Hillbilly Valve Job

[BillCNC]

Hey All,

It was time.
The head gasket on the Model A was starting to go. I was seeping coolant at the right front of the motor, A couple of table spoons worth every trip. A leaking head gasket on a model a is not an issue unless you cross contaminate oil and water, which I wasn't. I still wanted to deal with it as summer was coming along and I didn't want any surprises while out and about. Also I it seemed I didn't have the power I used to. It is my daily driver after all. It turns out, None of the exhaust valves were seating and one exhaust valve was cracked. I replaced the entire valve trail components and added a Nu-Rex automatic timing gizmo. I also removed the entire front suspension and have replaced the front wishbone.

The one thing about this car, is I'm always tempted to do everything myself. Now comes the fun part.

1). I never have done a complete valve job myself, only lapping.
2). The car was designed so that the owner can do most of the work.
3) How did an owner do a valve job without a valve grinding machine?

After sorting out a few details like how to hold the valves and how to accurately measure and cut them to size, I started to put the plan into action. I made a jig out of some scraps of Renshape (modeling board). The blocks were squared off and groves cut into it with a table saw. Shims made of notebook paper of .0035" thick are used to get the proper length of the valves. Shims are removed as the valve is shortened. Wet stones are then used to grind the valves mushroom end. The valve is held into the jig with my left hand while my thumb rotates the valve while it's being ground. Very time consuming to say the least, but boy was it extremally rewarding once the engine fires up. The engine sounds better than it ever has since I owned it, and out of all the model A's I've heard run, mine is the quietest, hands down.

The hardest part was removing the head, A special jig was needed along with putty knives and an engine hoist. The copper head gasket had to be destroyed before the head would come up. I literally lifted the front end up about a foot off the ground and the head still didn't budge. The head studs were frozen to the head, so they needed to be removed, With a car this old and no known history, it can be a challenge all in itself. Most of the studs broke and I had to eld nuts to them to get a wrench to remove them. To make a long story short, they kept breaking and I kept welding. I went through more than 30 nuts to remove 14 studs. Two of them, the right side front and rear studs (#9 & #12) had to be drilled out. No Heli-coils needed.

Regards
Bill

https://youtube.com/shorts/jCFwJ5xWe8g

[Big hammer]

Good job ! Hillbilly Bill ! lol

[eagle]

If the studs break high enough, heat them red hot then douse with water a few times. They'll loosen up so when you weld the nut to them they'll be more likely to come out.

[jack backer]

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Wipe the studs with a dab of neversieze and they won’t freeze again