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! 👍🤘👏
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.
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.
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!
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.....
@@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.
@@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.
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
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!
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.
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
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.👍❤️🇨🇦
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
My favorite TH-cam 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.
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.
@@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.
@@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.
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
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.
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.
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 👍
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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
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!
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
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.
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?
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 * ?
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.
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 😊
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.
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
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!
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.
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.
In part 1 it was clear that the two valve seats were different materials. What materials are you using on the exhaust valve seats in particular? Look more copper like, so perhaps beryllium copper?
@@stevemorrisracing Thanks. I looked at their website. Of course they don't really say what the alloy is, just that it is a bronze alloy. Of course, that means they are copper based (copper and tin) for the heat dissipation properties. They say they offer beryllium copper too, but the ones that you are using are a different bronze alloy that is their own proprietary alloy. Without knowing what their proprietary bronze alloy is made of, it's hard to know if it's really better than the alloy 10X version of beryllium copper that is used for valve seats. Of course, I know they work ;-)
Hey Steve!!! I was wondering why don’t you just bore the seat to your machined hole on the lathe or even on mill with some custom soft jaws. Hey also if you get a chance you should look into prototrak tool room cnc lathe. It’s not a full on cnc lathe but more of a put your own points in and it will do what you say. I ran one for about 2 years at a defense prototyping shop and it beat all the other full cnc lathes by a mile. It hit .0001 tolerances if you needed too. Just thought it would be a good addition to the shop!!!
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!
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 .
There is a possibility that those imperfections actually increase flow due to "the boundary effect" - in the same way that the dimples on a golf ball lessen the effects of drag/air resistance.
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.
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.
@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!!!
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?
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!
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!
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!!
i love the idea of the exhaust seat integrated into a rigid support for the valve guide, my question is with that section being a steel sleeve inside the aluminum head. do you have any issues with that guide loosening up and walking around as the head heats up? or are you holding it i place with a glue? thanks for the amazing videos
For the valve job on the exhaust you cut a 5 angle seat. Another builder I follow only does 3 angle valve jobs on exhaust. This is because on the flow bench it picks up a ton of flow on reversion when the exhaust pulse hits the valve and can push gases back into the cylinder. Now he only does NA stuff so I’m curious as to whether a boosted application mixed with the different camshaft profile, does this change and you get less reversion?
This is great content as always! Just out of curiosity, how long does it take to complete one pair of these heads from a billet and be ready to install on one of your blocks? The amount of machine time and hand fitting has got to be quite a lot. True craftsmanship
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!!
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
My question Steve is are you controlling the machine or is it running a program? It looks like you are running the depth of the valve seat cut! Other than that question I love this stuff!!!
@@stevemorrisracing Sweet! Thank you so much for answering my question! Someone else asked in the comment section how you came up with the SMX! I would love to hear how you and your team came up with all that goes into building one of these monsters! Maybe someday when you have time you can go over it from start to where you are at today! Thank you!
Isn't that always the way as soon as I ask the question of what type of material is being used in the exhaust and the intake because they look different colors, I go back to the video and you're answering it LOL. I figured their probably not brass or copper or bronze but there's some kind of alloy and you started explaining it right after I asked the question like you said I probably should watch the whole video before I start asking questions.🤔😐😁
Does your seat and guide machine not have a DRO to let you cut seats to the same depth that way, before throwing a checking valve in? On the other hand if things mount in collets it isn't so easy to always get the tool back to the same depth.
Thanks again for another great video. Maybe I missed it but : what clearance do you use on the valve guide to valve stems ? Do you ream it for final fit ? How critical is this dimension ? Many thanks for all you do.
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
What are the seats made off. I'm curious because I used to install HARD seats in well motor heads that ran on natural gas. You couldn't machine those seats like you are doing. Yours look really soft.
Love the videos but find it hard to believe those heads will actually hold 4500 HP for any longer than a few seconds.. I'm just a old diesel Mechanic and knows what it takes to hold over 1000hp and run all day. How long will these actually last making that kinda power? I only see very short dyno runs.. Id like to see one make 4500hp for 5 minutes or longer.. I personally don't think they could but you are the man.
