head work prices

hello i got my head worked on and i was wondering if i got screwed? here are the prices we paid for the work.
Valve seat 35.70
valve seats 35.70
valve job(3 angle) 75.00
surface head(mill .050) 60.00
install harden seats 64.50
EPA waste charge 2.00
cc chamber 25.00
resurface manifold 20.00
resurface exhaust head 40.00
resurface intake 20.00
resurface exhaust on head 35.00
total price 412.90
with tax 443.87

did i get screwed i sorta feel like i did because i had a verbal aggrement before had for close to $300.

Thanks for any imput
kevin

Well, in Australia, that amount of work would be about $750. That's about USD$481. So, the answer (if the work is good) is probably not. It's not cheap, but prices often reflect the cost of living in your area.

OTOH, I have not seen an inlet manifold that needed resurfacing before. Are you saying you ground the face of some headers to fit, as well, or is it a standard manifold when you describe "resercace exhaust head 40.00". I ask because if you want to use a stock manifold with a 2V, you need to weld up the top portion of the centre ports.

Did they put in bronze guides? (I hope so.)

BTW, get the ACL gasket set for the head, and some Stage 8 locking bolts. It's one of the better gasket sets available.

Cheers, Adam.

i got my alloy head done here in new zealand for NZ$400 .that was for
a 3 angle cut, mild porting, surfacing,guides and port matching my manifold and also setting up my spring heights.This was done thru one of my engine reconditioning customers at what i think was a mates rates deal. so its sounds about right from what ive heard being charged out thru his shop.

cheers dave 67xr6

Adam wrote: "OTOH, I have not seen an inlet manifold that needed resurfacing before. Are you saying you ground the face of some headers to fit, as well, or is it a standard manifold when you describe "resercace exhaust head 40.00". I ask because if you want to use a stock manifold with a 2V, you need to weld up the top portion of the centre ports."

Yes, we did had the surface of the stock Ford exhaust manifold as well as the head exhaust ports trued/milled (same with intake). I trial fitted them this morning.

Adam you are absolutely correct. The top of the stock Ford exhaust manifold twin center ports extends above the exhaust mating surface of the head and leaves about 3/16 inch vertical opening across the horizontal extent of the ports. I whish I new then what I know now. By the way, I have not seen this information about the twin center port of the exhaust manifold being too tall for the OZ 2V head anywhere else. Since we have already had the mill work done, we will try to make a 1/8 inch steel plate spacer patterned after the exhaust gasket to fit between the exhaust manifold and the head to seal this opening as opposed to your approach of welding.

Has anyone tried this 'gasket' approach? Did it work?

Another question about another unmentioned OZ head feature:

As you know the OZ 2V head has the heat riser tube located in the head inside the twin exhaust port within the body of the head and must be removed to install the port divider. (In the US head, the heat riser tube comes off the exhaust manifold and is not a problem.) What is the easiest way to remove this heat riser tube? I have tried a punch sized to the tube (not the larger hole diameter) but it does not want to move. I am reluctant to hit harder. I am considering drilling it out and tapping the hole for a screw in plug.

Also to hold the port divider in place, has anyone tried threading these heat riser tube holes and using long screws/pins with corresponding shallow holes in the port divider?

Shops around here are reluctant to weld this these parts (cast iron?) How weld-able is this metal. I have access to mig equipment.

Another undocumented OZ head question:

The twin ports exhaust opening in the OZ head does not have the ridges that the US Head does. Does this present any special issues when fitting the Clifford port divider?

Every day a new discovery, which is not necessarily a good thing.

what is "resercace"? I checked Webster dictionary nothing, nada, zilch.

yeah that was my typo/spelling i have since then fixed it, sorry

kevin

As for the heat riser - drill out, tap with a pipe taper of some sort, and thread in (allen) socket head plugs to match. If they come loose, they won't fall through. As to the divider, yes, just grind it more to fit, and you could grind points on the abovementioned plugs to locate in indent holes drilled in the divider.

I don't know how MIG will hold up on a cast head. That it will come down to operator skill and equipment, is my guess.

Ben, aka Mustangaroo, welded up his manifold to make it good for a few weeks until a header turned up on ebay. Use "Castcraft" or similar high nickel alloy stick, and stress relieve every run with rigorous centre punching while it cools. If you look at my 2V "essay", you'll see they came with factory headers - unheard of back then on a six! Last week, I had a choice of four decent used sets of small six headers for $60 a pop. That's about USD$38. The blanking plate idea may not fare well; I can see it blowing out with heat distortion and exhaust pressure.

Adam.

Addo, Thanks for the feedback.

DBzOkole, Resercace (typotranslational dialect of trimerged English, Austrialian, and US language) translates to resurface. This translation can be found in the newspeak nondocumentation.

Regards, Dave