Posted by W300Joe on Tuesday, October 01, 2002 at 8:01AM :
In Reply to: "performance" 230 posted by Ryan McNabb on Friday, September 27, 2002 at 5:17PM :
Being an old flathead Ford man before I was afflicted with PowerWagonitis, I agree with all the mods mentioned. The one modification I haven't seen mentioned is "port, polish & relieve" along with valve dia. increase. I don't know whether there's enough meat in a 230 block, or clearance between int. & exh. valves to oversize your valves, and you could possibly create a potential crack path in the narrow remaining web. Port & polish refers to enlarging and polishing the int. & exh. passages in the block by the judicious (and patient) use of a hand grinder. Relieve refers to creating a slight recess in the block surface between the piston bore and valves, and planing a little more off the head to compensate for the resulting loss in compression. Saw some very exotic jobs done over the years and truly a metalworking craftsman's work of art! The key here is FLOW, FLOW, FLOW!!!! If you're planning to srip down to bare block, do a little hot rod historical reference study to find what was done to these blocks, and at least polish the internal passages on both intake and exhaust - slightly enlarging them should not pose any threat to block life. If you're planning for a mild cam, more carb throat area and a freer breathing exhaust, those gases need a path of least resistance in the the block too!
Good luck, have fun, maybe you can enlist the aid of another "old fart" hotrodder who ran flatheads as a youth. I left more than one warmed over small block Chebbie lover sitting at a traffic light, watching the departing taillights on what looked like a very stock and tired '35 or '46 or '51 Ford leaving him in the dust!! - nearly as much fun as winching out the sport utility/4 x 4 boys today!!!