C1 reinstalling heads

[Don Izzo]

I am about to reinstall the heads on my 1960 283/230hp. I had the engine rebuilt by a local machine shop, and after around 500 gentle miles I developed a rocker arm tapping. When I removed the valve covers I found a loose rocker arm (which had pounded the top of the valve stem flat), and 3 broken valve springs,2 on one head and one on the other! I pulled the heads and returned them to the shop. He is going to replace all the springs and install a new valve. The way this guy is talking I'm going to wind up paying for the parts and labor. He did the motor about a year and a half ago, But you guys know how it is when doing a frame off!

Anyway.... I have two questions about the reinstallation. First THe shop used RTV high heat red sealant on all the head bolt threads, and he said I should reinstall the same way. How do I remove all the old RTV from the threaded head bolt holes? Second question, Should I use the steel plates in the intake gaskets for the heat cross over? I didn't used them in the original instllation. Thanks for any advice.
Don

[Clem Z.]

Re: C1 reinstalling heads

you better pull the lifters to check that none of the cam lobes are bad. the bottoms of the lifters should be smooth and make sure you put them back on the lobe they came off of if they are OK

[Terry D.]

Re: C1 reinstalling heads

Don
I can help with the first question, someone with more knowledge than I will no doubt answer the second. If not you might want to check the archives on this.
A wire wheel on a bench grinder works good at refreshing the bolts. If you don't have access to that then just an old wire brush will do the same thing.

Another suggestion, after you put a few miles on the car, pull the valve covers and recheck your valve settings.
Terry

[Mike M.]

Re: C1 reinstalling heads

Head bolts is one area in which I would never use RTV. A sealant type anti-seize compound yes, but not RTV. To remove the RTV from the block use a thread chaser. You can also use a tap, but often a tap removes more metal than I am comfortable with. Thread chasers are ment to clean up the threads, not to cut new ones. When you finish, make sure you clean out any RTV that may have falling into the bottom of the threaded bores. I usually vaccum them out, but they can be blown clean also, just be careful and wear goggle to protect your eyes if you clean the bores with air. Also, after cleaning the bolts and the treads, run the correct bolts into the treads and make sure there is no binding. Mark the bolts as to the position in which you tested them so you can put them back in the same place when you put the heads on.
Lastly, Clem is correct, check your lifters. For all of the damage you saw I have to wonder if the valve train was bound in some way or another. Harder to do on a low lift 230 hydraulic cam, but not impossible. Recommendation: after all is reinstalled and the lifters adjusted, turn the engine over by hand slowly and watch the action at each valve to assure binding is not occuring.

Mike