Pt2 -We Show You How 4500 HP SMX Cylinder Heads.

[@onehot57]

I have been a automotive machinist for 64 years and I wouldn’t miss this for anything! Steve are the ex. And the int. different material, the ex. looks like it has more copper.

[@mikebougher3731]

I'm trying to start my own engine machine shop so every time I see a machining video up I watch it. Always learn something useful.

[@KingofUrasus]

Looks like exhaust is copper and the intake is brass.

[@genelong1748]

As a 45 year tool and die maker, and drag racer. I really enjoy the videos.

[@frankensteincreations4740]

I don’t know what it is about these two videos… but these are about my favorite videos you’ve made. I’m just a weirdo and love machining and fabrication. So awesome that such a sophisticated machine makes an otherwise very difficult job very easy. Very satisfying to watch! 👍🤘👏

[@Tylerthecreatorofdistruction]

8:27 Steve, a little tip from a guy who runs a 5 axis/engine machine shop. If you know the thread pitch on that adjustment screw, you know how much the tool adjusts per turn radially 😉. Thanks for the content. It's helped me quite a bit with my stuff designing engine parts, I'm just in the diesel industry instead.

[@darylmorse]

That cylinder head is a thing of beauty. Really impressive. Thank you for sharing this with us.

[@Ranger4banger]

I never plan on doing this type of work myself, but damn I love watching you work your craft

[@jimmungai1938]

Hey Steve, aunt in Seattle he’s no longer running a machine shop no more, but it was Foster’s machine and they used to use on their son and VG 120 machine a cutter that was radius cut. They said when a valve first comes off the seat it flows more air than a three angle job Anyhow oh yes, I learned something every time with your videos. I just wish I could remember it all anyway you got a beautiful shop and you’re a class act. This is six in a row.Jim from Kennerdell pa

[@forthwithtx5852]

My favorite KZbin videos are of folks who have a high level of expertise in craftsmanship in a particular field. Wooden boat building, musical instrument building and repair, etc. Love this stuff.

[@nicksomingenhar]

I remmember in my mechanic days training when we did the valve lapping, we started like you at 17:50, then find the manual for that head, did it the old fashion way by cutting them by hand tools designed with degrees etc to get all 3 angles correct, and then lapping again like you do at 17:50 to check if we did it right.... And You'r right, that stuff takes time if you want it right

[@biglefty08]

Wish I would of listened to my friends dad all those years back about becoming a machinist, the work Steve and his team does it absolutely amazing. Seriously would love to learn!

[@johnsnow1355]

My high school buddy became a machinist and hated it. 90% of the time he was just baby sitter a machine doing nothing. This is nothing like a actual job in the industry doing high volume machine work. He instead went into a sign building business instead. It's still the same idea involving CNC machines but you aren't making the same thing 5000 times hour after hour at a machine. What Steve is doing here is hobby machining u would do in your garage after hours at home. There is no way Steve is building 1000 heads a week day after day like someone with a job as a machinist in a actual job in the industry would be doing.....

[@shawnwalden2669]

@@johnsnow1355 I wouldn't call it hobby machining, I would call it low production high value machining lol. He's definitely not cranking 1k pieces a week out but when a motor costs 75k he doesn't need to be high production.

[@biglefty08]

@@johnsnow1355 My friend dad made probably millions of those Cali crusher grinders as a machinist, unfortunately he had a stroke a couple years back while driving and is now wheel chair bound. He always seemed like a very content individual and had the toys and house to show he made a good living. I guess it is just all perspective. I'm a Auditor, but have thought about automotive side businesses.

[@Baard2000]

​@@shawnwalden2669 @14:00 Steve states: doing 1 head is 1 solid day. Seats in and cutting......

[@strykerentllc]

Thank you for addressing the seat material. That cutting head reminds us of our Wohlhaupter boring head, sans the micrometer adjustment built into our UPA head. If you haven't seen one, they're kinda the deal-o for precision ID dimensional boring without having to stop and adjust the cutting diameter. Pricey but as they say, time is money. Dewey must've been in the dyno room peeling tape. LOL Cheers!

