Porting heads without doing anything else?

phiebert

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This started with the fact that I have to replace my head gaskets on a GEN I (94). A friend of mine is going to help me and he suggested porting the heads while we have them out.

So my question is/are, what HP gain can I expect with ported heads without changing valves, cams, rockers, etc. I am trying not to make this into a massive expense but wouldn't mind boosting HP a bit while I'm in there. What is the least expensive but biggest bang for the buck and is it worth porting the heads without doing anything else? Is it OK to port the stock Gen I heads? Thanks for any advice.

I should mention that I have high flow cats and mufflers but regular sized piping on the exhaust.
 

HP

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It's definately will give you extra power - whether it's worth it - depends on how much effort- or how much satisfaction you get out of doing it. If you can at least have the heads milled while they are off- you can be assured of gaining enough to make it worthwhile. Disassemble the heads and at least open the bowl area - just behind the
valves. Since your not going to cut new valve seats - you want to
be careful and not touch them with abrasive - My advice would be to
use a dremmel tool with a flexible extension - it's more accurate for a first
time porter and more maneuverable around the valve seats.
Also as a cost effective upgrade - get your heads milled - shop around - don't limit yourself to performance auto machine shops. -
I have got lucky and got out for $25 a head - but $50 would be a deal.
Try to match your intake ports with the intake gasket - but be careful about
the exhaust port - opening it up too much can hurt performance(many exhaust ports have extra metal on the short side radius to prevent gas reversion).
 

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