:( I been going round and round with overheating 396..well back when I found the warped valve awhile back my machinist was on vacation..so I took head to another shop and they had head done sameday..as it would of took my machinist a few weeks even if not had been on vacation..Brought the head home reinstalled and engine still run hot and I still had eddy 1411 carb on it..didn't take but a crank up to know something still wasn't right..compression check showed 12psi lower on number 2 than the rest..I thought head gasket and that's when I started having bolts stripping out ...I was cleaning head over week end and found same valve wasn't sealing with water..I did a few things I was asked to do in another post and decided it was more than I could fix and took it to my normal machine guy and he took valve out..After a few measurements he looked at me and said I got what I deserved..(with a smile ofcourse)we been friends for long time....The other shop cut my seat at wrong angle..If I had taken it to him the first time I'd had it back and up and running weeks ago..now I'm going to be down even longer..He also told me it all would of been free of charge since everything that happened with carb was his recommendation..not that he charges me alot anyway..I feel like I let him down by my not being patient and I quess I got more coming too..I wouldn't be dealing with striped holes..At this point I will just have to suck it up..and spend the winter sit'n in her drinking a cold one and think about my mistake......* way to learn lesson.:sad:

Man, we've all done stuff like that...shake it off..true friends, especially car guys understand our impatience..just the price we pay for learning, the faster i try to go , the more it ends up costing me...my brother is slow as steam rising off of *, but i give him credit. He does it right.

The bad part is "I KNEW BETTER". I've built alot of engines..I knew to wait and I also knew I should of vacum tested it before I installed it..:mad::sad::(:confused:

You're lucky your friend is understanding. I get a real chip on my shoulder when someone takes my work somewhere else. If I wasn't good enough to fix the problem the first time, I must not be good enough to fix it at all. I can NOT stand fixing dumb mistakes. I refuse to do it. It's differant if it's a first time customer, they don't know any better. ...but if you have my work already in your car and you take it somewhere else, keep taking it there. Especially around here. There are some dangerous hacks working in the area. I'm glad you're getting your car fixed the proper way. It'll be right again before you know it.


P.S. Use gasoline or brake clean to do a leak down test on the valves. Water is too dense and will stay in the combustion chamber when gasoline will seep out.

Yeap..The only reason I went elsewhere was he was on vacation..won't be so impatient next time..I have a vacum pump with guage I usually use to check valve seal with..I found this by dumb blind luck while cleaning them with soap and water..He told me this morning if I want to keep my warranty he wants to inspect both heads..But you're very right about workmanship and loyalty...kinda like pissing off chef=spit in food....But I know he leaves me on the sideline alot because of the discount prices on labor he lets me have and that has always been a unspoken deal..and I can't expect him to put another custumer on hold just because I WANT MY STREET ROD...I have always let him know if what I bring him is mine or if it is someone elses I'm doing work for..never lied and not going too and he has always got it done quick for them so I can finish my work and make a little extra money myself. I'll make it though..next time we go deep sea fishing I'll let him catch the bigger one!!:yes:

I like to lap valves even after a valve job. I trust no one. I found every single valve seat was cut at the wrong angle on a pair of heads with 800 miles on them. Nobody's perfect, but something like that goes from mistake to ignorance or negligence real quick. The heads had been assembled with stepped spring seats too, with double springs that didn't fit the inner step, so the seats would've cracked sooner or later. $300 later, I had a good valve job and flat spring seats.

As far as people taking my work to someone else, I wouldn't know. About the last time anyone had a complaint about my work was probably 13 years ago. I was building a th350 for a guy, and told him the case lugs for the low/reverse snap ring were worn out, and he shouldn't use that case for a performance build. He said build it, because he didn't want to spend another $50 for a better case. Two days in the car, he was doing a burnout in front of a friend's house when it let go. I tore it down in front of him, pointed right at the ripped out case lugs. He turned, walked away. Never heard from him again, but I did hear he was talking down about my work. :rolleyes: Good thing I only do this as a hobby. ;)

Oh the shame of it;)

No ones perfect..I don't need to talk down about there shop to anyone..but it doesn't mean I won't tell someone to look elsewhere first..just because I took a lick doesn't mean joe-blow will...We all make mistakes..I did a tranny for a little girl out of a 98 zx2 escort and told her 12 months or 12,000 miles...Well a few months later I find this little gidget in my shop...I had no clue to what it was!!! But I put it on shelf and left it there...about a year later I get a call..same girl, trannies out again well I'm into a second time and my light bulb came on " oh yeah the thingamabob"!! That's where it come from!! I felt bad so I eat it for no cost as I only do it for hobby also...that was the first and last overdrive tranny I've worked on..I'll stick to what I know 350/400 trannies..:D:D

I know only too well how you feel Robert! I was trying to help my gal pal that races flattrack by fixing the stripped-out drain bolt hole that her dad had messed up. I got my trick Timesert kit and went over to her house and proceeded to screw it up even worse! I managed to get it in crooked and now leaks even more. I knew I should have taken it to my other friend's house and put it up on his lift where I could see it better and NOT do it lying on my back on the floor where I couldn't see what I was doing. It's fixable but it is going to take a lot more work and more money to do it right. Fortunately she isn't pissed at me, we have worked together for a while and she knows people sometimes make mistakes. I think I have beaten myself up more over this because I let down my friend, fortunately for me she is a very forgiving friend!

Finishing up some pieces for someone and that will be the last job I do for anyone I know ever again. All I can say is its never enough for some people.