Some here on the Chat have read about my woes with breaking a cylinder head while attempting to press out valve guides.
I am pleased to report that my wanted ads in G&D, here on the Chat, and on the HAMB have produced results. Bob Marx called one of his customers who Bob thought had a head I could use and that gentleman had a '33 head that he then had magnafluxed. There were some minor cracks, but I bought it knowing that. Thank you to Bob Marx and J Cross.
At the same time, a man in Michigan responded to my ad in G&D with a '32 head that had but one small crack and fairly badly eroded exhaust seats on a couple of cylinders.
I took both heads to David Tidmore of Casting Repair Service in Tyler, TX. David checked both heads and, while both were repairable, the '32 was best. David repaired the crack, installed inserts in the eroded seats, cut the other seats, installed new valve guides and planed the surface. All for what I considered a reasonable price.
David has been doing this in Tyler since the early seventies. He plans to retire in a couple of years and has cut his working hours down to Tuesday through Friday. His phone number is 903-592-7195. If you have a head or other casting that needs repair, I would recommend him.
What is cool about the '32 head I found is that it has a casting date of E 2 2 (Monday, May 2, 1932). My engine block has a casting date of D 29 2 (Friday, April 29, 1932) I can't imagine GM working weekends in the depth of the Depression, so I assume that those were consecutive manufacturing days.
I now have a good '32 head and a repairable '33 for backup. I have valves and correct length push rods for both.
Tom
