Cheapest way to clean up cylinder heads?

[dville_gt]

Looking to buy a set of 243 (LS6) cylinder heads for my coupe. Should bump the compression up from 10:1 to about 11.1:1 which should really help out with the large camshaft profile (235/240 .648"/.609" 111lsa).

I don't have the coin to port them and go all out right now so I want to get by as reasonably as possible. The seller bought them used so the history is not well known, they were sold as good cylinder heads so there is no real reason to assume they are not (other then the fact that people are shady).

So, since I am not porting them I really don't want to go drop a ton of cash in them. I called Wells Racing Engines as well as Arlington City Machine and the both wanted between 150-175 to do a basic valve job and another 75-85 to do mill/plane them (which is almost as much as I am paying for the heads).

Here is the thing, I really don't want to mill them as piston to valve clearance is already going to be minimal. If anything I just want them to be checked to see if they are flat and true.

How would you go about this:

Super Budget: lap in the valves by hand/compound and check them with a straight edge?

Any insight would be great.

[smokey3550]

Lapping valves, and checking with a straight edge will do it, also check your valve guide clearance, another performance trick is back cut your valves. Chuck each valve in a electric drill and grind the top of the valve angle to approx 30 degrees that will increase your flow about 3-5 cfm and takes about 30 mins.

[Grape]

never hurts to cut .005" off just to make sure they are clean. If you want a quality valve job to work correctly, don't let lapping compound anywhere near your valves or seats..........

[dville_gt]

never hurts to cut .005" off just to make sure they are clean. If you want a quality valve job to work correctly, don't let lapping compound anywhere near your valves or seats..........

so you think it'd be better off to just leave them be?

[Grape]

so you think it'd be better off to just leave them be?

you are better off leaving a factory valve job(unless it has 3462837462342347 miles) than going after them with lapping compound.

[smokey3550]

I would lap them. I've had a few heads come back from the machine shop with a fresh valve job that failed the solvent leak test. I lapped them myself and they sealed up perfectly. It's been done that way for decades.

[broke again]

I would lap them. I've had a few heads come back from the machine shop with a fresh valve job that failed the solvent leak test. I lapped them myself and they sealed up perfectly. It's been done that way for decades.

factory valve jobs are light years a head of whats been done for decades. that is what made the vortech heads flow so good. a run of the mill machine shop job on vortechs kills their flow.

[Grape]

airflow separates just like water at 15 degrees, which is why most traditional valve jobs are 15/30/60. You dig a trench in the 45 with lapping compound that creates turbulence and kills what you are trying to accomplish for a N/A engine. lapping compound is for tractors, not performance

[dville_gt]

so i be better off just getting them resurfaced and bolting them on?

how much am i looking at to resurface two heads, they quoted 75-85 to mill them, would it be the same to resurface?

[racrguy]

Milling is resurfacing.

[smokey3550]

Lapping removes a very small amount off the valve face and seat, like a thou or 2, just enough to make the 2 sufaces come together completely. It will work if your valve job is old and leaking. It wont help if your seats or valves are shot.