Machine Shop Repairs a BADLY Damaged Small Block Chevy AFR Cylinder Head

[@bigbelconut]

If i didn't see the before i never would have known it was blown up. I wish i was closer to you, all the good shops in California are dried up, just like our drag strips. Nice work Gerald.

[@Komeuppance]

I was skeptical at first, but that turned out great. Wish I had a shop like yours years ago, would have saved a lot of trouble.

[@JR-Rollin]

I hope more youngsters follow in those old timer's footsteps, as we are going to lose these amazingly talented people if not.

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Thanks

[@lollipop84858]

Why are you hoping..? Why not take it up on yourself to actively teach them?

[@JR-Rollin]

@lollipop84858 I'm old enough to retire...lol. Hence the youngster comment. Also, I'm not a machinist.

[@m4rvinmartian]

@@lollipop84858 That's what I was going to say.

[@custos3249]

@@lollipop84858 Exactly. There's plenty of interest, but no one is willing to train.

[@cheechmagee8512]

Im in my early 40s now and kick myself anytime I watch this stuff. I shoulda learned from an old school machinist and got into the trade. I’m stuck in an office now. Keep this alive and keep on doing what you’re doing. Videos aren’t boring at all.

[@andrewdesormeaux33]

Small lathes and mills are pretty cheap and can fit in a 1 car garage. I got my first lathe 12 years ago at 29 self taught off youtube and books (youtube is way better now) and now I'm looking at opening a shop when I'm 40. Its never too late to get into it

[@The_Impulse]

Absolutely amazing work. There is something good to be said about a person that knows what they do so well they make it look easy.

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Thanks

[@StuartBlake-iz6rf]

Gerald, you do such a great job. As you said before, almost anything can come back to life. Bet this guy is real happy.

[@toddclark332]

Gerald does amazing work❤

[@ericwright5419]

Make a Silicon mold of the good chamber put transfer dye on it helps a lot to match it back to the original pattern Thanks for the videos 👍🏻

[@BenjySparky]

Gerald and Ruby, y'all rock! That's how you fix a head. Looks mint. Peace Thanks, Jackie ❤

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Jackie & chief are the best.😁

[@freechagosislandjohnpilger]

Now that's how's it done, beautiful workmanship there. From Australia. well done sir. You turned a customer's disaster to a dream

[@Hogiewan1]

Mr. Brand, that’s amazing. You are a true craftsman

[@DragBoss351Cleveland]

Looking good Gerald, Love watching this reconstruction work. Great job

[@thomaspaiva4230]

I could watch this man do his magic all day every day

[@yattaran1484]

Amazing repatr work as always !. So nice to know Ruby seems always staying around you.

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Ruby is a good dog

[@yattaran1484]

@@BrandRacingEngines No doubt ! 👍

[@littlecreekbowclub5288]

Great job Gerald, looking at it before you started I thought it was ready for the dumpster.

[@seancampbell4288]

Absolutely unreal work!

[@jdshaw2751]

You do amazing work, Mr Brand! I love watching your videos!

[@edsmachine93]

This is a very nice repair Gerald. 👍👍 Doesn't get any better than this. I know how much time work like this takes. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day.

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Thanks Ed.

[@roostingthe6520]

I enjoy your videos, thanks for taking the time to make them.

[@808vws8]

Bad ass craftsmanship by a great American!! Aloha🤙🏽

[@mikemaccracken3112]

Excellent video Gerald. Thank you.

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Thanks

[@rolliefoster2837]

WOW -awesome talent. Great repair video & thanks for sharing !

[@crs1474]

Amazing skill sir 👍

[@rprice7670]

Hell yeah. Very nicely done. Thanks for sharing

[@V8velocityracing]

That is amazing how you brought that back to life I thought before that that would have been crash great skill and great video

[@gordocarbo]

Can you give more info on what die grinder and welder/tip youre using? That is tough to get right, way harder than most would guess. Nice save!

[@Tauofthesun]

I had to look up the price for an AFR head. I never dealt with them and I was mystified at all the work.. ALMOST 4K for that head new.. I get it now

[@gordocarbo]

Their prices have jumped to an insane level now that some investment group bought them

[@cuttnhorse2013]

Very impressive young man! Couldn’t wait to hit the start to see what goodies you was sharing today! Another great video!❤ Ronnie East Tennessee

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Thanks

[@Timbo428CJ]

Very nice job Gerald ! Came out perfect !! Thanks for sharing.

