How to port and polish high performance v8 heads,tips,tricks and trade secrets exposed 

When I ported and polished both Motorcycle and Automotive Cylinder heads;a simple trick when your polishing the combustion chamber to avoid damaging the valve seats is to get an old intake and exh valve of the size your going to use in the head. put them in your valve refacing machine or tell your machine shop you want him to grind the valve face at 45 degrees until the margin is almost non-existent or at a thickness that you could shave with it. When you put the valves in your head they should be flush with the bottom of your combustion chamber and make it easy polishing without any damage to the seat...

That engine looks amazing. I have a Chrysler 1993 318 Magnum engine. 192 thousand on it. Runs fantastic and can't wait to rebuild it.

Priceless,built not bought that's right!! Hahaha I use to be a Holden man,born and bred,My lilttle Brother was a Ford Freak,I built a 550hp 351 clevo for him which he put it in his XC Falcon,well on 30/4/2005 on a wet night,had massive accident and passed away,from that day I fly the Ford Flag high and hard as,so now I'm a Ford Man,but really I can get any motor to kick ass so I don't get into debates on brands,they are not really Holden,Ford,Chev,Chrysler, after I play with them,Thanks Brother

I met a guy who owns a machine shop named frank a couple years ago who is like you in the fact that he likes to pass what he knows onto us youngsters and since ive been going over there picking his brain i've learned to weld, work with sheet metal and learned to rebuild transmissions to go along with me already having a knowledge of engine assembly. Keep doing what youre doing and before you know ou'll have a lil crew to help you pass things on.

Gday, nice job there bloke. Good info on the porting too, done a lot on 2 and 4 stroke race bikes mostly back in the 80s, raced both myself, later years on Kart and Fvee, qualified mech in Victoria since 79 Just on the ex port mismatch you mentioned and other comments on it here. You are right to have the ex pipe a little larger but the theory why is not so right. Any increase in cross sectional area will create a sound pressure wave of inverted sign (negative pressure) that will reflect backwards, being negative pressure it will aid removal of the gas slug, however the greatest benefit is when the pressure differential is at its lowest and the flange lip is so close to the valve seat it will reflect an inverted pressure wave too early as the high pressure end of the gas slug is still moving out of the valve opening,By using a short bit of tube the same size as the port and then having the increase in size farther away from the valve seat the inverted pressure wave will arrive back a bit later wen the pressure differential is lower at the CC side and thus will provide a greater offset as it lowers the pressure at the pipe side of the valve seat. Easy to do in race bikes with spring hook headers you can just make the spigots longer but for car engine you'd have to customise the header pipes to get the mismatch father away from the vale seat.

@Aussieheads1 Thanks! I'm a freshman in college and Just started getting into cars a year ago. I've done bolt ons and such, now I'm looking into camming and doing all the internal work.

Olds Gold mate.NC machines can't finish like this,really really nice work man.

nice video respect from Pennsylvania America I love the Australian Fords specially in the movie Mad Max the original

G'day Nat,thanks for watching,for a street job it'd be around 1500,that's including the head fully serviced as well,for an off it's tits job I charge around the 3000 mark,that's the top notch 500+HP job,there's about 50/60 hrs in porting,not a good way to become rich,but I've never met a rich Engine Builder in Oz anyway lol

@DeAdiSSu3 thanks for taking the time and effort to watch and say something nice,thats why I do it cheers mate

"suck, squeeze, bang, blow" hahah never heard that one before!! great vid, you seem really good at what you do

mate got the same mill i looked at that mill for 20 years did a good job we all root ted now

@1972FordF150 Well its porting and polishing not just polishing. just polishing cleans the surface. but porting makes the surface smooth so it is easy to fuel to enter. it takes off any small imperfections and makes it easier on the engine and gives you a little more power but usually sets you up for more performance when you add aftermarket. but it also can give you more fuel economy

@DeAdiSSu3 no worries brother,thanks heaps to take the time for the comment,will do more when I get the time,pedal to the metal...

@60inchwilly I did a full job on a set of 396 bbc heads 68 SS Camaro,it did have hi comp pistons,and a decent bottom end,had 280hp @ rear wheels,done heads,manifold,carb and headers,same bottom end,now has 385 rwhp.I spent 60 hours porting head/matching manifolds with valves,seats and guides all done come out at $3000...