[@RealRickCox]

I'd love to hear how the SMX engine design came to be in the first place. Seems like a VERY intricate design requiring the highest level of precision.

[@beefster1882]

idk about you but i know for a fact i couldnt even begin to design my own engine lmfao, defintely a high level of expertise

[@LeglessWonder]

@@ChrisHimself1357 its not a BBC tho, but yea. He specifically states that

[@totensiebush]

@@LeglessWonder on the other hand, it uses some very similar parts. He's stated before that it uses a 481X crank. As far as I can tell, a 481X crank is a BBC crank with Hemi rod journals, so you can run it in a BBC with the right rods (and I don't think it's uncommon). I believe it also matches BBC/481X deck height, so you'd be able to run the same crank/rod/piston package in any of the 3. I also question how much advantage there is to billet short term, but it's *far* easier to repair a billet block (after throwing a rod or whatever) than a cast aluminum block (and good luck with a cast iron block), and it's less ridiculously expensive for a small production run.

[@phoenixrising4573]

@@totensiebush One of the reasons I laugh at the idiots yelping about the engine he sent to cleetus being damaged and repaired. It is incredibly common for Billet blocks to be repaired multiple times in their life spans, just like heads are welded an machined. You can nearly guarantee if you've watched a funny car or top fuel race, you've seen a repaired block.

[@watersmart1]

Very interesting. My machinist put monster sets in my air cooled VW heads and machined the exhaust seat into the intake to lock the seats together under the heat of an air cooled head. It all make sense seeing you do that amazing work on your heads.👍❤️🇨🇦

[@danieledwards1081]

I love the way you go about your business Steve, the attention to detail is second to none 👌

[@a4000t]

Beautiful work. Most people don't realize the amount of hours it takes to build this stuff. I used to cut the ID on seats to match the ports also,it makes for a nice job and saved a ton of hand blending. Really makes for a nice job.

[@jacobc7643]

the amount of hours of programming and trouble shooting and problem solving, then when you get it fine tuned some 41 year old named Donnie who is still drunk from last night gets to babysit the thing for 8 hours and claim hes a CNC GOD

[@Wazup8012]

Thanks for another good video. It’s really nice to be able to learn about the ins and outs of engine mechanics from professional who will not only show exactly what he does but explain the process and answer any questions.

[@drloch6174]

Many people don't understand the importance keeping the installed valve heights consistent especially when using shaft rockers. With the "Performance" valve job I just had done the valve heights varied by .015 and it was done by a well known Performance shop. I checked for valve tulipping to make that wasn't the issue, it was the machining.

[@Mrhonest111]

Absolutely amazing! Such an incredible bloke. I think the SMX and SML are game changers. It’s not every day one person develops a new engine, especially one that works that well. Rock on.

[@tobywilliamson5213]

Used to be rule of thumb exhaust thickness size of a Nickel and intake thickness of a dime!! But I havnt done a valve job since college, you talked about beryllium, my father worked in a foundry, where they made castings from helicopter transmissions to Toyota heads, to space shutter parts, my cousin ended up getting beryllium disease which effects the lungs , like 1 in 10,000 people are susceptible too

[@BrandonIngram99]

Steve absolutely love your videos I have honestly learned a lot from you so thank you

[@4bluebuggy]

Great video. KZbin needs more of this. People can learn alot by watching your videos.

[@AndyL940]

Very interesting thanks Steve. I used to do valve jobs on an old machine with stones, things have come a long way in 30 years. Still the same principle I suppose. A good 3 Angel valve job works well 👍

[@79tazman]

With CNC 5 angle valve jobs are possible now and it's cool to watch a cnc do a valve job

[@wbr7869]

I remember doing the valve jobs with the stones back in the day as well! Took for ever but it was a kick in the butt to do!!!!

