top end rebuild .
Thread Starter
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Road Master
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 957
Likes: 2
From: Carlsbad Springs Ontario
top end rebuild .
1990 FLT ex. police with 115000 klms.
Hewby to Harleys but not to wrenching.
Here is what i am thinking of doing ...
Mill the heads .080 to give a comp. ratio of approx. 9.7 / 1 as i cant afford higher comp. pistons., replace cam with the tried and true Andrews EV-27 .
Do the valves and cylinders and hopefully will be ok with average machine work there.
I will be replacing the lifters also and have seen a crazy price difference between suppliers . According to my research , the major supplier of Harley lifters is Jonson Inc. and they can be purchased through " parts4powertoys " for approx. half the cost of other vendors ! A Big Thanks to Spanners for that , peace and love man !
If anyone has any advise for me and this top end rebuild , i am all ears as its a first for me on this H.D.
Hewby to Harleys but not to wrenching.
Here is what i am thinking of doing ...
Mill the heads .080 to give a comp. ratio of approx. 9.7 / 1 as i cant afford higher comp. pistons., replace cam with the tried and true Andrews EV-27 .
Do the valves and cylinders and hopefully will be ok with average machine work there.
I will be replacing the lifters also and have seen a crazy price difference between suppliers . According to my research , the major supplier of Harley lifters is Jonson Inc. and they can be purchased through " parts4powertoys " for approx. half the cost of other vendors ! A Big Thanks to Spanners for that , peace and love man !
If anyone has any advise for me and this top end rebuild , i am all ears as its a first for me on this H.D.
Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 675
Likes: 32
From: Massachusetts
1990 FLT ex. police with 115000 klms.
Hewby to Harleys but not to wrenching.
Here is what i am thinking of doing ...
Mill the heads .080 to give a comp. ratio of approx. 9.7 / 1 as i cant afford higher comp. pistons., replace cam with the tried and true Andrews EV-27 .
Do the valves and cylinders and hopefully will be ok with average machine work there.
I will be replacing the lifters also and have seen a crazy price difference between suppliers . According to my research , the major supplier of Harley lifters is Jonson Inc. and they can be purchased through " parts4powertoys " for approx. half the cost of other vendors ! A Big Thanks to Spanners for that , peace and love man !
If anyone has any advise for me and this top end rebuild , i am all ears as its a first for me on this H.D.
Hewby to Harleys but not to wrenching.
Here is what i am thinking of doing ...
Mill the heads .080 to give a comp. ratio of approx. 9.7 / 1 as i cant afford higher comp. pistons., replace cam with the tried and true Andrews EV-27 .
Do the valves and cylinders and hopefully will be ok with average machine work there.
I will be replacing the lifters also and have seen a crazy price difference between suppliers . According to my research , the major supplier of Harley lifters is Jonson Inc. and they can be purchased through " parts4powertoys " for approx. half the cost of other vendors ! A Big Thanks to Spanners for that , peace and love man !
If anyone has any advise for me and this top end rebuild , i am all ears as its a first for me on this H.D.
i wouldnt mill the heads that much. .040 or .050 maybe, but .080 is a LOT. milling the heads is gonna cost you ~ $100-150, easy (plus shipping if you have to send them out)...10:1 wiseco's will run ya ~ $300. (not a HUGE step up)....bonus? if you ever NEED to mill the heads, you still can. (i went through all this a couple months ago. i opted to send my heads to BigBoyzCycles in Maine, and for under $600, Bean did his full street port job, compression releases, couple new valves (pitted), and new seals.
I did Jims PowerGlide liters because I got a really good deal on them. otherwise, I would have done S&S (proven products)
cam? I had an SE-3 (identical to EV27). Look @ Woods. the W6 is a beast on an 80" evo with the compression bumped a bit
Club Member
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 5,803
Likes: 7,831
From: SE Louisiana
With the user name Machinehed, I'd guess decking the heads will cost nothing.