[@pascaldurand8083]

what a good result !! nice to see !

[@scottnusser6232]

Very nice job! That's some serious art work ❤

[@POSminiracer]

That's quite the transformation

[@Oldford777]

This is hands down the best cylinder head repair video I've ever seen hands down. I'm thinking about making a Cleveland head 300 straight 6 ford out of a set of aftermarket aluminon heads and if i do I'll be getting ahold of you to wield them tougher

[@jg6142]

You made that repair look easy and I know it’s not! Nice job

[@BrokeVetGarage]

Man you are an artist!

[@skipper6567]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@johnnyd6861]

As always great work.

[@nickkiofetzis5667]

brilliant work jerald your an artist, jerald davinci

[@loafbred]

You never disappoint.

[@ArchieBrewer-w2s]

This man is a true artist

[@Joe.G]

Another great video 👍🏻.

[@scottgeorge50]

Outstanding work!

[@aarondwyer3746]

Very nice work

[@keithk2926]

Beautiful job sir👍

[@Theoriginalmalcontentcorner]

Wow! That was a fun and amazing watch. True craftsmanship there.

[@FadetoBlack1463]

That's a craftsman !

[@jimmyhou6806]

Honestly I get another head great job

[@adammorgan9060]

The weld repair is quicker than getting a new head to match the other good head. I've done this repair in a few hours, so it's way cheaper also.

[@neilkirkes]

Amazing work

[@shadowbaurr5029]

love your videos keep it up.

[@sherrystroh241]

Great job.

[@ovalwingnut]

A true "Labor of Love" Like I tell my GF... Guys just love dat AFR HEaD Thank you for the video. It's true what people are saying; You do RoCk!

[@BlownInterceptor71]

Don't know how much you charge, but your worth every penny for fixing that!

[@jessietomich8043]

I wouldn't like to get the bill for this repair. Knowledge and skills like this video is dying off every day.

[@MrVelocity111]

Thx Gerald

[@rayowens4355]

Nice work!

[@ronanderson5736]

Fantastic job! Very nice work!❤

[@Christoph_NTX]

I really like these videos!! The way your machine can self-center itself is awesome could you explain that in a future video?

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Yes

[@ronmedenwaldt]

🤔 You related to Jeff Lutz Sr.? 🤷 😁. Looks awesome! It's real satisfying work to bring something back to good working condition! TY for sharing!

[@BrandRacingEngines]

No But I know from the 405 show. good guy

[@chadcoffman1870]

It always amazes me that you get those heads to look back the way they were. Do they flow better or worse after you repair them?

[@BrandRacingEngines]

The same

[@TOONMAN200]

Nice video, good repair. Only thing, If this my cylinder head, I would start looking for a replacement. Did you mention the labor charge for this repair, a new or used head would have been cheaper.

[@BrandRacingEngines]

It was cheaper to repair it AFR did not have a replacement it was a older head

[@TOONMAN200]

@@BrandRacingEngines OK I thought that head could not be replaced. So your repair was a life saver, good job.

[@tallyman15]

Nice work.

[@kevins5259]

Nice job.

[@Joe.G]

Thank you for the video 👍🏻👍🏻

[@jasonblack8639]

That is some skill!

[@FABRIC8TIONUNLIMITE1]

I like your work.

[@tomthompson7400]

well done , Im impressed the head will stand that much localised heat and still stay true ,, what rods do you use for heads

[@BrandRacingEngines]

4043

[@tomthompson7400]

@@BrandRacingEngines many thanks ,, great results

[@davidsmith-ee8cb]

After watching your videos on repairs, beleive the ony thing you can't repair is broken hearts....