[@jimmungai1938]

Hey Steve, this is Jim again. I’ve forgot to mention. Gus Foster was probably in business in the same location for probably 35 years and he was also crew chief for Jerry Ruth on his top fuel dragster. They were a hell of a good bunch of guys.

[@logan7210]

Really enjoying the technical vids! Great job explaining the process.

[@miceinoz1181]

While I am familiar with these processes (even if I only used stones many years ago) it is really entertaining to see the detail that goes into these specialist jobs. And yes, I also wondered how long the job takes, so thanks for the answer Steve.

[@ruikazane5123]

The beauty of having such a machine. We would have the valve seat cutting set that you operate with your hand, those also locate on the valve guide and worked well. Would only use those for refreshing heads...don't see it good at cutting raw seats! Glad you pointed out valve height... some of the engines I used to deal with had valve seat recession issues, you'd recut the seat to see your lash shrink enough that the thinnest shim won't even work. Because there was no place that could reliably replace the seats at the time (and probably to this day anyway) those went to the storage bin...and another classic motorcycle dead on the water

[@randypritchard5961]

An EXCELLENT informative video Steve! Thank you for explaining the process. Amazing machines! I grew up watching my dad grinding 3-angle seats with the Sioux seat grinder set, and I was able to rebuild the entire engine on my first car, a 61 Ford Fairlane with a 292. It was in 1974 at age 14 when I got my driver's license. After 10 years at a dealership, I don't do many valve jobs in my shop now. I do more electronics diagnostics, transmissions, head gaskets and timing belts. Dad could make a flathead V-8 purr so that you couldn't even tell it was running. He had been a Ford dealership mechanic before opening the shop.

[@stevemorrisracing]

Thanks

[@stevejohnson7692]

You're right, you will learn something. Ever since I started watching your stuff, I have learned a lot. I wanted to become a mechanic, except I got hurt instead, and that split second changed my life, and that was back in 1993. I'd love to learn about all you do, it's always interested me. Only problem, besides being disabled, I don't know how to read a ruler, besides the obvious. I love that Kyle is following in your footsteps, that's awesome. Good luck this summer, I hope you bring back home to Michigan, some great hardware, and not car parts. Thanks Steve

[@stevemorrisracing]

Thanks

[@padron632]

I have seen that other companies do the seat bore and guide machining work on a 4 or 5-axis cnc machine, but before porting the heads, and they do it on a cnc machine. Of course, they use the Newen Epoc Machine to do the valve job anyway. Everyone has their own book on how to do things, very good job

[@martinrodger9565]

Many thanks for the item on vacuum testing valve seal answering my previous question. I suspect the very light lap witness marks and lots of previous experience of testing is enough to skip the vac test unless the witness marks are not nice, thick, and concentric. I like the concessions to ultimate output to aim for robust heat management.

[@logannewman4532]

I'm so glad you were lapping valves. Was having an intense argument with somebody who insists that a "good" machinist doesn't need to lap valves.

[@donanything6816]

Please, god. Let there be a part three and four . . . . Thanks Steve!! Once again I will say you are awesome!!! but you already knew that! 👍👍👍👍👍 ☝

[@stevemorrisracing]

Thanks

[@brandongauthier9484]

Watching this is just music to my ears and brain. Love it!! The precision that goes into massive power is phenomenal!

[@stevemorrisracing]

Thanks

[@dallash9612]

as a machinist I have found that Razor sharp inserts with high positive geometry do a much better job cutting copper alloys. better surface finish, and less cutting forces.

[@Baard2000]

@14:00 : Yup...doing it good takes a day per head. Than I pre cut seats. Leave them a couple of days at least for stress relieve . Or put in furnace at 120 degrees Celsius and run several heat cycles . Even cast iron heads deform when left lying for 6 months after rigorous valve seat cutting. Also the minimum press fit release by removing material from the unmachined seat is noticable when cutting the 2th seat in the chamber and then with very fine grit lapping the valve into the 1th cut seat : where intake and exhaust interfere you can see the valve not touching the 1th cut seat in that area. Ok.....I am precision geek.....

