I know I am not going to win any races, but I was curious to know if I were going to do any headwork on it, what would it be? I know Clifford will sell you a head with larger valves and deck the head for higher compression, but I'd rather just buy and communicate to my local shop what I want done on the head. If I do any head work beyond what I have, what is the pros / cons (if any) and how much extra Torque / HP should I expect above and beyond what I have now as a buildup?
There is only one way to definitively answer those questions - Cut one up. Available material will no longer be a mystery and with creative toolpath and cutter geometry there is plenty that can be done using modern machine tools. I see McGurk’s work as a case of “ When your only tool is a hammer,,,,everything looks like a nail” and if he had access to a flow bench I think he would have done things a bit differently.
I took the head I cut up to a couple of race engine builders for show and tell and they were quite amused by my tales of how plunging a shell reamer in from both ends were performance improvements worthy of dyno testing and documenting in Hot Rod Magazine. Allowing me to study the features in modern performance heads and how to apply them here has been a great learning experience. I can say it is possible to change the short side turn from 1/8” radius to 3/4” and still maintain .100” minimum wall thickness consistently and repeatedly. How well this change as well as others improve flow I should have documented by spring.
