Even if they were free I would still do a valve job at least. It's a lot easier now while the engines out. Plain valve jobs shouldn't be all that expensive. replaced valves and guides will bring the price up some.

I tried to do heads on a running engine a few years back. Should have done the crank and rods while it was apart. Only lasted a year! If have the crank and bore checked and it's ok then just put and set of rings and bearings in it. You will have a much better lasting/running engine that way. Of course this all depends on your current finances. Chuck in NH

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Thanks Bird. You are right, I am way up in the mountains of AZ but PHX is only 3 hrs. away. I'm not looking for anything fancy here. Just want to get her back on the road. I met a guy in PHX on the H.A.M.B that has a good 272, and yes, all the valves operate properly. He only wants $100 for the complete engine. Perhaps I will just swap heads and she where she takes me.

Anywho, I now have the heads soaking in a parts washer filled with diesel. I can only hope to go out to the garage in the morning and the valves will be freed up. Wishful thinking, I know.


My wife said she would divorce me if I bought another car. It scared me so bad I only bought 3 last month!

Considering your remote location you could just send to John Mummert and get it over with. Otherwise you are going to have to track down a machine shop that is familiar with those heads and knows how to find everything for them etc, etc. Not difficult in my area. It does seem like the average machine shop would rather mess with newer stuff.

Mummert told me to just roll them up in corrugated cardboard to ship. Pretty easy, and the last time I shipped some it was around 80 bucks-considering they weigh almost 50lbs each.

You might call him and ask what he would do for your budget, stock rebuild no porting at least that would give you a benchmark.

       A  L  A  N   F  R  A  K  E  S   ~  Tulsa, OK    

A few thoughts for you to consider. If you are only going to drive a few times a month and never race why not just call some machine shops in your area and see what they charge for a stock rebuild. The last heads I had done (stock 302) were around $200 PLUS parts. Have the head surface checked for straightness and lay a metal straightedge on the block two surfaces. I think I remember you are in a remote area so maybe a set of used heads from a reliable source could be cheaper. Watch out for shipping costs, these heads are heavy. You should keep it simple. Did you ever find out why you could not rotate the crankshaft with the heads on? Let us know how it turns out. Pete

UPDATE: I pulled the right head and found it to be much better than the left. The intake valve on the #1 cylinder was rusty and stuck but I can move it with a hardwood handle and a BFH. All other valves are free moving and the cylinder bores are clean. Once again, the exhaust manifold bolts were very loose if it should make any difference in why I got moisture within. I see no obvious indication of head gasket failure. At this point I can only assume that the block is sound and reworking the heads will cure my problem.

Any last thoughts guys before I bury this dead horse?

My wife said she would divorce me if I bought another car. It scared me so bad I only bought 3 last month!

There sure is a lot of good advice above.  I live in Oregon where it is cold, wet and rainy 6 months out of the year.  Due to worry about condensation and corrosioin in my motor in the winter months, and having it in a non heated enclosure. I keep a heat lamp underneath it with an automatic on off timer.  

Mike, located in the Siskiyou mountains, Southern, OR 292 powered 1946 Ford 1/2 ton, '62 Mercury Meteor, '55 Country Squire (parting out), '64 Falcon, '54 Ford 600 tractor.

Glad to hear it turns freely;that's a good sign.here again i'd suggest oiling down the cylinder walls to protect them while it is apart.As far as machine work goes,i'd do some shopping around.I think it is going to depend on how much of the head assy can be saved.I've delt with Bailey's machine shop on No. Country Club in Mesa, Az with good results,but i don't know what kind of distance that would be for you to drive.They have always been fair to me.Phone is 480-962-9756.At the very least they may be able to give a quote for a general idea.jim in the valley

Oh, now that I removed the left head and removed the pushrods from all cylinders, the engine can be turned over very freely!!! Now that I looked closely at the #8 bore which is clean, the roughness is also at the top of that one too.

About how much can I expect to pay to have the heads reworked? Or should I just look for another set?

And no, I am not giving up on it. I will persist, but I don't want to throw good money away.


My wife said she would divorce me if I bought another car. It scared me so bad I only bought 3 last month!

i'd pull the other head;inspect the other cylinders;clean them as you did before and turn the engine over by hand;also rub some oil over the cylinder walls liberally and have the heads worked over at the machine shop.They can inspect the heads for any damage and replace the valves and make sure there is no damage to the valve guides,then you should be good to go.jim in the valley

You're not beating a dead horse, you're going to bring it back to life-if you are willing to stay after it.



Since you went ahead and removed the head you might as well remove the other side.

A picture of the heads and chambers, cylinders etc. would sure be helpful here.



Then you'll get some better advice.



The corrosion at the top of each cylinder might just be the ridge(the top of the wall where the rings don't make contact).

Once you remove the other head, and check out the walls with a similar process, you may be able to turn the engine over.



Again, how about some photos-much easier to asses the situation and make a judgement call.

       A  L  A  N   F  R  A  K  E  S   ~  Tulsa, OK