[@Don14320]

just a fun exercise would be to also show how a rebuilt head from a reman is done, so non racers can see how your precision increases performance . Great focus on detail and process to match the cylinder size/pressure

[@zachvanderleest96]

You wanna know my thought? I think this is amazing. Anyone who wants to bad mouth anything you do can build their own engines that will only make 1 pass at the strip. Genius at work right there!

[@andrewgacree]

Thanks for answering questions Steve! Great videos. Keep it up! You’ll always get a thumbs up from me.

[@evanjones1393]

Love your work Steve and Son….brings back fond memories of my apprenticeship working in a performance engine building machine shop here in Brisbane Australia 😀……that head machine sure is amazing,….compared to the one I cut my teeth on 35 yrs ago 😊

[@stevemorrisracing]

😁

[@Auzie65]

I have absolutely no clue about building engines ... But still find this fascinating to watch.

[@bobroberts2371]

For regular production engine machining see: " Jim's Automotive Machine Shop, Inc. "

[@kermitahnenerbe3722]

1:35 professional move 🤣 love your video from France. Thanks sir Morris

[@aussiebeekeeping]

😂

[@ldtenenoff]

Presto and now we learn from the professor on how and why ur toys r some the best industry wide Steve thank you for sharing and teaching young folks how important hands on machining And great Design matter striaght off the hop, The inside of ur ports looked so silky the air just wanted to rush threw as clean as possible SUPER VIDJEO STEVE MORE PLEASE ON DESIGN AND THE WHYS U DESIGN ALL OF UR ENGINES FROM ZERO to b the best why urs r the way they r vs, another way Kool Kool Kool Kool

[@thor82ak]

You can tell you really love your job! I love machines like that, very specific, but do an amazing job!

[@piercer4882]

You make great videos, Steve. Very informative, interesting, and entertaining.. you have a really chill demeanor, too, which makes the videos easy to listen to and just chill out. Keep up the great work, man!

[@bobmcalister2131]

Great job Steve ! Put a flat tip on the bridge indicator. It works a lot easier and faster.

[@MM-vl8ic]

so... besides all the real world tech knowledge you share... You do a real good job showing with the camera what you're seeing.... I don't think most people realize how hard it is to get "photo realism" to transfer what the eye actually sees.... Atta Boy!

[@stevemorrisracing]

Thanks

[@rickbrandt9559]

Precision finger to set boring bar to throat dia, !!!!!! Priceless.. It is the OPERATOR, no matter how wonderful the machine...

[@adamsd257]

This SMX Is a work of art . Thank you for showing

[@ByThisShallAllMenKnow]

I like your head design, awesome stuff. Thank you for these videos, they're not just impressive, I definitely learn something here or there!

[@Fixingeverthingwithaengine567]

So true. Like a mechanic. You know alot but not everything. You will always be learning.👍

[@michaellafleur2077]

That is some beautiful horsepower Steve.

[@TobyCatVA]

All the precision that goes into this is cool to watch.

[@jasonblack8639]

Another awesome tech video. Interested in seeing about the spring heights/ rates and coil bind for a given cam, how do you know your springs can handle the cam or vice versa? Also interested in seeing stuff in your LS line of engines.

[@Maelthras]

Smaller seat which I believe is the exhaust port looks like a nearly solid copper with some other metal and the exhaust looks like brass. Melting point for copper is 1000c, brass slightly less. Both very corrosion resistent so it makes sense. I was looking at the rough material on the inside, I was thinking maybe a dremel or something would smooth everything up for optimal air velocity through the intake and exhaust and he talks about doing just that. Steve morris is a master of monster horsepower, teaching this generation his craft. Right up there with Carrol.

[@thegodzowns]

I've been in the car scene for ever, and i still learn ... You guys are fantastic !!

