MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical - Buick 300 cylinder head porting results

Hi guys,

I've been assembling parts for a Buick/Rover stroker and now have results
to share on my ported 1964 Buick 300 alumnum heads for that engine. I
thought some of you might be interested. Here's a post that I made to
another forum with the results plus some other numbers I've gathered along
the way.

Dan Jones

Unfortunately, I didn't take the opportunity to baseline the flow on a
stock Buick 215 head. I gave them a home port job then tested them.
They were given larger valves that still fit the existing seats. The
ports were only opened slightly as the heads were going to be used with an
unported intake and off-the-shelf TR8 tri-y headers. The seats and bowls
were opened to match the valves but I didn't hog out the bowl area since I
wasn't sure how thick the casting was in that area. The guides were also not
streamlined or shortened. My Dad had a set of new Ford Y-block valves that
looked like they could be modified to fit the Buick 215 heads and existing
seats. The may not be the optimum valve sizes but, since free is a
characteristic overcoming many faults, I used them. I had been told the
Buick 215 heads had a weak exhaust port compared to Rover heads and I should
concentrate my work there, so I did. As it turns out, I should have spent
more time on the intake side as the exhaust side appears to have responded
well to porting. The unported Buick 300 heads were not ported, use stock
valves and were given only a basic cleanup. The ported Buick 300 heads are
as described in the previous post. The 215 and unported Buick 300 head were
flowed on the same Superflow 600 bench but the ported Buick 300 head was
flowed on a different Superflow 600 bench. Test conditions (clayed radius,
no exhaust pipe, 4" tube, 28" H2O pressure drop) were the same for both
benches, though.

Valve Buick 300 Exh/Int Buick 300 Buick 215
Lift 1964 ratio 1964 1962
(inch) aluminum (%) aluminum aluminum
ported unported home port
Int Exh Int Exh Int Exh
1.775" 1.5" 1.625" 1.312" 1.60" 1.48"

0.025 30 35
0.050 39 41
0.100 66 47 71.2 60 54
0.150 99 82 82.8 77 70
0.200 129 104 80.6 105 96 98 80
0.250 155 119 76.8 114 94
0.300 174 130 74.7 135 108 129 105
0.350 187 139 74.3
0.400 191 146 76.4 142 115 138 123
0.450 194 150 77.3
0.500 196 152 77.6 149 115 137 129
0.550 200 153 76.5
0.600 200 153 76.5 154 116 --- 129

Buick 300 heads were ported by Jon Carls:

JDC Engineering
711 Walnut
Minonk, IL 61760
309 275-2761 (cell)

Flow numbers were taken on a Superflow bench at 28" H2O with a clayed intake
radius but no exhaust pipe and a 4" diameter tube to simulate the cylinder
wall. 6000 Series Ferrea Buick V6 Stage 1 valves were used. Intake valves
are part number F6238 (1.775" head diameter, 11/32" stem, 4.735" long with a
0.271" tip). Exhausts are part number F6237 (1.5" head diameter, 11/32" stem,
4.735" long with a 0.254" tip). Intake head shape is a 10 degree Super Flo.
Exhaust is a 29 degree tulip. Ferrea's 6000 Series valves are competition
parts suitable for solid roller cams. The larger valves required larger
seats, p/n 30903 for the intake and p/n 30647 for the exhaust.

I'll post pictures of the heads later with some comparison shots next to a
Rover head and an unported Buick 300 head. I thought the valve OD would
need to be reduced slightly but the larger valves just barely fit. I gave
Jon a junk head to experiment on and he said he actually pulled better numbers
on the test head but wasn't comfortable going any farther on the good heads.
I can see spots where he intentionally went through the aluminum into the
water jacket on the test heads to see what the wall thickness was. Jon
checked the swirl pattern by injecting paint into the airstream. He said
the swirl filled the entire chamber, unlike most heads which localize in a
particular spot.

In the September-December 2003 issue of the British V8 Newsletter, Kurt
Schley reported the results of a maximum porting effort on a set of Olds
215 heads (the 51 cc version, casting suffix -746). These are the low
compression Olds heads which are going on a 289 cubic inch stroker Olds
215 (welded iron 3.75" stroke crank). The porting was performed by
Dwayne Porter (c/o Motion Machine 802-951-1955).

The article does not say what pressure drop the heads were tested
at but states the flow numbers were corrected to 28" H2O. This
means the heads were flowed at some lower pressure drop and ratio'd
by the square root of the ratio of the pressure drops. These numbers
are likely to be optimistic compared to flow actually taken at 28".
Valve train bits used:

Ferrea P/N F6223 (Intake valve for a Ford 2.3L), 1.74" head diameter,
11/32" diameter stem, 4.8 long, 0.4" tip.
Ferrea P/N F6224 (Ehaust valve for a Ford 2.3L), 1.50" head diameter,
11/32" diameter stem, 4.8 long, 0.4" tip.
Comp Cams valve springs P/N COM-901-16 (ouer spring with damper),
1.5" OD, 1.080" ID, 110 lbs @ 1.65" load at checking height, 290 lbs @
1.150" load at open height , 1.110" coil bind height
Comp Cams retainers P/N COM-743-16 steel 7 degrees lock angle.

