Edmunds heads are quite "thin" to begin with -- they were made more for folks who were trying to get more HP out of stockers to 3/4 style engines. He made a nice set of heads - but there just isn't much material to work with if they're already thin from the last 'x' number of machine operations. If you're going to have them redomed, then you may also need to have them flycut in the valve area -- just depends on how much they've been milled. I've seen plenty of Edmunds heads that have been milled to death -- and there just isn't much material left to rework the chambers or valve pockets. If you take some good pictures and post them - it would help us all see what condition they are in and help on the recommendations.
I had a set of Edmunds heads re-domed without any problems & they had been milled in the past, but never knew how much, but gave it a shot & it worked.
That is reasonable - there is quite a bit of setup time as every brand and set of heads is a bit different on the Mill . . and you have to do the whole job twice (both heads). You should also check/validate whether or not you need to flycut the valve area. If you're going to be running a performance cam, this could be an issue.
If you're considering investing $300 in a used set of heads, then you really need to consider the overall condition of the heads, what you'll have when you're done, etc.. If the water passages have lots of corrosion, if the valve pockets need to be flycut . . . if more welding is really necessary, then I'd sure consider just going to a new set of heads. You can buy a new set for around $500 and not have this drama. However, if you have a period set of heads that you want to save -- and they can be 'restored' to good running condition . . . then there is more to consider than just raw costs.
Hang those heads on your garage wall...buy a new set and be done with it!!!!! Spend all that money on HOPING to fix it dont make any sense!
If the engine was rebuilt I wonder which crank and pistons are being used. Merc pistons with a 3.75" crank or Ford pistons with a merc 4" crank might be a clearance problem. I know one combo can lead to clearance problems but can't remember which.
That would be a complete stoppage...difference is more than available clearance. The other way would give way too much clearance for proper combustion function... On the $ value of doing this, you could think of the heads as being like an undrawn lottery ticket. As-is they have some value, because some would be willing to use them fitted loose with double gaskets, many others would want them enough to be optimistic about repair cost and risk... Finished by a new fly-cutting of dome, they would be a drawn ticket, either quite valuable or scrap with totally unusable chambers. Flathead speed parts of no longer available/reproduced brands has been going up in value at a remarkable speed for years now...lots of folks don't want common heads, it seems! And, if the operation turns out to be lethal, they remain perfectly good wall hangers...
We are trying to keep the car period correct, that is why I am going through all the trouble of repairing these heads. I am going to bolt them on tonight with a new gasket and check the clearance using clay. The guys at H & H told my father with accurate clearance measurements, they will be able to tell if they can fix them or not. Wish me luck!
Finally got our heads back from H&H the other day. It took several calls over the past couple of weeks to get a straight answer out of them as to the progress they were making. We shipped them out with one of our new head gaskets, as per thier request, and did not get it back. Anyway, the redoming and work they did on the valve pockets looks great. One small (big) problem...written on the heads in marker is a note that says they need to be resurfaced! We checked them with a straight edge and they are off by .001 to .004. A local machine shop said we should have them resurfaced but nobody in our area has the proper fixtures to do it correctly. So they are at a shop in the suburbs of Chicago getting resurfaced. I have lost faith in H&H. You would think they would have told us that they needed to be resurfaced before shipping them back.
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