@@stevemorrisracing Good point. While there are several examples where 4500+ HP is pulled all day in boats and equipment I can see where racing is a certainly different. To advertise 4500hp is kinda misleading in my opinion when its only capable of that for seconds at a time.. I'm not trying to disrespect you at all I'm just a professional diesel/auto mechanic and curious at what hp level can you run that motor at 100% duty cycle without doing any damage? Like I said before I love you're videos and you have nothing but respect from me.. I mainly work on large Cummins diesels from 19L/1150Ci up to 50L. A 50L/ 3067 cubic inch cummins V16 only makes 2200 real HP and 6300 lb-ft of torque @ 100% duty cycle. I realize we're not comparing apples to apples but I'm mainly just curious.. I see what it takes to make a 1000+ hp in a boat diesel and just don't see a small gas/methanol V8 making a real 4500hp for any amount of time without being rebuild every other run like the drag cars.. Hope one day I can buy a SMX and put it in something. There's no question you bulid a superb engine compared to anyone else. Thanks for all the videos again I'm always excited to see what you're working on..
@@detroit149 actually thee is no boats that do that either but I get you. What about top fuel engines. ? Even salt flat cars only run for 2 min and only 30 or so seconds at wide open Full power. That’s in 500 mph cars. Do these not make the power they claim for the application they are built for?
@@stevemorrisracing still impressive numbers.. Looking forward to seeing the next engine for the wagon. I'm getting to old to work on these big heavy motors and would love to get more into the machine shop side of things.. Thanks for responding and please know I mean no disrespect I'm just curious. Sincerely, Jeff
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.
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! 👍🤘👏
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.
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.
Looks like exhaust is copper and the intake is brass.
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.
That cylinder head is a thing of beauty. Really impressive. Thank you for sharing this with us.
As a 45 year tool and die maker, and drag racer. I really enjoy the videos.
I never plan on doing this type of work myself, but damn I love watching you work your craft
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!
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.....
@@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.
@@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.
@@shawnwalden2669 @14:00 Steve states: doing 1 head is 1 solid day. Seats in and cutting......
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
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!
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.
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
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.👍❤️🇨🇦
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
My favorite TH-cam 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.
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.
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.
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
@@ChrisHimself1357 its not a BBC tho, but yea. He specifically states that
@@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.
@@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.
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
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.
I love the way you go about your business Steve, the attention to detail is second to none 👌
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.
Thanks
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 👍
With CNC 5 angle valve jobs are possible now and it's cool to watch a cnc do a valve job
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!!!!
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.
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.
Really enjoying the technical vids! Great job explaining the process.
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
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
Thanks
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.
Great video. TH-cam needs more of this. People can learn alot by watching your videos.
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.
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
Steve absolutely love your videos I have honestly learned a lot from you so thank you
Watching this is just music to my ears and brain. Love it!! The precision that goes into massive power is phenomenal!
Thanks
Thanks for answering questions Steve! Great videos. Keep it up! You’ll always get a thumbs up from me.
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!
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
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.
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?
Great job Steve ! Put a flat tip on the bridge indicator. It works a lot easier and faster.
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!
👍👍👍👍👍 ☝
Thanks
I like your head design, awesome stuff. Thank you for these videos, they're not just impressive, I definitely learn something here or there!
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 * ?
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.
You can tell you really love your job! I love machines like that, very specific, but do an amazing job!
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 😊
😁
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.
1:35 professional move 🤣 love your video from France. Thanks sir Morris
😂
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.
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
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!
Thanks
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.
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.
In part 1 it was clear that the two valve seats were different materials. What materials are you using on the exhaust valve seats in particular? Look more copper like, so perhaps beryllium copper?
