I finally got some time in my den tonight so thought I'd start stripping down the heads ready for machining and cleaning. The exhaust valves came out no problems, but the Intakes were quite stiff and all needed a gentle tap or two to get going and then I could work them out once I could grip the valve head. to my dismay all the seats (in and ex) and just the intake guides all have surface rust on and as you can see in the pics even inside the guides has very fine surface corrosion. Can I just clean through the guides with a pipe cleaner or a dowel with super fine sandpaper wrapped round it or would that bugger up clearances and therefore be a replacement job? same question for the valves/seats, would a light brush up be ok (the corrosion on the sealing surfaces isn't pitted, just surface staining and a bit of gunk really) and then re-lap the valves in or new seats needed? obviously the back of the valves need some thorough cleaning off too. I know that ultimately given enough resources virtually anything is salvageable, but I'm just trying to gauge whether, if needed, the cost/effort of new inserts, valves and guides is good economics or should I just look for new heads?
some pics:
I wish I had a pound for every time some one told me "My Dad had one of those!"