bigdare23
04-29-2010, 05:43 PM
I was in need of a GSR head, so I made arrangements to pick up a GSR head from shadowx3. So the Friday before Import Alliance I drove down to Atlanta from North Carolina to meet up with him. Met up with him to see the head and this was what I saw.
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g273/bigdare23/My%20Car/my%20car%20parts/023.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g273/bigdare23/My%20Car/my%20car%20parts/024.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g273/bigdare23/My%20Car/my%20car%20parts/025.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g273/bigdare23/My%20Car/my%20car%20parts/026.jpg
(pics are taken after I got it home)
By far, it wasn't the prettiest head. The head was "painted" silver and was flaking, then had teal overspray on it. It was missing studs (no biggie since I had spare intake and exhaust studs) The head had caked up oil and grease in it, but that was expected from a head from 1994. Since the head was going to get taken to the machine shop to get cleaned and resurfaced, I wasn't concerned about cosmetics. So I asked shadowx3 if the head was good, he said it was good. I exchanged money for the head and we went on our ways. (I might add that none of the cosmetic "flaws" were visual in the f/s thread)
Now back in North Carolina,
With all new goodies, you exam them, then you exam them again and again. So I remove the cam caps and cams, then I examined the head closer. I look at the exhaust valve springs. What did I see? Dual valve springs. The only head that comes with stock dual exhaust valve springs are Type R head. So I thought to myself I may had gotten lucky :D, and got aftermarket valve train (I should of realized this is IA no one get lucky) until I saw the intake valve springs. The intake side had only single valve springs. :( So that means the head was taken apart and put back together wrong. That had me kind of concerned. So I examined the head closer. The head actually had dirt in it. Also, the head appeared to have a few valves that were slightly different from the others (these valves had a letter on them while the rest didn't). So that had me concerned slightly more. That's when I sent the seller a pm
Hey Dude,
I'm the guy that got the gsr head from you. I just was wondering more about the history of the head. Why? Because after further examining the head I noticed that the head has mix-match valves (seems like it may had dropped a valve), and the valve springs are in the wrong place (intake dual valve springs are on the exhaust side, while the exhaust single valve springs are on the intake side). That showed that it was taken apart, and the person that assembled it didn't know what they were doing, or was too busy to noticed. Luckily, I caught it before I decided just to resurfaced it and throw it on the block, because I would of hate to drop a valve due to that.
Anyways, you guaranteed that the head was in good, working condition when I picked it up and I hope you're a stand up guy and a man of your word. I'm on the way to the machine shop as soon as I'm done pm'ing you, and will pm you the results once I get the head is back.
I took the head to my local machine shop. The machinist clowned stating that I found the worst head I could find. Then they recommend not using the head until the head is pressure tested and it received a valve job. So I gave them the okay. They told me that the head will be done in a day. So I left the head and went home. I checked my pm and had this.
am a man of my word bro the head is in good condition it came off my running gsr me and my cusin took it off nothin is wrong with the head we might of taken aprat dont remember but nothing is messed up on it i know that for a fact because the car ran with that head on lmk what happens
I responded
That's good to hear dude.
I'm in the process of getting the head pressure tested to verify the head doesn't have any cranks. If that comes back good, then the head is getting a valve job to proper seat the valves then resurfaced. I'll let you know how the pressure test goes. Also, the fact that you actually responded rather blow me off made me feel at ease. I'll let you know the results of the pressure test tomorrow evening since that's when the head should be done.
About a week past, and still no word about the head (I just got a performance valve job done there in Jan and the turn around time was 1 day, so I was kind of concerned). So I went to check on the head. Well the delay was valves. They found four bent valves on the head (2 ex, 2 in). The machinist took one of the bent valves and put it on a mill (I believe that name of the device) and had it spin the valve around at it's stem. and with my own eyes I saw that that valve did not spin perfectly (the head had a slight wobble) proving that it was not straight. So I sent the seller another pm
I went to the machine shop to see what was taking so long with the head. Well, they found 4 bent valves on the head (2 intake, 2 exhaust). So they were waiting on new valves. Once I get head back (on tomorrow), I will scan a copy of the receipt and pm you an imagine of it. Hopefully we can come up with some resolution.
response
no way bro that head was in perfect condition when taken off the block nothing was wrong with it it ran and everthing something must of happen but when i had it that head was in perect condition
reply
no way bro that head was in perfect condition when taken off the block nothing was wrong with it it ran and everthing something must of happen but when i had it that head was in perect condition
Just going by what the machine shop is telling me homie. You're more than welcome to contact them yourself. The machine shop is HRT Performance. Their # is (919) 956-7223, and their website is http://www.handcraftedracing.com/index.html. If you decide to call, talk to Joey Brooks since he is the man that's doing my headwork.
