Cylinder head repair, not the usual crack.

[86Shelby]

Now that I've got the head disassembled I find out there are some peices that need replacing. I can get a replacement for most if not all the individual pieces. It has the regular crack at the middle freeze plug, no biggie to get fixed.

What I'm worried about is the cam bore surface. The first bore(next to the cam seal) has been damaged. The upper 1/3-1/2 of the bore has been scored by the exhaust cam shaft. Has there been any successful repairs of this type done on these heads? The cam should be alright with some light polishing, if not it should be able to be repaired. I'm most worried about the head. There's a good bit of money into it in porting, coatings, etc done in the last year or so. So simply junking it isn't really an option.

I'd like to know what my options for repairing it are.

I had an oil pump/int. shaft failure, caught the gauge hitting bottom. Anyone know why the upper portion of the bore would have been damaged? I would have expected the bottom or the forward side of the surface due to the pressure from the valvetrain and timing belt. Those portions are in terrific shape.

[iTurbo]

Ray, I had the same problem with my TIII head. I sent it to Wallace @ LWP and he informed me that the bore was scored just behind the cam seals. I was planning on having more work done to the head until I found that out. I decided to just get a valve job done and upgraded the cams and run it. I haven't actually got the car running yet though. If I have port work and/or coatings done, I'll find a new (or nicer) head to start with later on. Maybe Wallace can help you out on this one? At any rate, good luck.

[seth]

I have two spare heads with this same damage, haven't decided what to do yet, but Rick Diogo tells me a customer of his had the journals bored oversize and installed bushings to bring it back to OE size. Seems to make sense to me so that you don't wind up locking yourself in with a hone and oversized cam journal or something like that.

I'm not sure what the cost was, if anyone else has done this, please post.

[DirectConnection]

Seth, clean out your PM box and PM me, or give me a call. Got your package thursday .
Mike has my # if you need it.