The valve head diameters were reduced to 1.62"/1.4", so the stock valve
seats could be retained.

Test #1 Stock head 1.525"/1.35" valves
Test #2 Stock valves but full head porting, intake opened to 1.70" x 1.00",
30 degree back cut on valves, competition valve job
Test #3 As Test #2 but with 1.62" intake valves, 1.40" exhaust valves
(intake and exhaust backcut)
Test #4 As Test #3 but intakes opened to 1.80" X 1.00", fully polished
runners, guides streamline

Test #1 Test #2 Test #3 Test #4
Valve Stock Olds Ported Olds Pored Olds Ported Olds
Lift 215 heads 215 heads 215 heads 215 heads
(inch) Intake Exhaust Intake Exhaust Intake Exhaust Intake Exhaust
1.525" 1.350" 1.525" 1.350" 1.620" 1.400" 1.620" 1.400"

0.100 43 35 48 36 51 45 51 46
0.150 63 52 72 55 77 64 77 64
0.200 85 65 95 73 104 76 104 78
0.250 104 73 111 85 128 88 128 90
0.300 116 77 124 96 146 99 147 101
0.350 122 80 138 105 159 108 161 112
0.400 128 81 150 110 168 114 172 118
0.450 133 84 158 114 168 119 173 123
0.500 134 84 165 119 170 124 174 126
0.550 136 84 168 120 173 126 176 129
0.600 136 84 168 122 174 127 178 130

A local (St. Louis, MO) MGBV8 owner Devin Davis, had a shop that is no
longer in business do some porting on Rover 3.9L and Buick 300 heads.
The Rover heads were treated to an all out Stage 4 port job (my Buick
300 heads above were given the Stage 3 treatment).

Rover 3.9L Rover 3.9L Rover 3.9L
Lift aluminum heads aluminum heads aluminum heads
Baseline Light Port Stage 4 Porting

0.200 92.2 72.2 101.4 78.7 96.7 80.1
0.300 132.6 85.7 136.5 94.0 143.9 106.6
0.400 143.3 89.5 149.8 100.6 177.1 127.0
0.450 145.7 90.5 152.7 102.5 180.6 134.3
0.500 147.7 91.3 153.0 103.5 181.0 139.7
0.550 148.0 91.6 153.0 104.4 181.0 142.8

Valve 1964 Buick 300 1964 Buick 300
Lift aluminum heads aluminum heads
(inch) stock unported light port
Intake Exhaust Intake Exhaust
1.625" 1.312" 1.625" 1.312"

0.200 90.4 67.5 114.2 79.4
0.300 129.4 89.5 151 107.6
0.400 138.3 101.1 158.6 123.2
0.450 138.6 103.2 159.2 126.6
0.500 139 104.7 159.8 128.9
0.550 139 106 160 130.1

Note: Stock Buick 300 head flow provided by Dan Lagrou of D&D Fabrications.
I don't know if the numbers above were taken at 28" or converted.

I also have some flow sheets provided by Ron Hopwood. CFM at 15" H20.
Note the flow data was provided as a bar chart and converted to numbers
by eyeballing.

Valve Buick 215 Buick 215
Lift aluminum heads aluminum heads
(inch) stock unported ported/ larger valves
Intake Exhaust Intake Exhaust
1.5" 1.3" ?.?" ?.?"

0.100 32 22 38 36
0.200 67 50 73 60
0.300 87 58 98 76
0.350 94 60 109 80
0.400 95 60 117 84
0.450 96 60 122 85
0.500 98 62 126 87
0.550 98 62 131 88

Same numbers as above, converted to 28" H2O.

Valve Buick 215 Buick 215
Lift aluminum heads aluminum heads
(inch) stock unported ported/ larger valves
Intake Exhaust Intake Exhaust
1.5" 1.3" ?.?" ?.?"

0.100 43 30 51 49
0.200 91 68 99 81
0.300 118 79 133 103
0.350 128 81 148 109
0.400 129 81 159 114
0.450 131 81 166 116
0.500 133 84 172 118
0.550 133 84 178 120

Don't read too much into the comparisons taken at differening pressure drops.
Higher pressure drops are more accurate and will generally flow less, so the
heads mathematically converted to 28" will have higher numbers than if they
were flowed at 28". Likewise, different flow bench brands and calibrations
can yield different results. Test conditions can also vary widely. Jon used
a 4" bore tube even though the block bore is 3.74" because the 4" bore is
the smallest he has. A lot of flow bench operators will use the largest tube
they have to make the numbers look better. Also, a port with a intake
manifold may flow 15 to 30 CFM more than a naked port. Adding a pipe stub to
the exhaust port can make a similar difference.

Dan Jones
Dan Jones

Dan,

Great information. You stated in the the second paragraph "The ported Buick 300 heads are as described in the previous post" - I assume these were the heads ported by Jon Carls. The flow in these heads seems to be significantly greater that others in the thread.

Can you pls describe what was done to them.