Some alloy
Go to Che precision
@@stevemorrisracing Thanks. I looked at their website. Of course they don't really say what the alloy is, just that it is a bronze alloy. Of course, that means they are copper based (copper and tin) for the heat dissipation properties. They say they offer beryllium copper too, but the ones that you are using are a different bronze alloy that is their own proprietary alloy. Without knowing what their proprietary bronze alloy is made of, it's hard to know if it's really better than the alloy 10X version of beryllium copper that is used for valve seats. Of course, I know they work ;-)
Hey Steve!!! I was wondering why don’t you just bore the seat to your machined hole on the lathe or even on mill with some custom soft jaws. Hey also if you get a chance you should look into prototrak tool room cnc lathe. It’s not a full on cnc lathe but more of a put your own points in and it will do what you say. I ran one for about 2 years at a defense prototyping shop and it beat all the other full cnc lathes by a mile. It hit .0001 tolerances if you needed too. Just thought it would be a good addition to the shop!!!
Thanks
This SMX Is a work of art . Thank you for showing
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!
All the precision that goes into this is cool to watch.
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 .
Spring pressure, bounce and other concerns
@@stevemorrisracing well that explains all the valve lashing .
That sprindle movement is pretty clever now you've explained what it for 👌
Steve, question about the CNC grooves in the ports. Do they cause turbulence negatively affecting flow?
There is a possibility that those imperfections actually increase flow due to "the boundary effect" - in the same way that the dimples on a golf ball lessen the effects of drag/air resistance.
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.
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!
Thanks
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.
@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!!!
Better not cut it to deep 😁 can not raise it
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?
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!
That is some beautiful horsepower Steve.
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!
Amazing, just learned whole lot, always wanted to know how cnc valve jobs were done
This isn't CNC machining, it is a manual machining.
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!!
i love the idea of the exhaust seat integrated into a rigid support for the valve guide, my question is with that section being a steel sleeve inside the aluminum head. do you have any issues with that guide loosening up and walking around as the head heats up? or are you holding it i place with a glue?
thanks for the amazing videos
No movement
Pressed in.
@@stevemorrisracing thanks for the reply, looking forward to next video
So true. Like a mechanic. You know alot but not everything. You will always be learning.👍
Awesome Content! Thanks for taking the time to educate us.
I have absolutely no clue about building engines ... But still find this fascinating to watch.
For regular production engine machining see: " Jim's Automotive Machine Shop, Inc. "
Is the inlet bush brass and the exhaust copper? Just guessing off the material colour.
For the valve job on the exhaust you cut a 5 angle seat. Another builder I follow only does 3 angle valve jobs on exhaust. This is because on the flow bench it picks up a ton of flow on reversion when the exhaust pulse hits the valve and can push gases back into the cylinder. Now he only does NA stuff so I’m curious as to whether a boosted application mixed with the different camshaft profile, does this change and you get less reversion?
Don’t over analyze it.
There is no secret to it. The bottom angle is seldom ever even hit, the top angle is typically very small
This is great content as always! Just out of curiosity, how long does it take to complete one pair of these heads from a billet and be ready to install on one of your blocks? The amount of machine time and hand fitting has got to be quite a lot. True craftsmanship
Once again, thank you for the very informative video Steve.
Fascinating.
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!!
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
Always fun when cutting non-ferros and the chip breaker doesn't break the chip.
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.
I've been in the car scene for ever, and i still learn ... You guys are fantastic !!
Thanks
My question Steve is are you controlling the machine or is it running a program? It looks like you are running the depth of the valve seat cut! Other than that question I love this stuff!!!
I run machine
@@stevemorrisracing Sweet! Thank you so much for answering my question! Someone else asked in the comment section how you came up with the SMX! I would love to hear how you and your team came up with all that goes into building one of these monsters! Maybe someday when you have time you can go over it from start to where you are at today! Thank you!
Precision finger to set boring bar to throat dia, !!!!!! Priceless.. It is the OPERATOR, no matter how wonderful the machine...