[@BrandRacingEngines]

💔

[@dbriggs1689]

Nice repair

[@oikkuoek]

There was still some work left to do.. The fire ring grooves and valve seats, with a tiny burr on the spark plug thread. Why these were left undone? The video itself was top notch, although the time lapse is kinda sea sicky.. Music score fits like a glove. For a moment there I thought it was mine who made that whine.. :D :D Scratches for Ruby! And the rest of the gang too. :)

[@bowtiekid329]

GOOD LOOKING REPAIR JOB! WHAT KIND OF LIQUID ARE YOU PUTTING ON THE METAL BURR TO KEEP IT FROM CLOGGING? THANKS

[@BrandRacingEngines]

cool lube.

[@MarineGrunt]

I'm sorry to hear about Ruby . A once in a lifetime pooch .

[@markwray3905]

Saved another one 😊

[@johndevries8759]

Nice work Gerald, I just have one question. Does the aluminum need to have some sort of heat treat done to it after that much welding? I would think the factory heat treat process would be drawn back to an annealed state from the welding process.

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Most of the aluminum heads

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Sorry I didn't get to finish most of the aluminum heads are not heat treated from the factory they have what they call a hip process.

[@johndevries8759]

@@BrandRacingEngines Could you define that a little bit more? What is the hip process they use?

[@BrandRacingEngines]

@@johndevries8759 HIP stands for Hot Isostatic Pressing, and it originated in the aerospace industry as a way of increasing strength and eliminating defects in metal castings. HIP will take a good casting and make it great by eliminating trapped gases and internal porosity in the casting. Every casting has trapped gases, or internal porosity; it’s the amount of trapped gas or porosity that determines the castings quality and structural integrity. Basically, the HIP process takes raw castings up to 970° F in a pressurized chamber with inert gas (up to 30,000 psi) and compresses the casting to reduce and eliminate any trapped gases. The result is an incredibly strong and dense sand casting that has three times the fatigue life and nearly the consistency of billet aluminum.

[@johndevries8759]

@@BrandRacingEngines So then as long as the weld is done correctly there's no need to do any process to insure the strength of the repair is what you're saying? Thanks for taking the time to answer, not many people will share their knowledge the way you do.

[@bradleycrenshaw6778]

awesome work. Would someone need to change the thickness of their gasket after a procedure such as this?

[@jondahl3173]

Probably not. Depends on a lot of factors. The other head will probably get cut also. You can get a variety of head gasket thicknesses, usually the MLS will go from.030 up to .100-ish, depending on make. As usual, looks good Gerald!

[@scottlambeth5478]

Since you milled down the top of the valve guides, I was expecting to see you take them out and press in new guides.

[@bbigboy01]

What reference plane do trust to use when setting up a V8 head on the mill for final facing?

[@BrandRacingEngines]

You can use the deck surface but check the intake angle BHJ make a tool to check this

[@jameslinkous6437]

How did the cost comparison turn out, hours vs. replacement? At the current cost of AFR heads, it seems quite likely a new head would be more than competitive, no?

[@Formerlywarmer]

Very nice

[@262markm]

I noticed you faced the head last. When you milled the seat pocket your dial indicator was touching what I would see as an unknown surface. So you didn’t know the depth to go. Or were you using a different touch off point just curious 🧐

[@johnlasyone8876]

Is your burr grinder a double cut and is that cutting oil you are using in the video. Thanks 🙏 for sharing

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Double cut and yes cutting oil.

[@zmotorsports62]

Awesome repair. Couple questions please. I'm assuming the hammering while welding is for stress relief/reduction. Is that correct? What fluid are you using on your rotary cutters to keep the flutes from clogging? Also, what fluid when machining the seats? WD-40 or something else? Thank you Mike

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Yes no the weld

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Unist coolube 2210 AL

[@zmotorsports62]

@@BrandRacingEngines thank you for the quick response.

[@alexandrsherbakov9878]

Perfect.

[@scottvantassel2212]

what alloy filler do you use? nice job Gerald.

[@BrandRacingEngines]

4043

[@shoominati23]

Are they the Comp Ported heads? I'm looking at a set of Comp Ported AFR 195s for my 550hp 327 build

[@SonnyHoood]

What type welding are you using? Is it TIG welding for aluminium, and which gas/temps to make those welds?

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Tig 4043 rod100% argon

[@Smokey72013]

Very nice job on that head. Every head ive ever had welded usually cracked or had other issues. I wonder if it wouldn't make sense to deck the orher head to match the repaired head? Is this a nitrous motor? Chambers look clean like methanol tho

[@michaeltristan]

can you explain why you hammer the welds? sorry if I missed the explanation.

