How much can I shave?

OK guys I have concluded that my overheating problem is due to a blown head gasket. Now that I have this thing ripped apart I was gonna have the head resurfaced but I was wonding how much I can shave off without upping the combustion too high. My mechanic buddy who is in to building straight sixes says he shaved off 40 thou. on his 292(?) I think that is what he was suggesting for me to do. What has worked for you? Anyone have any experience with this? I searched but haven't found much first hand experience and that is what I am looking for. Thanks!

bump

First off, bumping your thread is not allowed. If you can't wait 45 minutes for an answer, maybe you need to lay off the caffiene.:laugh3:

The bigger issue is looking for cracks in the head. It is quite common. I went through three heads before I found one that was good. I don't think there are any major problems with milling a head .020, but your machine shop can answer that better. I would keep the milling to the minimum. Upping the compression is not necessarily a good thing, especially with the cost of premium fuels right now.

Personally, if the head is off I would do a valve job along with valve sleeves. No knurling the guides.

old_man said:

First off, bumping your thread is not allowed. If you can't wait 45 minutes for an answer, maybe you need to lay off the caffiene.:laugh3:

Click to expand...

It was a full 24 hours before I bumped it and that was because it was on the 5th page, sorry I didn't know I shouldn't I have never seen anything against it in this forum or others. I just can't seem to find anyone who has shaved more than is necessary. You said you shaved off .020 but if it was already warped say greater than .007 than its really not tooo big of a change. If you say the difference between your high spots and low spots is .010 then on average you were shaving .015. I want to do the same but add maybe .020 and I am wondering if anyone has done that and what did they find. I'm sure it will run hotter and it could knock.

Thanks for the valve job suggestion!