My First Shot at Porting Heads

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64 SRT8 Dart

64 SRT8 Dart

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Well, I figured I'd give it a shot. At first it was just gonna be a gasket match of felpro 1243's to a set of 318 smog 2bbl heads (973) that are going on my 318 build.
Then, seeing all the casting flashing and nastiness in the ports I decided to clean em up and open them up a little. Trying not to be greedy here, lol. Not gonna lie though, I've taken quite a bit out of the pushrod pinch area and the roof. Worked the short turn some as well. Shaped the guide quite a bit and some of the bowl but not sure about em. Just trying to put to use what I've seen and read on FABO. Opinions and helpful advice appreciated!!
Hope they turn out good and work good.

Head #1
 

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Bowl work. Both intake and exhaust.
 

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Exhaust port and #1 head finished compared to unstarted #2 head.
 

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I asked,you delivered! Remember,that 88% quote,I mentioned. Nice work!.
 
Looks good!! I have a spare set of x's I might just "practice on"...what did you use for tools/stones??
 
4spdragtop said:
Looks good!! I have a spare set of x's I might just "practice on"...what did you use for tools/stones??
Click to expand...

Thanks everyone!!

I used a 1/2" rotary/carbide bit that was about 3/4" long with a rounded end on a 2" stem to do the ports, which worked nicely because the port openings in the gasket are 1/2" radius so it worked perfectly to shape them.

Used the same bit to cut into the top of the guide were all that meat was. Then switched to a 1/4" conical rotary/carbide bit with about 6" of stem to shape the rest of the guide and get back into the sides and short radius.

That's it as far as tools. They worked out nicely. I'll have to get some pics of em. They're at work right now.
 
64 SRT8 Dart said:
Thanks everyone!!

I used a 1/2" rotary/carbide bit that was about 3/4" long with a rounded end on a 2" stem to do the ports, which worked nicely because the port openings in the gasket are 1/2" radius so it worked perfectly to shape them.

Used the same bit to cut into the top of the guide were all that meat was. Then switched to a 1/4" conical rotary/carbide bit with about 6" of stem to shape the rest of the guide and get back into the sides and short radius.

That's it as far as tools. They worked out nicely. I'll have to get some pics of em. They're at work right now.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Pics would be great.
 
"just put this in another thread.


The most common problem on all intakes which all overlook is port match not gasket match per say. Intakes ports are usually ported as per the gasket per side . But it is left bank to right bank that every one over looks. Scribe a line on the top of each intake port separator using a straight edge on the gasket side. Doing this will show you where th web between the two ports are after the intake is set in place. These lines should match centered with the valve cover bolt holes which are centered in the ports.

Wait until you all see how far off some of your intakes are. This is corrected by splitting the difference from side to side by moving the intake front or back. One reason after market intakes do not have the pin holes drilled. after you locate your intake put your pins back in an reset the intake back on in the corrected location .

At this time tap down on the intake ends leaving a marks where the pin goes and then drill them. This intake will always set where it is best aligned on that motor now. Once this position is found you can now port match the intake front or back to the corrected gasket location. This procedure means a lot when it comes to balancing cylinder charge at higher RPM's. which if not correct will throw the motor into a static vibration and cause power loss.

I shift my car at 8500 and it will climb to the end of a 10,000 recall tach. My Indy intake and heads were off almost an 1/8 of an inch. One reason a good sheet metal intake is built on the motor and heads it is to be used on. I learned this trick and others from Mike Dunn through Roland leong. AKA " Hawaian Punch" years back. Works for me.

This is why everyone has a different choice of intake and what works best for them . Some of the same intakes that are perfect on some motors but are way out on others. One intake two motors. two different locations. A used ported intake on one motor may not even come close to sealing on another.

When buying a older or used intake make sure it is virgin and never touched in the ports.

Now its time for you all to kick in with your neg. replys why this doesn't apply to you because your intake is already on and your car is perfect. But to some this may be helpful. "Happy Easter" Steve
 
Oldmanmopar said:
"just put this in another thread.


