Flathead question?

[the duke]

My friend has a flathead block that is in nice shape except that the lifter valleys are pitted. He was thinking that a brake hone would maybe fix it but he and I have no clue what the correct way or if there even is a way to fix this. Thanks for the help! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif The Duke

[Flat Ernie]

I've seen them bored & sleeved with bronze & honed to fit, but it ain't cheap...having said that, if the block is crack free otherwise, might be a worthwhile investment...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Digger_Dave]

[ QUOTE ]
My friend has a flathead block that is in nice shape except that the lifter valleys are pitted. He was thinking that a brake hone would maybe fix it but he and I have no clue what the correct way or if there even is a way to fix this. Thanks for the help! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif The Duke

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll assume you mean the "lifter BORES."
If the pits are not too deep/big then a quick pass with a hone would probably clean them up.

But don't get too carried away.

[Bruce Lancaster]

If the pits are at all deep, you can't just remove them by heavy honing--that'll leave them oversize and you'll have slop and rapid wear, probably. I'd say give them a light pass with a hone, then see how much original surface is left (the shiny part) between the pits. If there's a good deal of surface left, and no concentrated area where the surface is all gone, you can probably run them. They are not pressure fed, and the whole valvetrain in a flathead is very lightly loaded compared to those silly modern engines. Boring them out and sleeving them would be an excellent fix, but would likely cost more than a block that didn't need fixing.