FE Cylinder Head Rebuild
Ford FE Engines
 As
part of Project F-100, rebuilding the engine was not necessary.
However, reconditioning of the cylinder heads made
it a requirement to tear the engine down to a "short
block". Prior to starting this work, compression testing
was performed to check cylinder sealing and ring condition.
All cylinders on our 360 FE Block tested very good with surprisingly high
compression for
the 30 year old engine.
Confident in the soundness of the
bottom end, the engine was torn down to the cylinder block.
The heads were found to be in very good shape, but exhaust leaks
around the manifold flange had taken their toll on the gasket
surface and would need machine work to assure a tight seal when the
engine was re-assembled. Anyone owning a FE block engine has
been faced with exhaust leaks. Often, machining is necessary
to correct the problem.
 With
machine work a requirement, we made some calls around town to find a
good shop. Our efforts put us at the doorstep of Sacramento
Cylinder Head. As one of Sacramento's oldest and
largest machine shops specializing in cylinder head remanufacturing,
we were confident that the work would be done right.
On arrival, Manager Jeff Mages,
looked over the FE heads and wrote up the work,
which was for "Hot Tanking, Magna-Fluxing and
Re-Surfacing." After hot tanking (cleaning) the heads,
Master Machinist, Mike Kollross recommended that the exhaust seats
and guides be replaced. While both were still in operational
condition, wear was evident and if left unattended to, it would
shorten the life of the rebuild.
Returning later that day with the
Valves and Springs, we were invited to watch, as our heads were put
back into shape. Here is how the re-assembly went.  [more]
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