I was thinking to my self today, that i could go to the salvage yard pick up a spare head and try and port and polish it for practice and if it would turn out good i would use it, My question is how hard is it to port and polish a head? Any suggestions and other input is appreciated.


It takes 8,460 bolts to assemble an automobile, and one nut to scatter it all over the road

its pretty complex because of the oil and water passages, i dont know how close they are personally but i have seen it broke through then trashed the head, another thing is making it flow right on all 4 chambers, i would say make sure you are comforatable with doing it then get it flow checked befor using it because it can lean or richin single cylinders

I would get 2 heads 1 for practice, and then chop it up to see how close you are to any jackets, or oil passages.

Then do it for real on the second.....but I do agree, have it flow tested.

Yeh the plan was to get a second one from the salvage yard and if it turns out alright i was gonna buy another and do a better job on it.


It takes 8,460 bolts to assemble an automobile, and one nut to scatter it all over the road

Well I've got a head I'm not using it came off of a 2000 LD9, I'm using the 086 Quad4 head on my buildup.
I'll let it go for $100 plus shipping so let me know if you're interested. Oh and I'll have another 2000 LD9 head available as soon as I take the one off the engine in my Z24.

Uh, he's talkin' 'bout a LN2 head. You know: Pushrod engine?


Go beyond the "bolt-on".

I think I'm one of the few people against backyard port jobs.

some things are just better left to professionals.

The good thing about the '97 & older heads is they have a fair amount of extra material to work with, so unless you go to far too extremes you'll be okay. Also, these heads' ports are soo restrictive, just about any halfway decent port work will be an improvement. Finally, a long stroke / short rod motor, such as these is more forgiving when it comes to going too big on the port volume. While you probably won't make as much power as a professional port job, improvements can be made, especially with this motor.

If your doing port-work for the first time, be conservative and follow the information in S.A. Motorsports D.I.Y. Guide.

you are fine ot do it all by yourself... have it flow tested before it is put on. there are automotive books that have the basics of porting i.e. ioncreasing velocity and such. and in all the 2.2 heads i have found 2 things. they need the most work right behind the valve and around the stem to get good flow. and dont polish the intake smooth as glass leave it a little rougher than the exhaust

Wow, I really appreciate all the time you took to help me. I'm going to give it a try and see how it turns out, if it turns out bad oh well it was a spare head, and if it turns out good thats a bonus. I will do some reading definitely then give it a try, but for now i don't have any more questions at the moment. Thanks again for all the info guys.



It takes 8,460 bolts to assemble an automobile, and one nut to scatter it all over the road

I have a related question: I have a 93 2.2L OHV. I have been told by a couple of people that a port and polish won't really do that much good for me unless I can change the cam to take full advantage of it. Problem is, my 93 is one of the last ones that the ECM can't be tuned, and I have also heard that replacing the cam will cause problems for the computer unless it is reprogrammed.

So, since swapping the cam is out for me, would a port and polish be worth the money? I wouldn't want to pay the $$$ to do it unless I was going to see noticeable gains.

DaFlyinSkwir(LS61) /PJ/ OEM+ wrote:I think I'm one of the few people against backyard port jobs.

some things are just better left to professionals.

I agree....The objective is to maximize the efficiency of the port. With out a flow bench there is no way to test it.

Port Matching is O.K. Only clean up the mating surfaces of the intake to head and head to manifold.

so long as you dont go overboard, and have it flow tested before you bolt it on.....and if it doesnt flow right, you correct the problem....there is nothing wrong with a backyard port.

I wouldnt recomend going to town with a dremel and smacking it on without anything else. Even though that is what 90% of backyard porters probably do.

Backyard porting is ok when you are working on an intake plenum or exhaust manifold.

It isn't ok when porting a TB (leaks) or a head (uneven ports giving uneven flow).

Yes, some people have better tools at their disposal, so it is not always true.


2003 Sunfire with 2 1/4 inch turbo muffler, 2 1/4 piping, 2 1/2 inch resonator, a 2 1/4 inch catalytic converter, 2 1/2 inch down-pipe, a 4:2:1 RK Sports 'clone' header, E-bay strut brace, ground wire kit and an AEM true cold air intake NOPI edition.

I don't know of any reputable performance machine shops that would take a head and flow test it for some one who just "backyard ported" a head. If you ported a head to the point you made a hole through a oil or water passage, you went way too far.
All you need is to clean up and smooth out the port.

I still would ONLY port match the edges for a smoother fit between the intake and exh. manifold.

all the machine shops around me would be happy to charge you to flow test your head.....why wouldnt they?