ft lb at 2500. Should be a strong performer and very drive able.

What a nice cnc cutting machine for heads, yeah I know nick spent some money on it, I watch guys grind , the inside chambers smooth and port match the heads to the intake, it`s all about flow right, they port match so there is no tiny lip at all to restrict flow, they use that blue ink and scribe it and grind it perfect to match the intake. You can drop some serious cash on head work.

Great content on the machine work on the cylinder heads ....very interesting on both convertibles you restored and to see them still out there.. thanks

Over at Vice Grip Garage Derek just built a Ford 300 straight 6 bored out far enough to make it 305 ci for the pickup truck he is working on. A bit of performance upgrades.

Another great show!! Thanks Nick,Manny and of course George!!!

Beautiful valve machine !!! I use to do it with the stone wheels too . Then lap the valves in by hand . Great show and sure enjoyed watching !!!!!!

Excellent video! What a WEALTH of knowledge you share with us, Nick! And George, thank you for creating the perfect means of delivery!

I live about an hour from Carlisle Pennsylvania. Good place, Spring Carlisle's coming. Lots of cars are all over the place even where you are Nick, Canada.

I have done that job many times and I would definitely wear earplugs and a very good dust mask because those fine metal particles go everywhere including in your nose and all over the shop

I am a second gen. Camaro Firebird Guy..... Love Mopars.... You are Too Cool For School Brother... God Bless.....

Love your story about your old car's that you sold Nick

Joe Mondello Gale Banks the Gods of Machine Work!!

Great vid with some great tech. I'd love a show that was just some of your vintage pics with some commentary and stories from back in the day! Or maybe a book?

Nick you Never Disappoint as usual! Best Greeks on Earth !

I got soft spot for monaco. One day I'll build one the way I've dreamed. I got one of kind vision for such.

Hey Nick, been watching from almost the beginning. I finally took the plunge, Saturday I went and bought a new 2023 last call Challenger R/T blackout edition. My first MOPAR!!

I’m anxious to see the 230 run. I had a 68 Nova (NoGo) w a 230 power glide. It was so slow! I would love to see 230 HP and 300 ft/lb. Hopefully George is using a TH350.

I know you guys have been doing this for year's A tip you should cover the finished seat area with painter tape , this way, you have small barrier for safety. Nice work

What a back story on those two cars,I hope we see who gets them and the price. Fantastic show as usual thanks guys

i hand ported my son,s 800 hp ls turbo heads. pluss port matching and smoothing out a couple of plastic nissan 350z intakes and port matched a few bike motors with great succcess it definitely takes time, patience and attention to detail i love your show and thanks for all the advice you share

The silver car sold for $89,000 with 34,972mi. The black car is listed for $250,000 at the upcoming Indy auction with an odometer reading of 156mi. It is no longer listed on the Glendale auction page but someone said it got up to $180,000.

I am really looking forward of the 230 build, not to mention the dyno run with it.😊

Great video. Been looking forward to seeing valve work done on Nicks new machine.

Love that head machine Nick good works guys . 👍🏻🇦🇺MOPAR for life .

Im not much into hot roding anymore since my dad past away 7 years ago but i enjoy Watching your videos nick reminds me of Watching and helping my dad

Another superb Monday episode 👌

Serdi really took a lot of the work out of doing competition valve jobs. I used to have the old stone grinder style made by Sioux. It took forever to do multi angle valve jobs and even then the consistency was nowhere near what you can get from a single carbide cutter with all the angles cut at the same time.

Great video Nick, Manny and George! Great stories about the two Challengers. I can't wait to see George's engine go together and get dyno tested. An Offenhauser intake with three singles would be cool as heck! Even a Offenhauser with a single quad would be neat!

Wow cars in barns haven't heard of that website in a long time

Thoroughly enjoyed you reminiscing about those gorgeous convertibles from back in the day. Outstanding! 💪

Great episode and really funny to fast forward your voice- that was cool! Keep up the good work and look forward to your next episode!

Nick, I am going to Mecum this week and want to find and see the two cars you built - thanks for the details!

On the old motorcycles I like, the bowls are a bit too large and has a deep pocket just behind the seats. This makes head work tricky. We can't enlarge the pockets much if any and some have been trying to figure out how to fill in the pockets, then rework them. This way the airflow is smoother and at a higher velocity than you can get with the stock heads. Most just smooth out the casting seams and around the valve guide. This helps a bit with out making them any bigger. These engines are just 650 cc and the flow of the heads is enough to run a 1000 or more cc. On this engine thats very had to do for street use.