Cheers Brother,old school is the best school,thanks for your time and cool comment buddy

@dhennion only when using gaskets for templates, this motor I dummy assemble the heads on block,then greased gaskets and bolted the manifold on to heads and tension,disassemble carefully and they marked for exact alignment,headers are bigger than ports for flow direction and stops sound waves and pulse harmonics entering back into ex port and throat

i like the way to take your tym to paint things seprete and attention to detail, most other engine builders paint over everything! i like your vids, keep up the great work

The transcribed audio for this is priceless

It does do something. It polishes the surface which has no interference with Laminar Flow. Laminar flow is always there (in an activity). In my industry in aviation, Laminar Flow is a constant continuous activity. I study this process which involves air particles moving across a surface e.g. air across a fan blade increases in velocity and onto the compressor blades with an increase of pressure, in a gas turbine. Like I said the results may be minimal but it does do something.

Thank you sir for the tips.im about to do a very light hand port on a 4cyl head k20.appreciate the help

That's no worries mate,I will do some more..Thanks heaps,I appreciate everyone's time

So not polishing the bowls and leaving them a bit raw from the cutter will get better atomization? Should I take sanding rolls and smooth them a just a bit cuz my cutter leaves it pretty damn rough.

@seapeddler this I used high chrome nickel inserts on exhaust,you can see them in a older vid on valve seat machining,you have to be careful for the bigger valve used,you need to go bigger insert,but you can counterbore into water doing so,I made custom sized inserts to stop this happening

great job Sir, in my opinion, too much polish in the Intake runner can cause fuel\air gasses to turn into fuel drips because of the mirror finish walls of the intake which the mixture can stick on to. This can cause loss in HP. Great info about the exhaust port pulse issue while meeting the headers

Thankyou for you time,I appreciate everyone's time and hope it helps them....

Yes it does. It makes the surface more flat, if you looked under a microscope after polishing, the surface would be flatter therefore less drag on the airflow. The resulats may be minimal but it does do something.

Thanks mate....All I'm doing is trying to past the stuff I learnt myself on to people who want to listen and learn..Thanks again buddy

A 308 will go good with Std rockers up to .500" valve lift over that and I always use rollers,you will get a little HP gain but what the noticeable difference will be is the way the engine will run and rev way more smoothly thru the entire rev range

Spot on mate, also dont forget, that these day's a lot of stuff, re: after market will let you down, unless you get someone to make them from scratch, re: piston's, Bearing's, 4 or 6 bolt main's, all the bottom end stuff needs to be as good as the top stuff, williamstown Dyno, is the perfect man for the job if it's for racing / drag / street / especaily for 5lt's or even bigger block's. Crate engines yep ok, but mass made, so you dont know what you get. it's like a lucky dip ?

@TeDuaMalakie Yes and depending on the Head application and the gasket type will decree what sort of finish is required. coarser allows the gasket to seal but requires multi tensioning but newer generation of MonoTorgue gaskets do not hence the very fine finish. A liberal coat of "Halomar" will give great sealing with recommended Torque settings for the gasket.

ahh damn thats pretty far. Sorry i put it quite vaguely but you definately know what youre doing, Im loving watching your videos, I hope some day I can try this out myself. Thanks again

Nice info, great job on the bowls and runners.. thanks for the detail.

Thanks for the great vid, just took the heads off my Fairlane's 289, hoping to get a bit more kick in it over the coming winter.

Beautiful work! Master of ur craft! Very technical information

@mimarsinan3 thanks mate,yes dead right,smooth polished inlets are not good,I stick with the finish straight of the carbide burr then re beadblast heads,then only polish chambers and exhaust ports.Thanks for your feedback good on ya mate

I thought cam timing & lobe dynamics was frustrating.........I seem to understand a little more about what goes into worked heads now. Thankyou.

@defect0r1 anytime Brother,thanks for your time,feel free to ask anything,as long as it's not on life,have no good answers there lol,even something that I haven't done yet,open to suggestions,cheers bro

Exactly champ,you would know about 90% of stuff is made in china,and final machined in the States,that's why blue-printing is so important,I've had quality bearings with excessive clearance,get another set and there spot on.I've worked in big shops over years and comeback rate is notable,I run one man one shop so when your names on it,good enough is not good enough,no short cuts,measure twice cut once,and clean clean clean,thanks for your time

