Just got an offer to buy 2 sets of Canfields with shaft rockers inconel valve assembled for a good price. They were on a set of marine 540s. Have some corrosion on the deck surface. Will have them gone through. Or a set of dragon slayers the way they come from BRODIX. They are from a well known builder down south. Is deck surface pitting a big deal to repair or should I walk away from them. Thanks. With the aug 1st price jump of parts 15%+ and the difficulty getting new heads they are seeming like a viable option.
Cyl head choice repairable?
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I think anything in aluminum is repairable. See what the chamber cc is and figure out how much you could mill it.
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I got a deal on a set of Brodix for one of my SBC's and they were corroded also. The heads did clean up with a .010 surfacing but I only offered the guy $500 for them as I was not sure, he wanted $1000 and I told him I'll walk away from that as they are take a chancers. If the price is really good those canfields are great heads.
Brodix can repair almost anything. They only repair their own heads. I sent a head in to them for repair that I just got back a couple of weeks ago. It took them about five weeks to make the repair. They are that busy. They do good work if you decide to go that route. Here are the before and after pictures of a Race Rite head from my grenaded 461 BBC that dropped a valve.
![718166]()
![718167]()
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All that can be repaired. I know a guy that can. In Michigan.
The problem with heads that have been run with river or salt water going through them is the minerals get into the aluminum and make it very hard to weld. You would have to grind all of the corrosion out down to clean bare metal and then start welding. Also if you don't re heat treat them after welding they are never the same. Like somebody else mentioned Brodix will fix theirs but it will not be cheap. They might not want to fool with them once you mention "marine"
I guess it just depends on what the price is. I would probably expect a minimum of $400 to fix the deck corrosion.
I guess it just depends on what the price is. I would probably expect a minimum of $400 to fix the deck corrosion.
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I'm impressed they actually repaired that.. you'd think it would have been cheaper to throw it back in the pot and cast you a new one.
I should rephrase my question.
i agree. The sad part is getting heads is brutally hard right now and somehow that has translated to premium price increases. I can get a set of the dragon slayer heads complete for 2170 he has several new sitting, I’m just not sure if it’s a good way to go?
I actually did want to buy a new head, but they are not available anywhere, even bare. When I spoke to Brodix on the phone, they told me repairs are a 4 to 5 week lead time, and new head availability is 10 to 12 weeks out. This was my only option that I had if I wanted to have the motor back together and in the car before the end of the year. They cast their own stuff at their own foundry which is a block away from the facility that machines and assembles the castings. The back up is at the machining facility, they are short handed and can't machine the castings quick enough to meet the demand.
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What did Brodix charge you for that repair?
They charged me $595.00. The repair included all of the welding and machine work, two new seats, and all 8 valve guides were replaced, plus a valve job.
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An .010 or .015" skim cut in the head mill should clean that right up....no corrosion deep pits at the fire ring area around the bore.....the gasket will seal any deck face corrosion that might be left....it's not like the head is going to leak water past the gasket just because of that corrosion pitting.....it would have to be a complete trench to some other opening in order to leak.
$200-250 mill job should take care of it no problem from what I can see.
The .015" cut would drop chamber volume maybe 2-1/2cc's
Place I would be worried about corrosion would be inside the head water jacket, if the boat used raw sea-water cooling and not a closed loop system. If it had a heat exchanger, I wouldn't be worried about those heads one bit....mill them and go.
Intake face pits are a non-issue, chamber looks just like not fully polished cast surface so no problem there.
$200-250 mill job should take care of it no problem from what I can see.
The .015" cut would drop chamber volume maybe 2-1/2cc's
Place I would be worried about corrosion would be inside the head water jacket, if the boat used raw sea-water cooling and not a closed loop system. If it had a heat exchanger, I wouldn't be worried about those heads one bit....mill them and go.
Intake face pits are a non-issue, chamber looks just like not fully polished cast surface so no problem there.
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That's darn fair for all that work. You sure as all heck could not get a new casting for that.
Amen brother!
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