Isn't that always the way as soon as I ask the question of what type of material is being used in the exhaust and the intake because they look different colors, I go back to the video and you're answering it LOL. I figured their probably not brass or copper or bronze but there's some kind of alloy and you started explaining it right after I asked the question like you said I probably should watch the whole video before I start asking questions.🤔😐😁
😂
Does your seat and guide machine not have a DRO to let you cut seats to the same depth that way, before throwing a checking valve in? On the other hand if things mount in collets it isn't so easy to always get the tool back to the same depth.
The machine does and I show that in part 1
Great video Steve really appreciate you sharing this those cylinder heads are a piece of jewelry
Thanks again for another great video. Maybe I missed it but : what clearance do you use on the valve guide to valve stems ? Do you ream it for final fit ? How critical is this dimension ? Many thanks for all you do.
Great work,very informative and interesting to see the process of it all . Thanks always learning more from your videos 😀👍
First off. Good thanking on the exhaust Gide and have you eny one put the SMX engine in off road vehicles of eny sorts?
A good tip for deburing aluminium is soft steel wool. You just rub it on edge and it will get smooth
A scotch brite is good as well 👌
@@SR-yp3eg when you rub steel wool on aluminum it give a nice uniform finish to
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
Yeah it is! All sorts of coolness! Appreciate ya Steve 🤙.
What are the seats made off. I'm curious because I used to install HARD seats in well motor heads that ran on natural gas. You couldn't machine those seats like you are doing. Yours look really soft.
They are soft for this app
Titanium valves
Some alloy from Che Precision
@@stevemorrisracing thank you
Thank you Steve. Down here in GR
Like that you left seat wide so that get longevity over slight performance,people forget first past but sure remember the last
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.
Thanks
You are a true craftsman....that's all I can say very few left thar can or will do that kind of work!
Love the videos but find it hard to believe those heads will actually hold 4500 HP for any longer than a few seconds.. I'm just a old diesel Mechanic and knows what it takes to hold over 1000hp and run all day. How long will these actually last making that kinda power? I only see very short dyno runs.. Id like to see one make 4500hp for 5 minutes or longer.. I personally don't think they could but you are the man.
Let me ask the question, in what would you actually be making and use 4500 hp for 5 mins ?
@@stevemorrisracing Good point. While there are several examples where 4500+ HP is pulled all day in boats and equipment I can see where racing is a certainly different. To advertise 4500hp is kinda misleading in my opinion when its only capable of that for seconds at a time.. I'm not trying to disrespect you at all I'm just a professional diesel/auto mechanic and curious at what hp level can you run that motor at 100% duty cycle without doing any damage? Like I said before I love you're videos and you have nothing but respect from me.. I mainly work on large Cummins diesels from 19L/1150Ci up to 50L. A 50L/ 3067 cubic inch cummins V16 only makes 2200 real HP and 6300 lb-ft of torque @ 100% duty cycle. I realize we're not comparing apples to apples but I'm mainly just curious.. I see what it takes to make a 1000+ hp in a boat diesel and just don't see a small gas/methanol V8 making a real 4500hp for any amount of time without being rebuild every other run like the drag cars.. Hope one day I can buy a SMX and put it in something. There's no question you bulid a superb engine compared to anyone else. Thanks for all the videos again I'm always excited to see what you're working on..
@@detroit149 actually thee is no boats that do that either but I get you.
What about top fuel engines. ?
Even salt flat cars only run for 2 min and only 30 or so seconds at wide open
Full power. That’s in 500 mph cars. Do these not make the power they claim for the application they are built for?
@@detroit149 and you are correct
They will not make 4500 in a power boat app
But it will do 3000
@@stevemorrisracing still impressive numbers.. Looking forward to seeing the next engine for the wagon. I'm getting to old to work on these big heavy motors and would love to get more into the machine shop side of things.. Thanks for responding and please know I mean no disrespect I'm just curious.
Sincerely, Jeff
What type material are the seats made of?
Looks like copper and brass but I'd think those would be to soft.
Do you ever reseat a head and if so how do you you remove the old seats? Thanks!
Great video's by the way 👌🏻👌🏻
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.
😁