[@scottsmith5623]

I believe it “compacts” the aluminum, tamping it down after every few passes ensures a uniform, quality and dense weld with little to no porosity.

[@michaeltristan]

@@scottsmith5623 Very interesting... I've done a little arc welding, and have hammered slag- but didn't really understand why the hammering was happening on tig welds. Thanks for taking the time out to explain- much appreciated.

[@ronmedenwaldt]

​@@michaeltristanIf I remember correctly the vibration also helps with the crystalization of the material as it cools! 🤷

[@88jhoyle]

"peening" is usually done to relieve some of the internal stress created by welding, to me it makes sense to think of it almost like tempering. Maybe @BrandRacingEngines Gerald can weigh in on why he does it personally?

[@clintonsmith9931]

Be aware, the welds must be perfect. A imperfection in the weld could cause a hot spot under load And cause a blow torch in the cyl that makes a bad day. Ask me how I know. Cost me!

[@jayb2617]

do you preheat the head before welding? with that much heat in one spot does it warp the head ?

[@BrandRacingEngines]

No I don't preheat the head

[@stephenboyd6378]

You did a FANTASTIC job! I don't know why they didn't buy a new one, but truthfully if I didn't see you do it I would have to look closely to see it! I still don't know why they even have one for a POS GM! The only motors worth saving like that are well not GM, not FOMOCO(Built by DODGE! LOL) that leaves the best MOPAR!!!(the only way to go!!!!) The only Motor worth a D**M!

[@71blazerc10]

Did you not need to tap the sparkplug threads?

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Yes

[@otisbailey5455]

Impressive

[@samjohnson4014]

How much did you charge for the repair?

[@BrandRacingEngines]

I thing it was 500.00 to 600.00

[@pavil58yt]

How do you get the chamber contours and displacement to match? Just by eye? Do you use a template of some type?

[@BrandRacingEngines]

A little by eye, template and cc the chamber

[@rickchowsr2532]

That was a great repair Question did you run a tap down the spark plug hole?

[@BrandRacingEngines]

yes

[@rodstrong01]

Question for you .picked up a gen v l8t engine that was in a fire ,#7 got so hot it dropped the intake seat .do you think the head is worth fixing .? I've been watching. People welding aluminum.just wondering if it's worth it?

[@BrandRacingEngines]

First thing I would do would check the hardness on the head. If the hardness is okay. It may be worth fixing. I would have to see a picture to determine a price

[@rodstrong01]

@@BrandRacingEngines is there somewhere I can send the picture?

[@BrandRacingEngines]

[e-mail]

[@disolejunk]

Is it cost effective for the customer? Or would a new head be cheaper? Damn good work though. 👍👍

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Yes

[@Trains-With-Shane]

Basically scratch building the whole chamber! That's pretty darn impressive! Was it was more cost effective to put all of that labor into it rather than the customer picking up a new casting from AFR? Only reason I'm asking is because I could see this type of work being used on a very rare vintage piece or something that is very specific and custom. But on a standard SBC head? Either way it made for a VERY good video so that in itself is good justification! You've got serious skills!

[@BrandRacingEngines]

AFR would not sell one head

[@Trains-With-Shane]

@@BrandRacingEngines That's pretty lame of them. But more business for you! And another excellent video for us!

[@michaelraddish7898]

Sent mine back to brodix,so so repair in my opinion. Going to take them to a profession head machinist for their opinion on the valve seat.im not taking any chances. Any suggestions for a different opinion would be good

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Without seeing the heads it's hard to say.

[@Toolman83]

How much does this repair cost I have a set of 227 AFR heads I need repaired look like this one except it ate a couple more holes

[@BrandRacingEngines]

Send pic. to [e-mail] for price Thanks

[@Toolman83]

@@BrandRacingEngines ok will do soon as I can get ya some good pix

[@jasonbell5905]

Is that head completely finished?

[@BrandRacingEngines]

I forgot to get the video after i did the valve job on it.

[@robinglockner4631]

Amazing. How many hours of work did you put into this?

[@BrandRacingEngines]

4 hour