I love your show I learn a. Lot of stuff u say how to fix it and I love when u put a motor on the Dino it's cool Alan from safford arizona

Great video! I'm so impressed! Manny, you are so multi talented. You've learned from a master. Great job Nick, Manny, and George !

Barret Jackson auctioned the Silver 426 Hemi ?. Wow, that's a beautiful Chally. The Black Chally is gorgeous.

Exhaust and intake valfe almost touch each other 😮 nice flow of air

Nick, the weather down here in Glendale right now is sunny and about 23°C or 73°F. Too bad you can't make it.

Nick The Pants tucked in the Timberlands........I remember those days.

Hi everyone thank you so much for all the info. I never knew what it took to get extra power from heads

Touching story!

Great job guys thanks for lesson hope you guys have a great week 👍😁

You guys are like watching amazing surgeons of cast iron! I never would have thought back when I started watching this channel and all the amazing molars that I would be also seeing this Chevy 6. Love it! You have been building fabulous cars. So happy to hear these stories.

I previously worked for Serdi in the 1980's. They had the floating head system on air back then. We could do three angle cuts at once back then but basically for stock heads. We sold against the Peterson machines which were basically drill presses on a sand bed. Nice machine by Melling. The big Serdi 1020 was almost 15k in 1985 I wonder what they are now plus the various add on parts. Nice video. Thanks.

Ive been watching this channel a long time and this is the first time ive seen some machine work going down in the shop.

I would recommend that the Chevy straight six be left stock, otherwise it might twist the dynamometer off of the mount... :))

It's refreshing to see you guys doing George's 230 . I'm a v8 man as are many many people . But then , the straight 6 really deserves more hot rodding attention , as many of us started out with a low buck 6 cylinder ride . Nick needs to do a slant 6 , manny ought to come up with a FORD mustang 200 . My 66 mustang back in the 70s had a 200 , with a 170 cylinder head closed chamber head with 200 valves put in. I put 3 single barrel Autolite carbs on an offenhauser maifold . Isky cam , mallory dual point distributor and hooked headers . The engine routinely broke the flex plate do to the large power increase , but it was alot of fun on Saturday night . Scottinsoca

Nick, Manny, George and the nicks garage crew…. You guys are the best. Thanks for sharing.

Good segment Nick ! Hey you and the guys tip a cold one to Packard ! They're taking the plant down here in Detroit today 3/4/24. 😔 Heard it was a great place to work and a great product !

This is six in a row Jim again saying you got a love a little six banger good choice on the Pistons we used civil light pistons in a small Chevy and a sprint car held up good

Good times 🎉 there is a lot going on with that cylinder head machine. Manny knows his stuff on it 🎉

What an awesome video! Thank you so much for putting it together.

Kalimera palikari and thanks for the advice last week Steve tuned in from Adelaide Australia

Great history on the two challengers you built Nick! See you in Carlisle again I hope. God bless!

😂😂 Wow Nick the way you read Ira's letter has me interested in some of that coffee your making over there 😂lol 😆 🤣 😂

I could watch this all day long. This is a wonderful video and it taught me a lot. Thank you so much!

Doing a lot of machineing in house is the difference between an engine builder versus an engine assembler

Nick ya gotta go to the Glendale auction. Your presence and the history will add real $ to the sales price. The Mecum Glendale auction of Nick's Challengers lot #'s are F103 for the Silver one, and S131 for the Black one. And they sure are beautiful!! 🤙🏽🍻

Take the flight to the Auction... I'm sure you will not regret it.

Huh that's pretty kick ass that both of your babies are still around and still in the same shape that you built them, like I hope someone gives the owners a heads up and lets them know who built them, as alot of times the build quality of the original cars were all over the place, some were great, some were awful, and that will defintely help them, especially given how well your white ones holding up although I cant lie I hope they dont go for insane money so they can keep the prices down so I can own one someday lol

So much content it’s just unbelievable! You all make us welcome. Thanks for sharing Nick and Manny! 👍

Noticed the flow bench several times. Was wondering when you'd get around to it!

Damn Nick that silver Hemi Challenger red interior is beautiful. I'd love fr you to see that car again. I'm not a fan of convertibles but that is stunning with that red stripe too. And the hot white writing tyres, don't forget...