The most common problem on all intakes which all overlook is port match not gasket match per say. Intakes ports are usually ported as per the gasket per side . But it is left bank to right bank that every one over looks. Scribe a line on the top of each intake port separator using a straight edge on the gasket side. Doing this will show you where th web between the two ports are after the intake is set in place. These lines should match centered with the valve cover bolt holes which are centered in the ports.

Wait until you all see how far off some of your intakes are. This is corrected by splitting the difference from side to side by moving the intake front or back. One reason after market intakes do not have the pin holes drilled. after you locate your intake put your pins back in an reset the intake back on in the corrected location .

At this time tap down on the intake ends leaving a marks where the pin goes and then drill them. This intake will always set where it is best aligned on that motor now. Once this position is found you can now port match the intake front or back to the corrected gasket location. This procedure means a lot when it comes to balancing cylinder charge at higher RPM's. which if not correct will throw the motor into a static vibration and cause power loss.

I shift my car at 8500 and it will climb to the end of a 10,000 recall tach. My Indy intake and heads were off almost an 1/8 of an inch. One reason a good sheet metal intake is built on the motor and heads it is to be used on. I learned this trick and others from Mike Dunn through Roland leong. AKA " Hawaian Punch" years back. Works for me.

This is why everyone has a different choice of intake and what works best for them . Some of the same intakes that are perfect on some motors but are way out on others. One intake two motors. two different locations. A used ported intake on one motor may not even come close to sealing on another.

When buying a older or used intake make sure it is virgin and never touched in the ports.

Now its time for you all to kick in with your neg. replys why this doesn't apply to you because your intake is already on and your car is perfect. But to some this may be helpful. "Happy Easter" Steve
Click to expand...

Been a number of times someone has brought in a ported intake, just to find its off over an 1/8 inch or more. Makes me wonder how these pro porting guys can sell you a ported intake with out having the motor right there to go off of.
 
Thanks oldmanmopar. Little tidbits like that is why I risk getting yelled at at bedtime, for being on the computer
 
Nice work! Always wanted to experiment with some 318 heads just to see what would happen. Looks good!
Also, I will remember what you wrote, Oldmanmopar. Been thinking of checking all that out on my engine, and now I am positive that I will.
Subscribed!
 
Enjoying the black snot , are we ? LOL
The first heads I did was before anyone thought to wear a particle mask , but even with them , that pesky grinding dust gets everywhere.
Nice job so far. You should see a decent gain from this.
The first set I did was 429 Ford DOVE castings , opened to CJ size at the intake manifold. With home porting and a bigger intake valve , I saw .15 improvement on the 60' and close to a second in the 1/8th mile.
This was pre-internet by a lot of years , so I had no one to ask.
I just looked at it and asked myself " If I were molecules of fuel and air , where would I want to go.
I thought it worked out O.K.
I might look for a set of MP porting templates with your project and use them as a guideline.
 
Good job, 318 ports are imo a great head to start with for the beginner cause they can yield good numbers w/lil work, and the port shape kinda makes it hard to mess up.
 
Thanks everyone for the "good jobs!"
tubtar....I've thought about the templates before but have no clue where to get em. I remember seeing them a few years ago in a Mopar Action magazine or something but have since lost that issue. lol

And OMM's advice on the intake ports lining up, I'll be sure to check that as I've kinda been thinking about it for some time now....especially since the block has been decked quite a bit and the heads will get shaved a tiny bit. However, never gave much thought of the side to side of the ports lining up....will def check that as well...Thanks OMM.

Thanks Wild&crazy! It was reading your 318 head porting thread that helped and encouraged me to do it. I've learned a ton on this site from members like you and OMM and many others. A lot of things I would've never thought about. :)
 
nice thread ....FABO rocks ...even I am very interested in this kind of thing ...subscribed!!:)
 
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