Check the deck height of the pistons when you get the heads off, you want them the same on both cyl's, somewhere from .010 in the hole to zero, can be adjusted with base gasket thickness, or cutting jug deck surfaces.
If you have base gasket leaks, might want to square up the bottoms anyway.
Then use a .030 or .040 head gasket to get the squish set, .030 is min. for street motor due to carbon buildup and possible contact.
Don't run breather into A/C, which leads to carbon buildup.
This and .060 of the heads should get you where you want to be, and the tighter squish will help combat spark knock.
Check the deck height of the pistons when you get the heads off, you want them the same on both cyl's, somewhere from .010 in the hole to zero, can be adjusted with base gasket thickness, or cutting jug deck surfaces.
If you have base gasket leaks, might want to square up the bottoms anyway.
Then use a .030 or .040 head gasket to get the squish set, .030 is min. for street motor due to carbon buildup and possible contact.
Don't run breather into A/C, which leads to carbon buildup.
This and .060 of the heads should get you where you want to be, and the tighter squish will help combat spark knock.
Sponsor
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 12,084
Likes: 829
1990 FLT ex. police with 115000 klms.
Hewby to Harleys but not to wrenching.
Here is what i am thinking of doing ...
Mill the heads .080 to give a comp. ratio of approx. 9.7 / 1 as i cant afford higher comp. pistons., replace cam with the tried and true Andrews EV-27 .
Do the valves and cylinders and hopefully will be ok with average machine work there.
I will be replacing the lifters also and have seen a crazy price difference between suppliers . According to my research , the major supplier of Harley lifters is Jonson Inc. and they can be purchased through " parts4powertoys " for approx. half the cost of other vendors ! A Big Thanks to Spanners for that , peace and love man !
If anyone has any advise for me and this top end rebuild , i am all ears as its a first for me on this H.D.
Hewby to Harleys but not to wrenching.
Here is what i am thinking of doing ...
Mill the heads .080 to give a comp. ratio of approx. 9.7 / 1 as i cant afford higher comp. pistons., replace cam with the tried and true Andrews EV-27 .
Do the valves and cylinders and hopefully will be ok with average machine work there.
I will be replacing the lifters also and have seen a crazy price difference between suppliers . According to my research , the major supplier of Harley lifters is Jonson Inc. and they can be purchased through " parts4powertoys " for approx. half the cost of other vendors ! A Big Thanks to Spanners for that , peace and love man !
If anyone has any advise for me and this top end rebuild , i am all ears as its a first for me on this H.D.
No issues with .080" from the heads.
Just make sure you establish proper manifold fitment, which can be done via hand file, or a belt sander.
It'll run good.
Scott
Thread Starter
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Road Master
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 957
Likes: 2
From: Carlsbad Springs Ontario
newby doing top end rebuild.
Can you recommend or advise anything else a plebe should know before i begin surgury on this ole girl .?
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,664
Likes: 184
From: Indiana, USA
Seems some have tried decking the heads 0.08" but i would still be sure to check valve to piston clearance before final assembly and torquing the heads. Place some putty on the top of the piston and cycle it thru before decking the heads to check assembled clearance for valve to head with the head gaskets you plan to use. Easier to know what the clearance is and adjusting as necessary before milling. Measure Twice Cut Once
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Thread Starter
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Road Master
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 957
Likes: 2
From: Carlsbad Springs Ontario
Thanks all , will see what the local HD approved machine shop gurus have to say .?
Will let you all know what i find .
Will let you all know what i find .
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Joined: Sep 2007
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From: Bluffton, South Carolina
^The first thing you or your shop should do is CC the heads to see where they are. Then mill the appropriate amount frow each head to get the proper volume for the compression ratio you want. Combustion chamber volume can vary from head to head, so you may need to cut them differently. matching the combustion chambers can make a difference in not only performance, but in vibrations as well.
John
John
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Joined: Dec 2007
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If the bike has more than 25,000 miles, the Moco wanted you to "inspect and/or replace" the lifters.
Again, no issues @ the minus .080" re-surface, as we've been there/done that many times.
Scott