I took the head in yesterday after removing the cams (Just a bit nerve wracking, but easily done if prep'd right). All of the lifters and bores look good and cams look great. I haven't mic'd any of the wear surfaces, but at this point I am just going to walk with faith in my german engineers.
The head was pressure tested and checked out OK with no cracks. I need two exhaust valves and the base was .003" out of true, so it will be machined. I was told that with the special setup for the machining the total would be $381 out the door. Dang, one-half of what I paid for the car. :mad: Anyone know exactly which cover has to be machined with it? Im assuming it is number 1 in this diagram, but I can't imagine .003" making that much of a difference in the rubber gasket that seals that.
I purchased the majority of gaskets when I decided to do the timing components, so all I really had to add was the head gasket, top-lower timing chain cover gasket and small odds and ends like the oil filter to block gasket and o-ring. I am replacing all of the exhaust studs and copper nuts also. I actually did a price comparison with Pelican, Autohausaz, FCPGroton, and some others that were not even in the same ballpark. Pelican came out just about 5% higher overall, but they had a lot of stuff in stock that none of the others had. I am a convenience guy, so 5% isn't much for the ease of getting everything from one place.
