• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Aluminum 4 cyl head

Share this page

Hi Lou,
Exchange rates are not so favorable now. In 2002 I got the full race version for $2320 US. It appears now to be around $3400 US. If I needed one, I would still get it today though.

There are some other cheaper offerings available but IMO don't approach the quality & completeness of the DW head.

I may be biased a bit though. About the only part in my engine that is not DW is the bare cylinder block.
D
 
thanks for the testimonial
Now that I've sprung for the head, I think I just doubled my basis in the car!
Well worth it, of course !

Lou
 
The head works very well with the DW header, M carbs/manifolds, a 270 degree cam & 9.7/1 pistons. Maybe you already have this other stuff?
D
 
Lou -

Just remember, if you get the aluminum 100 head, you should get either the steel head gasket DW sells or get the composite gasket sold in Australia. The standard copper gasket will leak with the Ali head.
 
Alan,
I ran the copper head gasket with the aluminum head with the old 8.3/1 "M" pistons for four years without trouble. I did use the DW studs & hardened washers. This was before DW had the steel gasket. No trouble, no signs of leakage. When I recently raised the CR to 9.7, I used the steel gasket which has since become available. I think it depends on how flat the block is. I agree that the steel gasket is good insurance though a bit costly.
D
 
Dave -

That's good to know. Having a flat block on the 100 is a risky deal because if the block gets planed too much the water galleries can be offset from the head because their not straight up and down. Part of the reason why I have an old spare block sitting in my dad's driveway. Of course it works well as a paper weight in the meantime!
 
Hi Alan,
It's a good idea to check the alignment on the angled water gallery holes. Not hard to do by placing the gasket over the holes & looking. A small amound of hand grinding might be needed.

Actually, the stock block & head surfaces are both so thin that milling either one more than about .010" is not advisable. Especially considering the less than optimum head bolt spacing. Fortunately, most blocks & heads will clean up at .010".

My block came from the factory with the block deck .008" higher at the back than at the front. Angled milling of .010" straightened it & removed all low spots.

My DW head has a considerably thicker deck than original, & DW informed me that I could safely mill it up to .080". I milled it .050" to get the CR up where I wanted it.
D
 
Hi Dave. Just wondering, when I rebuilt my MGB several years ago the reccomended procedure was to "counter sink" the threaded holes in the block where the head studs go. The reason was to allow the head gasket to seat better. When you remove head studs in a Healey did you notice any "raising" of the block surface? This occurs from repeated tightening of the head bolts.

Your thoughts on this procedure please.
 
Johnny said:
Hi Dave. Just wondering, when I rebuilt my MGB several years ago the reccomended procedure was to "counter sink" the threaded holes in the block where the head studs go. The reason was to allow the head gasket to seat better. When you remove head studs in a Healey did you notice any "raising" of the block surface? This occurs from repeated tightening of the head bolts.
Your thoughts on this procedure please.
Click to expand...
Hi Johnny,
Right on:
Chasing the bolt hole threads with a tap & countersinking the top thread has been standard practice for me for about 50 years. For the same reason, I think the studs should only be very lightly seated into the block threads. Same with manifold, oil sump, water pump, thermostat housing, & other mounting surfaces.

On many surfaces, you can lightly run a heavy flat mill file over the surface & "see" the raised areas around the tapped holes.
D
 
Back
Top