Curious if you all think these heads can be cleaned up at home in garage? Or is machine shop ONLY option? Corroded from sitting. Never installed.

Thanks!

 

I'd want to have the flat surfaces milled, but there is work you could otherwise do yourself on those.

 

Electrolytic cleaning, which is something you can easily do yourself, would loosen up most of that rust. It's not all that bad from what I can see. Then, cutting all the surfaces by acoupla .001"s to true them up, and you should be good to go.

 

If the valve springs have pitting on them then straight into the garbage they would go in my opinion.

 

Pitting or no. Just... into the trash. Like any other valve springs on any other heads from any other unknown source in any other condition. Even if they "looked" brand new.

All the other valve hardware, the same. Quite possibly the valves themselves, particularly if they're stock. INTO THE TRASH. If you're building anything other than a construction site truck mule, INTO THE TRASH.

 

I would prefer a machine shop trip

 

If it's a budget project....which I'm guessing that it is, I'd 3M roloc pad the sh|t out of those, install them and go burn some rubber.

 

That's the thing, I am trying to keep as a budget project. Car has good bones but needs attention all over to be road worthy and presentable . Goal is for weekend driver that is fun on the street. Not looking to drag or bragging rights . Just looking to wake motor up some along the way and keeping eyes open for good deals as I go. These heads for $200 seem like a good buy If they can be cleaned up on a bench with some new springs. If they need machine work for another 2-300 then it's not so much a good buy IMO, considering they are no name aftermarket units and I could just go buy them on eBay for 6-700 new, or even wait for another marketplace buy that may have like new version going for $500. I'm in no rush. Plus there is a sense of enjoyment I find by cleaning car up, yet keeping upgrades in line with what I consider the old school way, which is involves a certain level of elbow grease that an unlimited budget build may not need considered. This car is not meant to compete with those cars.

 

Got it. Yeah, I'd have zero issues with polishing those surfaces, changing valve springs and running 'em....after making sure that they're not cracked.

 

What's the back story on this set of Vortec heads? They aren't a set you pulled off a truck at the salvage yard and stuck on a shelf in the shed outback to be forgotten.

I must not have scrolled all the way down to the bottom. I missed the last two replies.