[Mgs] Starting on the head

[Richard Lindsay]

Hello Friends,

I lied.  I just had to go back to the garage for a little while.  That
head was calling to me.  Here's what I did.

First of all, all I did was clean.  I wanted to get the head clean
enough to handle without drowning in oil and grime as I handled it.
Mission accomplished.  I also de-coked the combustion chambers
adequately well to read the numbers on the valves.  They all appear to
be original.  At least, they're all numbered, as per original.  After
60 years, this probably means nothing.  Here's how it looks now.

http://www.aubard.us/MGTD/HPIM1369.JPG

Look closely and you can see the valve numbers.  You can probably also
see that the de-coking job was just a 'good start' but not complete.
I'll carefully finish that job once the valves are out.  The machining
marks on the head pre-date me.

I went on to clean and degrease the rest of the head.

http://www.aubard.us/MGTD/HPIM1370.JPG

http://www.aubard.us/MGTD/HPIM1371.JPG

I'll also clean the ports when the valves are out.  And with that
said, I discovered that my valve spring compressor is inadequate for
the job.  Yes, I can probably make it work but doing so would negate
buying a new tool!  Wouldn't want that!

The compressor I have is a lever type.  The fulcrum goes under a stud,
a rocker bolt for example, and a split fork presses the valve down
against a wooden block under the valve head and wedged into the
combustion chamber.  This head is so light that I can't get adequate
pressure without lifting the head.  I guess I could clamp the head
down and proceed.  However, what I plan to do is buy a compressor that
works like a big, slotted C-clamp.  Or perhaps something like this:

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/PFM0/W84001/N0717.oap?ck=Search_N0717_-1_458&pt=N0717&ppt=C0374

The C-clamp kind is expensive, but more likely to fill the bill;

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/KDT0/383/N0717.oap?ck=Search_N0717_-1_458&pt=N0717&ppt=C0374

with best regards,

-rick