V6 Head Porting

[greenfoam]

I thought it would be about the right time to start this thread. Alot of guys seem interested and it's the only way you are ever going to get some proper pace out of the V6. So here you go post away!

 

[hakhawk]

http://www.sa-motorsports.com/diyport.shtm
http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/95518/
http://www.ws6transam.org/ported.html

few good ones.

 

[CSL]

see i was led to beleive that you need to machine port them, pref CNC as the ports all ahve to be exactly the same, yet i have known a few people to get the die grinder onto some heads and with a vernier in hand do it themselfs to a decent amount of accruacy, but you dont want some cylinders runing lean mroe than others,
good thread thou foamie

 

[hakhawk]

nothing wrong with helping out the diy guys, im gonna be having a play.but with a spare set of heads of course.

CNC machining would obviously be the best way ot go about it, but some people cant afford that and some just want to give it a go themselves.

 

[greenfoam]

I think you will find all good heads are hand ported, some companys who mass produce heads cnc them but they still need hand porting later to get maximum flow, you can use templates made of say and ice cream containers lids to get all the ports the same once you have decided how you want them and even take latex moulds of the ports to messure the volume of them if you really want to. I spent a long time porting some small block chev heads once and I dont think I could have done it without hand tools, the right shape takes quite a while to get. I wouldn't be so fussy on the V6.

You will find most head porters think they are the stuff and also like to tell you no one else can do it right. But really it's pretty basic to get it 90% right , a good book, look at lots of pictures "become one with the air" a few carbide bits and a grinder and you are set. How to Build and Modify Chevrolet Small-Block V-8 Cylinder Heads by David Vizard is a great book, about chevs sure but the buick ports aren't too different

 

[Full Spectrum]

So what would be the price for the non mechanic minded person
And what type of gains come from it on a V6 Buick?

 

[VN Commy]

I thought it would be about the right time to start this thread. Alot of guys seem interested and it's the only way you are ever going to get some proper pace out of the V6. So here you go post away!

:thumbsup: Good Stuff. I've been very interested in this for a while. It's a project I'd like to take on and I'm hoping I'll have enough skill to get some gains. Just a few things on the car that I have to take care of before I buy a second hand set of heads and have a crack. One thing I wanted to ask was what's the story with the valves? Do you widen the whole length and buy new valves or just kind of smoothen up the opening? I hear that there are some valves you can pick up for cheap that are shaped differently that would also give small gains.

 

[VN Commy]

Oh and at the same time I was thinking about having someone machine the heads to increase the compression ratio. Is this a good idea or should I just leave it? Sorry kinda off topic...

 

[PaRaDoX]

*sigh* after starting my own porting thread after i couldnt find the one that hakhawk said... but i was looking on Street commodores... oh well

looks good foam im gonna try it with the spare set of heads i have

just a question, what should you use for grinding the die,
my mate said you can use a drill with attachment or would it be worth while purchasing the tools
if so how much do they cost??

anyone know how much it costs to get a flow test done???

 

[greenfoam]

Ok for tools most importantly you need a carbide cutter. Hakhawk can hook you up with a dude that sells them cheap on ebay.

And you need a die grinder, you can use any kind of cheap air powered grinder that you find in the local hardware shop or places like supercheap or ebay, they only cost liek 40 to 60 bucks. But I'll show you one that I would suggest is what you want to start with

http://secure.global.net.au/otcgi-b...+file2+air_tools_az_air_tools:1:10:C:WQ08106N

I would HIGHLY reccomend you get a long nose one like that, if you don't get a long nose one you will soon wish you did when you just can't quite reach that one last spot you want to grind.

If you wanted to be the biggest porting pro ever you would just get an electric grinder like this one, it's good one that Makita make

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/MAKITA-8mm-D...hZ009QQcategoryZ79958QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

Or you could try out this cheapy also on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/520WATTS-Die...2QQihZ008QQcategoryZ20776QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It doesn't look like it would have much reach to go deep into runners without a crazy long carbide bit on it but yeah maybe the cheap electric one and the long nose air one. You don't really need to cut the runners unless you are going for pro stock style power anyway. So if you don't have a compressor the decision is easy, just get a grunty electric one

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Tungsten-and...QQihZ008QQcategoryZ105830QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This is the kind of bit you will need for Iron, you get a different one for Alloys. They are like 30 or 40 bucks in the shops but can be had for cheap on ebay, you can also get sanding wheels made of folded sand paper in all different grits to finish the job like the one mounted on the Makita grinder and also grinding stones but between the carbide bits and sanding wheels you will have most of the action covered.

Forget the drill that's too home brand even for me

SUPER IMPORTANT, wear a breathing mask and safety goggles when grinding metal, sharp little shards go all over the place!