@skulledmonte84 G'day mate,thanks for the wrap,porting is not all about going big for all out performance for extra horsepower,flowing heads is the major factor of an engines volumetric fuel efficiency,the percentage of a engines input to output.Flow rates are important between inlet to exhaust flow rates,exhaust ports should flow a minimum of 60% of the inlets flow rate total.In all efficiency is improved,which matters considering how many miles that engine will do

top job mark. thanks very much for explaining the high velosity / low velosity sides of the heads. after watching your vid, i am going to have a go at sightly porting and polishing a set of 434 cast heads for a 305ci SBC. would love to dyno before and after to see the diffrence. thanks a bunch mate

G'day champ,VN V8's have 8.4 :1 std.It is impossible to get near 10 with the std dished pistons,and at top dead centre they are usually .040" below. To get near 10-1 you need flat tops and the blocked zero decked and then heads.If you take .060" off both heads,it will get you to the 9 mark,but taking that much off the heads the inlet manifold will have to be machined as well,it is hard getting good compression into V8 holdens without a lot of machining,hope this helps abit

@mimarsinan3 good on ya mate,yep no polished inlets,I leave the finish of my carbide burr then water bead blast inlet runners for blend uniformity

@jhaze918 The "Otto Cycle" mate Suck , Push , Bang , Blow or variant there of been around on the Aussie Performance scene for many years.

@skulledmonte84 Correct port and polish will give you vary little gain. Its only something you would want to preform wile building a engine for strip use. For street use the gain will have no noticable impact.

Thanks so much,thankyou for your time,and greetings from Down Under....

@Energi2DmaxX yes it will, the smooth surface is harder to stick to

getting some done on a 460 ford v8 what should i look out for if am getting my moneys worth how should they be done right pls advise as you are the professional ?

Thanks brother,I'm just a one man show all me,thats a pretty big wrap mate,thanks bro...

@Aussieheads1 I came here because i love the work u do, you have great info, for an Aussie... (im just kiddin im just kiddin) :)) great work Sir

Great looking heads. Nice job..

@andzlou G'day mate,I would charge round the 2 grand mark starting price,most places would want at least 750-1grand to service the pair,you would want 20 hours at least in porting,parts say stainless valves,springs,retainers+locks,cams ect..on top of labor.I fly the Ford Flag,but love all v8's....

@boolshmool thanks my man,try it make it sound simple with good old Aussie delivery,I appreciate your kind compliments,my customers don't even do that lol..

tyvm & gb the world needs to validate youtube as a place to learn and not just see people doing stupid stuff. education has bee so marginalized in today's society though it's any society's best weapon against poverty, racism, & ignorance.

@evinsteven13 G'day mate,yeah I thought he was,we have them in our Aussie Ford Falcons,2 grand $2000,for all machining and porting,plus parts cams,valves springs etc

I was thinking about the bumps breaking up the turbulence in the intake ports and probably made them too smooth. Maybe I should bead blast them to get a little of the rough finish back, worried about it now. My heads are gc8 ej20k, difficult to get into all of the corners.

10 out of 10 great video .

You guys should be talking and thinking "boundary layer" or at aleast learning when to create it and when to benifit from it, and how its affects can help you stop crutching in areas your not getting to resopnd as you think it should.. Air flows through hot metal ports a lot different than even mild experienced porters are aware of. Start guys need read all the endurance mags with engine tech you can get, Ie. roundy round, road coarse, etc and see what works with power under the lift area..

Thanks for the video mate, just did my car, $500 ford laser, split valve, cleaned it all up on my spare time took me three weeks, garage work shop style, lots of smokes and lots of JD's, came up good, but compared to yours mine looks shit!

I ever said polishing ports improves flow...Porting dones when done the right,Polishing ex ports and chambers reduces carbon deposits actually forming on polished surfaces....If you want to get into physics polished surfaces,not INLET PORTS,when volumes of combustion is involved,mirror surfaces produce and contain more HEAT physics HEAT IS Energy...energy is power Chambers Ex ports only polish inlets slightly rough to produce turbulence

Do you not touch the floor at all on the exhaust port?

G'day mate,powered coating is the best for durability, manufacturers power coat blocks,but the machine shop will have to be careful with it when machining the block not to chip it

excellent video brother tell me what are the consequences of not thoroughly clean the air intake ducts / gasoline and exhaust I have a problem because I have little experience and want to do my engine I only egr discen that has nothing to do with the engine running I just keep everything as manufactured and not delete my car is a 2001 Lanos 1.5 adaewoo would like to know how to know more about this car thanks

Love your videos mate. Very informative. Just a quick question. I was just wondering roughly what sort of chamber cc I would need in Holden VN cast heads to achieve 11:1 comp?

