how did you unstick your flathead valves?

[briggs&strattonChev]

got 2 almost bare flatties 8ba and 8rt and half the valves are stuck on each of them. Ive had them soaking from the inside with mystery oil, but after 2 weeks I managed to break one and the rest are still stuck. Keeping the valves in good shape is not a priority so if you know how to forcefully get them out without damaging anything else I might be open to that alternative, but I think it would be easier to get them out when they are loose and not stuck to the deck surface. Waddya think? Any help is appreciated.

Briggs

[I go pogo]

I broke 3 of the intake valve guides and all of the exhast guides tring to pry them out with the valve iron.I had to hammer them out with a drift punch.I think that now I would take a cutting torch and blow out the center of the valve top and then drive them out.There must be better ways but I coulgn't come up with any. Pogo

[Bruce Lancaster]

Are the valves stuck in the guides or the guides stuck in the block or both?
If valves are moveable, use your valve bar or other suitable weapon to compress spring upward a bit, remove keeper, then yank valve out the top. Now you can drive the guides straight down with something like a deep socket.
Valves can often be unstuck by rotating the cam (huge lifting force available) and then driving them back down a few times. If reallydamnstuck, centerpunch the suckers and drill down through the middle of the valve head , increasing drill size until head is detached. Now drivedown the surviving junk, pull guide retainers, and carry on.
Stuff to look for to buy or borrow:
Special curved punches to drive down guides. Mediocre ones are available from Model A catalogs, but you need a real forged KD one.
A KD extractor set: Special strange punch that removes (and kills) the guide retainers with guide still in place so that whole valve assembly can then be yanked out the top with the huge and unstoppable KD puller tool. There are also SnapOn pullers that grab the valve head, but the KD, a mighty C-clamp device that grabs the bottom of the guide and forces it upward is the ultimate weapon.
Let me know what's what if this stuff isn't applicable to your proble. Wish you were close enough to NJ to borrow the heavy artillery of valve extractors.

[briggs&strattonChev]

thanks for the help guys, any more ideas out there?