[@stevemorrisracing]

Thanks

[@BBROPHOTO]

100th of 1 degree - me an astronomer thinking about arc minutes and seconds haha. I’m regularly dealing with tiny fractions of a single degree and I’m so used to it until I hear someone outside of what I do mention how tiny a fraction of a single degree actually is. This is really informative Steve - I thoroughly enjoy these videos.

[@stefanroseEP3]

That sprindle movement is pretty clever now you've explained what it for 👌

[@chief3378]

Great video Steve really appreciate you sharing this those cylinder heads are a piece of jewelry

[@donbrutcher4501]

Always fun when cutting non-ferros and the chip breaker doesn't break the chip.

[@MrCheckster2000]

Reminds me of my younger years when I use to engineer/design custom CNC milling machine for Dodge, Ford, Cat, etc. Love this stuff, could watch it for hours...haha. good job Steve!!

[@dustydresser7598]

Exhaust seat looks like moldstar. We use it for NASCAR heads at our shop. It’s some really high end material. Really enjoying the videos!

[@stevemorrisracing]

Thanks

[@javman03]

Those billet heads are like jewelry! More beautiful than a diamond ring on my opinion!

[@Jack_Rabbit_1]

Once again, thank you for the very informative video Steve. Fascinating.

[@naldahide]

Now that's how American made race engines are supposed to be made! Nice job Steve!

[@brentbeiler7051]

Yeah it is! All sorts of coolness! Appreciate ya Steve 🤙.

[@marshalllapp49]

Hi Steve, super interesting content. I was wondering what is the make and model of the CNC machine that you use? And which CAD/ CAM software was utilized in this work of art you have here?

[@Mdc869]

You are a true craftsman....that's all I can say very few left thar can or will do that kind of work!

[@charliedavis6143]

Amazing, just learned whole lot, always wanted to know how cnc valve jobs were done

[@bobroberts2371]

This isn't CNC machining, it is a manual machining.

[@bobroberts2371]

Valve seat angles 2 questions: 1) Some factory engines ( like 1970's / 80's era ) had the seat cut at 45 * and the valve at 45.5 * . The theory was this interference angle allowed the seat to be hammered in over time creating a perfect seal. I'm guessing that this is no longer done due to improvements in machining over the years, correct? ( RE the type of cutter used in the vid ) 2) Some factory engines ( Olds V8 comes to mind ) use a 30 * seat on the intake valve but 45 * seems to be the standard for pretty much any other engine. Any idea why Olds use a 30 * ?

[@brracing7861]

30 degree intske seats were done on most Pontiac V8 engines too. It makes tricks the Intake port into acting like a much larger Valve Diameter is used. It's only effective from .050" to .500" valve lifts Pontiac V8. A Few Round Port Factory Iron keeps flowing till .700: lift. 45 degrees work best .600"- 1.000" valve lifts. But Albeit 50, 52, 55, I have even heard of 60 degree valve seats used now. The steeper the valve and seat angles the greater chance of valves sticking at high rpms actually micro welding takes place. Interference angles no modern Machinist uses considered inferior. But every piston Aviation engine uses yet Interference angles.

[@boardboy95]

Maybe a stupid question, maybe a secret. How do you come up with valve sizing in particular the ratio between intake and exhaust. Love watching your videos and learning from a true master of his craft!

[@aussiebeekeeping]

Awesome Content! Thanks for taking the time to educate us.

[@johnbecker8768]

Thank you Steve. Down here in GR

[@JCx3excelmad]

Great work,very informative and interesting to see the process of it all . Thanks always learning more from your videos 😀👍

[@scottgshomewrenching1352]

I think you may have said in the previous video what the seats are made of, but I don't recall forsure. The exhaust looks like copper and the intake looks like bronze.

[@jerryhatrick5860]

Time isn't the expense, its a factor for sure The lifetime spent learning and the knowledge gained is where the value is. Thats what costs the money. Steve does it right and earned it.

[@stevemorrisracing]

Thanks

[@adematthewsracing]

Love these videos. As a guy who runs a 3-axis CNC business to pay for his racing they tick a lot of boxes for me.

