Snail's pace Blitz rebuild

[Ryan]

Anybody have any good tips for removing sidevalve v8 heads?
All the nuts are off but I'm having trouble removing them. I guess they are stuck hard via the gaskets but I just don't wont to use too much force as to do damage to anything.
What tools are good for getting under the lugs at the front and rear of the heads? Apart from screwdrivers, chisels, crow bars.....
Is the a particular point on the head to start from with a hammer?

[Keith Webb]

I've often found it's also due to the build up of gunk on the studs. but usually once you manage to break the seal of the gaskets you should be OK. I have resorted to a careful tap under the lugs with hammer and chisel, but being cast iron they can break if you hit them too hard around the edges.

Originally Posted by Ryan

Anybody have any good tips for removing sidevalve v8 heads?
All the nuts are off but I'm having trouble removing them. I guess they are stuck hard via the gaskets but I just don't wont to use too much force as to do damage to anything.
What tools are good for getting under the lugs at the front and rear of the heads? Apart from screwdrivers, chisels, crow bars.....
Is the a particular point on the head to start from with a hammer?

[Ganmain Tony]

Sorry, no good tips, all I can tell you is I successfully got mine off by tapping between them and the block with a hammer and prybar, and stuffed the gaskets in the process..

Hope this is a big help...

[Bob McNeill]

if motor turns find cylinder on compression,remove plug, fill with heavy oil, [grease ] bring up and use oil to apply hydraulic force. We once ran an engine with loose head bolts until it popped, took 1/2 hour.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Ryan

Here is one method I have used with success twice. In one case the engine had no compression on that side because of valve leaks on the other the engine was stuck with no compression. The engine is an Ford truck engine as used in `49 Lincoln and shares the use of studs instead bolts with earlier flathead V8s, later that year they went over to bolts which makes removing heads much easier.

I cut a number of wedges of different thickness and worked them in all the way around the head. First a bunch of thin ones giving them each a tap with hammer and working around the block. Then gradually thicker ones, trying to keep the pressure even as I went. What you see in the picture below is thick wedges pushing the head of the top of the studs.




The grease or oil approach should also work as long as you have compression on more than one cylinder.

One other obvious point use lots of penetration solution on all the studs I like acetone and ATF. Really let it soak in, there used to be very thing hole saws that were cut the corrosion out between the stud and the head. This was almost a given on the Flathead V8s with aluminum heads.

Cheers Phil

[Paul Dutton]

What's the OD on the studs? I've restored many classic engines in my time. I use FOX wedges on heads, they are very thin steel wedges used in engineering for that very same job! Also to clean out the corrosion down the studs you can use COPPER TUBE.....! If you can get tube the same ID for the studs and OD for the hole. In one end of tube cut jagged "teeth" with a hacksaw. Nothing fancy as you will need to repeat a few times in the process. Either drill a hole in opposite end or attach some form of handle, I use small bar through the hole, an Allen (hex?) Key is fine. Then just slip bar over stud and rotate to cut down between the stud and hole! Works great on alloy housings with steel studs! Thermostat housings etc.

[Ryan]

Thanks for the ideas guys, still in th process of removing them when I get time. In the meantime I removed a set of tool box/wheel carrier chassis mounts from a C60L wreck I have. I had planned on fixing them to my F60L but the bolt holes are not present on the Ford. What variant would not require a tool/wheel carrier?