Few questions, did you actually own/drive the motor that the head was on? Did you run it as-is? Did you take the head apart after you removed the head? Like I said before, when I looked at the head, it had inner valve springs on the exhaust side and not the intake side. That told me that someone put the head together wrong. Also, the head appeared to have mix-matched valves. A few of the valves had a letter on them while the rest didn't. That also pointed to the head having a problem once before. In addition, the head was dirty as hell. The inside of the head had had dirt and grim in it. Then the head had paint flaking off and overspray on it. I over looked the paint and grim when I got it since I was going to get the head cleaned anyway, but I wasn't too happy about the dirt. That told me the head wasn't well taken care of once it was off the block.
I was going to freshen the head up before using (hot tanked, valvejob, & resurfaced), but I did not want to purchase new valves. So I'm not really happy about that. I would like to come to some type of agreement (after I show you the ticket and you see that I am not making this up). I not expecting you to pay for any of the work I was planning of doing anyways, but I would like help with the valves. Since 4 are messed up, I think if you can take care of the price of 2 that would be fair enough and I was be fine with that. If you have a counter offer LMK and we will go from there.
his reply
all i can say is that the head came off a running car i tested it my self before i took it apart it was running and it ran strong and probley the dirt was because it was sitting in the garge for few months now so i cant do nothing about it the only reason i sold it was becuz i needed the money if not i wouldnt of sold it THAT HEAD WAS IN PERFECT CONDITION ONCES I TOOK IT OFF
Judging by his last post, this seems like it's not going to get resolved since he stands by his word that the head was in "PERFECT CONDITION". But I noticed that the valve springs were in the wrong position, I seen with my own eyes a valve that wasn't perfectly straight at the head, and judging by the pictures most people wouldn't call that head perfect. He also stated he "cant do nothing about it", I guess I wont get my little $20-$40 (depending on the cost of the valves) I'm asking for 2 valves rather than the money needed for 4 valves.
So buyer's beware when you purchase from this dude, and when you purchase any used head. I would of been pissed if I was looking for a head to resurface and throw on. Luckily, I don't trust many people on here, and always get used parts checked out when I'm not full knowledge on it.
(And before some tries to bash me about purchasing a head that looked like that. First, I wanted a GSR head, and I could not find one in my area. Second, you can't judge a book by it's cover. Because the head was spray painted doesn't mean it had been valves. Paint can easily be cleaned up. Next, since the valve "appeared" to seat correctly, there no way I could of found out the valves were messed up without taking them out the head. Last, with the cams/cam caps I wasn't able to tell if the valve springs were in the right place. )
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g273/bigdare23/My%20Car/my%20car%20parts/023.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g273/bigdare23/My%20Car/my%20car%20parts/024.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g273/bigdare23/My%20Car/my%20car%20parts/025.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g273/bigdare23/My%20Car/my%20car%20parts/026.jpg
(pics are taken after I got it home)
By far, it wasn't the prettiest head. The head was "painted" silver and was flaking, then had teal overspray on it. It was missing studs (no biggie since I had spare intake and exhaust studs) The head had caked up oil and grease in it, but that was expected from a head from 1994. Since the head was going to get taken to the machine shop to get cleaned and resurfaced, I wasn't concerned about cosmetics. So I asked shadowx3 if the head was good, he said it was good. I exchanged money for the head and we went on our ways. (I might add that none of the cosmetic "flaws" were visual in the f/s thread)
Now back in North Carolina,
With all new goodies, you exam them, then you exam them again and again. So I remove the cam caps and cams, then I examined the head closer. I look at the exhaust valve springs. What did I see? Dual valve springs. The only head that comes with stock dual exhaust valve springs are Type R head. So I thought to myself I may had gotten lucky :D, and got aftermarket valve train (I should of realized this is IA no one get lucky) until I saw the intake valve springs. The intake side had only single valve springs. :( So that means the head was taken apart and put back together wrong. That had me kind of concerned. So I examined the head closer. The head actually had dirt in it. Also, the head appeared to have a few valves that were slightly different from the others (these valves had a letter on them while the rest didn't). So that had me concerned slightly more. That's when I sent the seller a pm
Hey Dude,
I'm the guy that got the gsr head from you. I just was wondering more about the history of the head. Why? Because after further examining the head I noticed that the head has mix-match valves (seems like it may had dropped a valve), and the valve springs are in the wrong place (intake dual valve springs are on the exhaust side, while the exhaust single valve springs are on the intake side). That showed that it was taken apart, and the person that assembled it didn't know what they were doing, or was too busy to noticed. Luckily, I caught it before I decided just to resurfaced it and throw it on the block, because I would of hate to drop a valve due to that.
Anyways, you guaranteed that the head was in good, working condition when I picked it up and I hope you're a stand up guy and a man of your word. I'm on the way to the machine shop as soon as I'm done pm'ing you, and will pm you the results once I get the head is back.