[@stevemorrisracing]

Thanks

[@anthony851]

If it takes 6 hours to insert the seats and cut the angle, how long does it take to machine the head out of a bock of aluminium? Lots of engines have aluminium heads, do they also have a different material for the valve seats? Hi from NZ, Anthony

[@russelbarns1737]

Nice videos Steve, great explanation and very informative 👍👍

[@derekhobbs1102]

My local cylinder head shop keeps advising me to change my bronze valve seats to steel, but they're still good at over 40 years old.

[@tymills6170]

Hello steve, could you do a in depth video on the flow of these heads? All the nerdy stuff like port volume, port taper, cfm ect.. Beautiful stuff thanks for all the info!

[@Shadytreemechanic77]

I would have expected a different exhaust valve seat material with your crazy boost levels . We did some work for gm back in the day in flint . They were doing catalytic converter testing. The valve seats we used for them by request were like cutting glass or stone . Hard as a rock .

[@stevemorrisracing]

Spring pressure, bounce and other concerns

[@Shadytreemechanic77]

@@stevemorrisracing well that explains all the valve lashing .

[@pedrotheswift5937]

Having that huge steel guide in the port is unbelievable... many an old school tuner is now running around in circles gauging their eyes out😂

[@toddbrown3610]

Fantastic Work Steve 👏 👍 👌 🙌

[@donaldhalls2189]

So those seat's are hardened Alloys, I was thinking they were brass? in the diesel head's thay have hardened steel seat's, thanks for sharing, all the best to yous and your loved ones

[@stevemustaikis6602]

Never heard of brass and copper for valve seats. By the time you get done with the SMX series we'll all know the secrets of how to build a 5,000 HP engine. Keep the info videos coming.

[@stevemorrisracing]

😁

[@beefster1882]

just got home from work, time to watch the man himself steve morris!

[@sebastien9860]

A good tip for deburing aluminium is soft steel wool. You just rub it on edge and it will get smooth

[@SR-yp3eg]

A scotch brite is good as well 👌

[@sebastien9860]

@@SR-yp3eg when you rub steel wool on aluminum it give a nice uniform finish to

[@Tomquik1]

Question for Steve. Im not a machinist or anything, but I am kind of curious as to why not do the blending of the valve seat to port area before doing the actual valve job so as to prevent any accidental contact or damage to the finished valve seat? Thanks.

[@codyschiavone665]

I'm on the light beaming through the intake ports in a heavenly essence 😇😇😇 beyond satisfying

[@petercunningham3469]

Super impressive great presentation thanks Steve👍

[@robertmorris8259]

Like that you left seat wide so that get longevity over slight performance,people forget first past but sure remember the last

[@cdwlights]

I’d like to see a Timelapse of a head and or block being cut on the 5 axis… thank you for sharing!

[@philliplangley9302]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.

[@chrisgilbert2152]

pretty smart sneaking in the ole Dew Dog!!

[@FuriousMess]

your work is art, even better it makes yhings really move to their potential.

[@stevegilchrist4173]

looking good Steve! Billet perfection!

[@chrisp2096]

@stevemorrisengines you said: "we raise or lower the seat depending on the dimension to the check valve with the ball bearing" to lower: i can imagine that you cut the valve job deeper. but how can you raise the seat? thank you for your insights. very interesting!!!

[@stevemorrisracing]

Better not cut it to deep 😁 can not raise it

[@sonnybachman3414]

Word of the day infinitesimal😊 I learn something from you every day Steve😎

[@stevemorrisracing]

Thanks

[@michaelneynens1921]

Thanks for your video time, excellent. Does the machine have the ability to remember each guide position so you don't have to reference each time you return to "deepen" a seat?

[@patlash8392]

Without revealing your specs. What are the changes in camshaft design for SMX engines with different power adders. Does the vehicle weight, transmission, converter change this? Really enjoy these videos!!