Graeme
G Weston

> Great information. You stated in the the second paragraph "The ported Buick
> 300 heads are as described in the previous post" - I assume these were the
> heads ported by Jon Carls.

Yes, Jon Carls did the porting:

JDC Engineering
711 Walnut Street
Minonk, IL 61760
309-275-2761 cell

Flow numbers were taken on a Superflow bench at 28" H2O with a clayed intake
radius but no exhaust pipe.

> Can you pls describe what was done to them.

Larger valves and seats were installed, along with bronze guides. 6000 Series
Ferrea Buick V6 Stage 1 valves were used. Intake valves are part number F6238
(1.775" head diameter, 11/32" stem, 4.735" long with a 0.271" tip). Exhausts
are part number F6237 (1.5" head diameter, 11/32" stem, 4.735" long with a
0.254" tip). Intake head shape is a 10 degree Super Flo. Exhaust is a 29
degree tulip. Ferreas 6000 Series valves are competition parts suitable for
solid roller cams. The larger valves required larger seats, p/n 30903 for the
intake and p/n 30647 for the exhaust. The bowls were ported, along with the
intake and exhaust ports.

> The flow in these heads seems to be significantly greater than others in the
> thread.

I'm pleased with the results. The exhaust to intake flow ratio is good
and the low and mid-lift numbers are excellent. Pretty good for such a
small valve head and should support my HP goals. Jon did a set of Mopar
heads for a nostalgia class race car that had to use OEM heads. They pulled
similar numbers on the flow bench and made over 400 HP on a Dodge 318.
My Buick heads are a "Stage III" port job which preserves adequate wall
thickness for long life on the street. All out race port jobs will leave
a much thinner margin between the ports (not good for gasket sealing but
acceptable for a race engine that is frequently inspected and rebuilt) and
will mill the chambers down. When I started this, I was given some pictures
of a sectioned Buick 300 head:

http://www.bacomatic.org/gallery/album12?page=5

and I gave Jon a junk head to experiment on. I can see spots where he
intentionally ground through the aluminum into the water jacket so he could
see what sort of wall thickness there was work with. These heads are destined
for a street application, so it was important to leave adequate wall thickness.
Jon actually pulled better numbers on the test head but went a little more
conservative on my heads. To get anywhere close to these numbers with a Rover
or Buick/Olds 215 head would require much more extensive porting and would
leave the ports dangerously thin. If you look at Mickey Thompson's Indy 215
ported heads, you'll see what I mean:

http://www.bacomatic.org/gallery/album12/b1_17

The Buick 300 head is a much better starting point if you plan to port. Here's
a comparison shot of the Buick 300 and Rover intake ports:

http://www.bacomatic.org/gallery/album12/Buick_300_Rover_Intake_Ports

You can see the ports are larger to start with and even ported leave plenty of
material for gasket sealing. The Stage 1 Buick V6 valves are as large as you
can go in these heads without offsetting the guides:

http://www.bacomatic.org/gallery/album12/Buick_300_ported_standing_chambers_01

The tulip exhaust valve head helps the low and mid lift numbers quite a bit.
Some close-up shots of the port work:

http://www.bacomatic.org/gallery/album12/Buick_300_ported_intake_port_closeup
http://www.bacomatic.org/gallery/album12/Buick_300_ported_exhaust_port_closeup
http://www.bacomatic.org/gallery/album12/Buick_300_ported_chamber_closeup

A shot showing the ports of a Huffaker single plane intake next to the heads:

http://www.bacomatic.org/gallery/album12/Buick_300_Huffaker_ports

Given the fact the Huffaker ports are perfect match for a stock 300 head, I've
always suspected the Rover racers running the Huffaker intake were running
Buick 300 heads.

Lots more pictures of ported and stock Buick 300 heads, stock Rover and home
ported Buick 215 heads, etc. at:

http://www.bacomatic.org/gallery/album12

Comparisons of the Rover 4.0L cross-bolted and Rover 3.9L blocks (I'll add
Rover 3.5L and Buick 215 later) here:

http://www.bacomatic.org/gallery/album11

Buick and Rover intakes here:

http://www.bacomatic.org/gallery/album13

Miscellaneous stuff here:

http://www.bacomatic.org/gallery/album14

Dan Jones
Dan Jones

Wow, great stuff, Dan.

Would make a very good article for the V8 Newsletter. ;)
Carl Floyd

Dan:
A huge amount of research, documentation and work!
Are there any particular casting numbers one should look for in a set of Buick 300 aluminum heads?
Phil
Phil O

> Would make a very good article for the V8 Newsletter. ;)

That's a distinct possibility. I'm documenting the build as I go along
so I should have the info readily at hand once it's all together.

> Are there any particular casting numbers one should look for in a set of
> Buick 300 aluminum heads?

No. They only made them one year (1964) and I've had my hands on more
than 20 of them and they've all been pretty much the same. Most important
thing is the condition. Minor corrosion can be repaired and it's not
uncommon to have some corrosion around the water ports.

Dan Jones
St. Louis, Missouri
Dan Jones

This thread was discussed between 16/02/2006 and 23/02/2006

MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical BBS now