I just bought a nice set of Offenhauser heads. Gathering parts for my 8BA build. These look nice, couple spark plug threads are a little rough. I used Timeserts on my Mini head a few years ago and liked them a lot. What do some of you use for repair? Should I source a decent set of original head bolts or consider going to studs. $500 for ARP stud set?? Pricey.
A flat head is normally a lower compression engine a good set of head bolts and quality washers will hold up fine . Do not chase the block threaded holes . They are a bit interference for a reason . The insert will be fine for the plug . If your heads are off , if me I would repair / replace every spark plug hole now rather than later while it’s on the block
I have done many Harley and VDub plugs this way . The newer Fords as in 4.6 and 5.4 have major thread issues in the spark plug holes . They are repaired very similar . Where are you located in the Cinti area . I’m 30 miles due south .
had my first set done and the machine shop wisely advised doing them all. bought my own thread repair set after that.
My X club put on an annual show there for many years . If you need any help PM me I’ll be there to help you anyway I can . Hell , I can cuss , spit and pray with the best of them !
If you insist on going "studs", I've found DORMAN in the appropriate lengths to be more than adequate(especially on a flathead), & one Hell of a lot cheaper than ARP! Note : I have nothing against using ARP where they are warranted, but not in everything!! Some people seem to think that ARP staples are required to attach shingles???
I’m just trying to learn the ropes on the V8. I have a few bangers and like them a lot. I am almost walking distance to Ron’s machine in Shandon. They do mostly A and T bangers but he has a bunch of nice hot rods also.
I was an active member years ago . Great club , I just stopped having fun at meetings , so I deactivated revoked my membership !
I used Helicoils to repair my OFFY heads. Worked fine. Unless you are building a super duper race horse high horse power engine with tons of compression use head bolts. You will be glad you did when you have to remove the heads.
Helicoils or Timeserts work good for spark plug repair. I've done a lot of blown fuel racing over the years and I can't tell you how many times we would be screwing in the run plugs and have a plug pull the threads 10 minutes before rolling to the start line. It was always a "fuck, not now!" deal. But the trick to putting in a Helicoil when the head on the car is to coat the hell out of the tap with anti seize or grease. It will keep nearly all of the chips on the tap instead of dropping them into the hole. And if the head is on the car make sure you figure how far you need to screw it in so you don't have threads protruding into the combustion chamber.
I have used Heli-Coils on old Harley heads with pretty good results. I can't imagine that they wouldn't work on a Ford head. Keen-sert used to make thread repair kits for spark plugs too, I guess if my spark plug holes were too far gone for a heli-coil I would use a keen-sert. I prefer a stud mount for flatheads as opposed to head bolts. My experience with flatheads is that they sometimes want to be re-torqued and they often leak around the head bolts after re-torqueing. You can find good studs for way less that 500 bucks.
I've been using the stud set from Speedway for over a dozen years and they never give me any trouble. Lots cheaper than $500.
I used Time Sert Products to repair bad spark plug threads on a Ford engine, it took all of five minutes to ream, tap, and install the insert. The kit worked flawlessly, I recommend it.
ARP studs n bolts are race parts. To be honest, aside from bragging rights most of us don't really need race parts on our old hoopties.
Couple more quick questions. M18 washer seat or taper seat? What plugs do you guys use? I am getting ready to order the Timesert kit
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