I need to replace the valves on my 1911. Are the new stainless steel valves the way to go?
Tom
Definitely. But if you are changing a valve, the seat may be damaged as well. I suggest you see if some one in your area (an individual or a shop) has Neway valve seat tools. With these tools you can produce an extremely accurately cut valve seat with the engine in the car and only the head off and the valves out.
The thing that most frequently robs stock Model Ts of their power are leaky valves.
Respectfully Submitted,
Trent Boggess
Be careful on what valve pins you buy. I recently did a valve job on my '27 Touring and then had to open the valve cover twice because of broken pins. The pins must be soft.
I took the advice of others on the forum who cut their own valve pins from drill bit stock. I just cut new ones from drill stock and I hope they last.
Tom, I recently replaced the CI valves in my 16 engine with SS valves. I agree with Trent, new seats should be cut (I used a Neway cutter to achieve a three angle cut) and the guides should be checked as well.
I reamed the guides to the next oversize, and purchased the oversized valves for that as well. The reseller's (Chaffins in my case) can provide Valves, springs and cups in a set.
I chose to replace the lifters with adjustable ones and found the lifter bores were within tolerance so I did not have to ream them to the next oversize. The SS valves are a perfect fit with NO putzing required!
If you do a search on Neway valve seat cutters you will find several good tutorials on seat cutting techniques. I also used the MTFCA Engine guide for reference on this valve job.
The project was easy and the results were excellent. Good Luck!
Tom,
I'll add my 2 cents worth about re-cutting seats as well. Over the years, the valves you removed wore along with the seats they worked against, till eventually the worn out valves conformed to the worn out seats, and visa versa. Therefore, if you had worn out valves, you also had worn out seats. New valves don't fix worn seats. In fact, the worn seats will quickly ruin the new valves.
All that being said, I realize that you never stated that you didn't plan to re-cut the seats. ;>)
I had planed on cutting the seats,does anybody know where I can find the specs for the angles to cut?
Tom
Tom, The Neway cutter has the angles fixed when using two different cutters. I used 60 deg. throat cut, 46 deg. seat cut and 15 deg. top cut. The latter just enough to clean up the top edge of the seat, but not enough to allow the valve top to sit below the deck. The goal is to produce a narrow seat, about 1/16" according to the MTFCA booklet. I finish lapped the valves just to make sure I had good (360 deg. contact). Hope this helps.
I forgot to add, you can download a printable copy of the Neway manual at: www.newaymfg.com
Sorry here is where to find the PDF:
www.ep.yimg.com/ty/cdn/yhst-58082516732612/newaycuttermanual.pdf