Were hard valve seats installed? Perhaps they are polished and we can't see where they are pressed into the seat.

Ok, cool, I thought that number was crazy too. Thanks for responding, much appreciated!

You can't go to big cause you then start havin to replace ECU's for tuning,best find a tuner that can have the software to up tune std the ECU to suit a mild cam,big cam's also require up graded valve springs,retainers and collets.

@circusboy90210 too right mate,I reckon pay it forward,educate the young,get them off the bloody street,a lot of young local apprentice mechanics love my shop,and young and older tradies always say,geez that's something else I didn't know,secrets, this and that, mate everyone wins..That's how us Aussies roll,if ya do a bloke a good turn (a favour),and your not full of shit,not ripping him off,do a excellent job,and not up yourself,you get respect,that's all I need..Thankyou for taking time mate

G'day waz,a nice grind would be around about a 35/75,maybe a bit bigger,not much more for street use as well

another thing i would love to no when an engine is started from cold like in winter can it cause more engie wear than when its warm? or is it same for both

Thanks for your cool comment,you have a mad Channel,I'm checking it out

what do you use to clean aluminum head so it looks like new

whats the best way to clean out rust that can somtimes build up in the water channels in the block ?

@mastdane thanks for your time mate

I've got a mustang I'm trying to build up. How much do you a think a Port and Polish would be for the 4.6 SOHC V8?

Good tips ,thanks mate. I've learned quite a bit more.

Good work on those heads. But jeez 70 hours? Who really can afford 70 hours labour coat on a set of heads when you can get decent aftermarket heads

.040" is cool,but the manifold will have to be machined to fit and pushrod length and valve geometry will have to be checked

I want this guy to do my gt40's but im in vic. Might have to show this to whoever i go to, not sure how they'll take it but fuck em, im the one paying! But all those little details and tricks he mentions to do with flow, it's hard to find genuinely passionate people like that!

awesome man, i learnt something, thanks for taking the time

@Aussieheads1 LOL, Well i appreciate the good work and information from your video. I hope this can be a start of a new series of tricks and tips, Thanks for the reply and kind words, You got yourself a new subscriber, Cheers mate & happy wrenchin

Hey Mark have you got any tips on porting Au Falcon VCT head I've noticed the inlets have a large champher all the way around the inlet then narrows down-I suppose they (ford) were trying to increase velocity into the chamber.

No worries mate,100 thou or 2.5 mm is crazy,unless you run avgas but take that much off the heads and you have major dramas getting the inlet manifold to fit

hey budd i got a vn 5ltr and im about to port and polish the heads and put a 288 cam in it...just wondering when i shave the heads im hoping to get the compression too 10.5:1..how much do i need to get shaved off and will i need to put shims in when i do cheers...enjoyd the vid mate

Thanks for your time,lets us know how you go

HELLO There from North America , Santa Monica .Southern California , What is that a cross between a Ford & Chevy head ?

Well Rocketdave I am stoked,makes me happy you done good Brother good stuff,thanks for your good time

Wow great vid, your knowledgeable, those heads looks wonderful, great job.

what language or combination of languages was this video done in

Gday mate, what heads did you use on your brother's Cleveland, sounds like a pretty stout engine. Cheers

any tricks to free up sticky lifters in a ls1

great job please upload more vids can you tell me where i can find a intake manifold for a bmw m62b44 engine that fits for a weiand supercharger keep it up

love it mate, sounds like you actually know what youre talking about, there are a lot of imposters on the tube. By the way where is your shop located?

Hey man do i need roller rockers on a mildly worked 308 and do they the more horsepower

mismatching the exhaust port and header *does not work*! Waves do what they want. Plus, when the exhaust valve opens, it sends out a pressure wave. when this wave hits the collector, it turns into a vacuum wave and returns to the exhaust valve. This vacuum is what scavenges the cylinder! why would you want to stop that?!

I'm rebuilding my 289 engine (for my 65 Mustang). However, a friend of mine has me thinking...he said that I should shave the heads to 100,000th. Is that realistic? Or is my friend just crazy? I'd appreciate any response. Thanks, mate! ****no, I'm not an Aussie, lol***

Awesome work mate. Only other work as quality as this is from pavtek. Keep it up.

@mrblock2013 Thanks for the info! also, when you polish the head does it keep carbon from building up on the surface?

For sure mate,they have bigger inlet and exhaust valves std

wicked vid, thanks for spreading the knowledge!