shovel heads

[Pliers]

I acquired these shovel heads in a trade for a few hours labor from an old timer down the road. Im getting them cleaned up pretty good. The only markings I see are what looks like a 3 and 78. Above plug holes theres an 07 on one and I believe 09 on the other (im at work, dont have a ton of pictures). Was told they came off a basketcase motor and been on the shelf ever since...I believe these are stock HD 80" heads...Does that appear to be correct?

[Guest]

how do you mean correct, ?
they are shovel heads & look good and no broken fins being obvious,
you need to examine & measure what the seats & guide's are like,
if all good they should build up nicely or worth a few beer tokens,
depending on condition & where ya are I've seen them for sale from $200-$1500 depending
how greedy the sellers want to be,...
if ya going to use them you have made out hands over fist for a few hours work
they look sand blasted which isn't the best thing, should have been Vapour blasted if you want them to look brand new
its a much less aggressive process that doesn't pucker up the ally wnd will be more resistant to dirt, oil & grubby fingers

[JBinNC]

The 3. 78 by the pushrod cutout is the casting date (March 1978) and so these could be for a 74 or an 80, same heads for either. They SHOULD have intake spigots cut for o-rings and 9/16 diameter guides. Very nice, desirable heads.

Jim

[Pliers]

how do you mean correct, ?
they are shovel heads & look good and no broken fins being obvious,
you need to examine & measure what the seats & guide's are like,
if all good they should build up nicely or worth a few beer tokens,
depending on condition & where ya are I've seen them for sale from $200-$1500 depending
how greedy the sellers want to be,...
if ya going to use them you have made out hands over fist for a few hours work
they look sand blasted which isn't the best thing, should have been Vapour blasted if you want them to look brand new
its a much less aggressive process that doesn't pucker up the ally wnd will be more resistant to dirt, oil & grubby fingers

I didnt phrase my question very well...i had read somewhere that heads with "flat fins" in the middle on top were later heads. So was thinking later heads that prob came originally from an 80" motor. Doesnt matter so much I guess just verifying what Ive got. Helped the neighbor tie his generator into his house, I wasnt gonna charge him anything, he's a good old guy. He's knows Im into bikes and said "take em". I'll end up cutting wood for him or something anyway...

[Pliers]

The 3. 78 by the pushrod cutout is the casting date (March 1978) and so these could be for a 74 or an 80, same heads for either. They SHOULD have intake spigots cut for o-rings and 9/16 diameter guides. Very nice, desirable heads.

Jim

Ok, thanks, that's what I was thinking for the date (makes sense)...The castings seem pretty rough compared to my other heads, maybe just how they are though. Ive made a couple passes with my cheapo harbor freight soda blaster. I think they'll clean up ok...

[farmall]

The gouge near the six o-clock position won't blow gaskets but it couldn't hurt to check both heads for flatness while doing everything else.

A set of guides and lightly cutting the seats should sort 'em. (I don't reuse worn guides when doing a valve job as new guides are disposably cheap compared to reduced top end life.)

Very nice score!

[Pliers]

[QUOTE=farmall;854823]The gouge near the six o-clock position won't blow gaskets but it couldn't hurt to check both heads for flatness while doing everything else.

Noted, will do. Ive got .003 difference between guide id and valve od on both valves in the head i checked. Im going to double check for accuracy...

Ive much reading ahead of me, im going to rebuild them myself as much as conditions/tooling allow me. Im in no rush as Ive got a good bike to ride. Should be fun.

Advice welcomed.

[Pliers]

A buddy came across these std cases. The heads will go with this bottom end...going to assemble everything, balance, true flywheels etc, as time/money/knowledge become available...

[Pliers]

Working on balancing flywheels for this motor. S&S recommends 60% factor. I am thinking this figure is more of a one size fits all % based on s&s wheels. Ive read Confabs thread and other stuff on web, many opinions are available...for those experienced, what is a good % to go with (ill have to check again but I believe I read JB mentioning 55% for all around)?

Iam probably not providing enough info for a sound answer. Motor is 74" std stroke/bore wiseco 9:1 pistons, oem rods, jims 3 hole crank pin, new bearings/cages, 78 HD wheels. Objective is just a smooth running motor and the experience gained..

[Dragstews]

A lower balancing factor works well on a rubber mount motor ..



What really is a big improvement for a smoother running motor is to match the recip weights ..



The rear piston/rod recip. weight will be heavier than the front ..
S&S made their rods with added weight in the recip. zone of their front rod as can be seen in the above video ..

[Pliers]

Thanks DS