I took the head to my local machine shop. The machinist clowned stating that I found the worst head I could find. Then they recommend not using the head until the head is pressure tested and it received a valve job. So I gave them the okay. They told me that the head will be done in a day. So I left the head and went home. I checked my pm and had this.
am a man of my word bro the head is in good condition it came off my running gsr me and my cusin took it off nothin is wrong with the head we might of taken aprat dont remember but nothing is messed up on it i know that for a fact because the car ran with that head on lmk what happens
I responded
That's good to hear dude.
I'm in the process of getting the head pressure tested to verify the head doesn't have any cranks. If that comes back good, then the head is getting a valve job to proper seat the valves then resurfaced. I'll let you know how the pressure test goes. Also, the fact that you actually responded rather blow me off made me feel at ease. I'll let you know the results of the pressure test tomorrow evening since that's when the head should be done.
About a week past, and still no word about the head (I just got a performance valve job done there in Jan and the turn around time was 1 day, so I was kind of concerned). So I went to check on the head. Well the delay was valves. They found four bent valves on the head (2 ex, 2 in). The machinist took one of the bent valves and put it on a mill (I believe that name of the device) and had it spin the valve around at it's stem. and with my own eyes I saw that that valve did not spin perfectly (the head had a slight wobble) proving that it was not straight. So I sent the seller another pm
I went to the machine shop to see what was taking so long with the head. Well, they found 4 bent valves on the head (2 intake, 2 exhaust). So they were waiting on new valves. Once I get head back (on tomorrow), I will scan a copy of the receipt and pm you an imagine of it. Hopefully we can come up with some resolution.
response
no way bro that head was in perfect condition when taken off the block nothing was wrong with it it ran and everthing something must of happen but when i had it that head was in perect condition
reply
no way bro that head was in perfect condition when taken off the block nothing was wrong with it it ran and everthing something must of happen but when i had it that head was in perect condition
Just going by what the machine shop is telling me homie. You're more than welcome to contact them yourself. The machine shop is HRT Performance. Their # is (919) 956-7223, and their website is http://www.handcraftedracing.com/index.html. If you decide to call, talk to Joey Brooks since he is the man that's doing my headwork.
Few questions, did you actually own/drive the motor that the head was on? Did you run it as-is? Did you take the head apart after you removed the head? Like I said before, when I looked at the head, it had inner valve springs on the exhaust side and not the intake side. That told me that someone put the head together wrong. Also, the head appeared to have mix-matched valves. A few of the valves had a letter on them while the rest didn't. That also pointed to the head having a problem once before. In addition, the head was dirty as hell. The inside of the head had had dirt and grim in it. Then the head had paint flaking off and overspray on it. I over looked the paint and grim when I got it since I was going to get the head cleaned anyway, but I wasn't too happy about the dirt. That told me the head wasn't well taken care of once it was off the block.
I was going to freshen the head up before using (hot tanked, valvejob, & resurfaced), but I did not want to purchase new valves. So I'm not really happy about that. I would like to come to some type of agreement (after I show you the ticket and you see that I am not making this up). I not expecting you to pay for any of the work I was planning of doing anyways, but I would like help with the valves. Since 4 are messed up, I think if you can take care of the price of 2 that would be fair enough and I was be fine with that. If you have a counter offer LMK and we will go from there.
his reply
all i can say is that the head came off a running car i tested it my self before i took it apart it was running and it ran strong and probley the dirt was because it was sitting in the garge for few months now so i cant do nothing about it the only reason i sold it was becuz i needed the money if not i wouldnt of sold it THAT HEAD WAS IN PERFECT CONDITION ONCES I TOOK IT OFF
Judging by his last post, this seems like it's not going to get resolved since he stands by his word that the head was in "PERFECT CONDITION". But I noticed that the valve springs were in the wrong position, I seen with my own eyes a valve that wasn't perfectly straight at the head, and judging by the pictures most people wouldn't call that head perfect. He also stated he "cant do nothing about it", I guess I wont get my little $20-$40 (depending on the cost of the valves) I'm asking for 2 valves rather than the money needed for 4 valves.
So buyer's beware when you purchase from this dude, and when you purchase any used head. I would of been pissed if I was looking for a head to resurface and throw on. Luckily, I don't trust many people on here, and always get used parts checked out when I'm not full knowledge on it.
(And before some tries to bash me about purchasing a head that looked like that. First, I wanted a GSR head, and I could not find one in my area. Second, you can't judge a book by it's cover. Because the head was spray painted doesn't mean it had been valves. Paint can easily be cleaned up. Next, since the valve "appeared" to seat correctly, there no way I could of found out the valves were messed up without taking them out the head. Last, with the cams/cam caps I wasn't able to tell if the valve springs were in the right place. )