Future of head porting

[SpeierRacingHeads]

One more thing I will add. I have 7-8 really good engine builders I service. From SBC, BBC, LS.. When they sell a engine, I sell a head.

In the beginning I did lots of free work. Work to prove what we could do. Now those guys trust me, I trust them.

That is the key to sucess IMO.

[David Redszus]

Now those guys trust me, I trust them

.
Good point. They trust that you will stand behind your work.

A question every shop owner should ask themselves.

Do I want to get a sale or build a business?
Big difference.

[n2omike]

The true racer has evolved into low buck, part-time, amateurs, who buy parts made by others
which they do not understand and can make only incremental improvements. And only when
allowed by race sanctioning authorities. (Wear your mask, or else).

We (collectively) buy parts (heads, pistons, rods, cranks, cams, tires, transmissions, etc), and
bolt them together with little or no understanding of how they actually function and how to
make worthwhile improvements. Then when we fail to win, we complain that it is due to a
lack of money; but never due to a lack of knowledge. Or failure to innovate.

Back when most of us started, OEM parts were pretty terrible, and had LOTS of room for improvement. The man who was GOOD with a grinder had a HUGE advantage over the rest of the field. Plus, there were very few options outside of self modified OEM parts. Those who learned how to work with what we had ended up in the winner's circle. Was a lot harder to 'buy' yourself the spot back then.

Nowadays, OEM parts are a lot better, and the aftermarket is there to supply every conceivable part anyone could ever need. General information is only a quick Google search away. MASSIVE amounts of general information out there to learn from the internet. Back in our day, we read everything we could get our hands on, and used logic/deduction along with trial and error from there. A LOT more thinking and a lot less spending.

Nowadays, there is a CNC ported head you can get delivered within a week that will work for 99% of the racers out there.

Our sport has evolved to the point that it's not anywhere near the same as it use to be. The budget is a LOT more important than it was 30+ years ago. LONG GONE are the days of a winning car coming in on an open trailer with mostly massaged OEM parts/pieces. Every single piece of a winning combination is aftermarket/fabricated, big dollar parts.

I use to take pride on whooping up on some of the cars that had bigger engines, more expensive parts, etc with my hand ported OEM heads and modest cubic inches. Back before the internet, very few people knew how to put together a GOOD combinations. LOTS of mismatched combos out there, and cars that didn't run anywhere near what they should. Lots of stock heads trying to spin RPM, wrong cams, carbs, etc. There is now so much information for proven combinations and ready made parts that a complete idiot can build a decent car.

[KnightEngines]

When I started full time in 2005, I purchased a new 10x54 knee mill. I did my valve jobs, surfacing all with it. About a year later, I needed another, so I bought a new 9x49, just to do valve jobs. Then I decided I needed a dedicated S&G machine, dedicated surfacer.......

In 2021, every piece of equipment is paid for. I get in trouble when I look at new shiney CNC machines, or new shiney Serdi's... I keep it in perspective, and what I use works well.

Morel of the story, find your niche and forget about keeping up with the Jones.

Very, very true.
I don't have fancy machines, if I did I'd need 2 more guys to run em so they'd pay for themselves, then I'd spend most of my time on admin stuff & be mostly off the tools - so I would have to wind back to moderate performance stuff that 'normal' workers could handle.
I'd rather be on the tools & grinder building competition stuff.

[Racer97]

Hopefully the future of head porting is brite . Gas prices have already gone up 30% in weeks .

[GARY C]

Every head I have had digitized the master ended up flowing more.


I don’t know how a shop could operate in places where properties cost so much. Cylinder head porters are not making near the hourly rate of other careers. For instance I had an electrician come out and tie in the power to my mini split and to the electrical panel. (I had already bought the wire and ran it through conduit.) He was going to charge me $900 until I flipped out on him. 3hours of work and no special equipment needed besides a fluke meter to make $300 an hour. I charge $950 to port a set of heads. It takes 40 hours requires a 30k seat and guide machine a 40k surfacer and a 10k flowbench. We aren’t making shit. On top of that unlike other careers you don’t just do a job, you have to be the BEST at what you do. Nobody wants the second best head porter but for an electrician you just pick one.

I could go on but let’s face it nobody reads long.

This is where I think most porters go wrong, to support the cost of seat, guide and surfacing machines you need to be doing mass production.

When I did this stuff I had a shop that did that for me at a reduced rate so I made a percentage, If I did a base port job for myself or the shop I made $600.00 "cash", with no debt or overhead that can add up depending on how much you wish to do.

If someone was looking for the very last HP from a port job I sent them to a more advanced porter and he charged what he charged but he also used the shop I used for surfacing and valve work so he didn't spend money on equipment that ate his profit.

$900/40hrs = $22hr
$600/40hrs = $15hr

A $600.00 basic port job would be more like 12 hours, this does not include valve job or surfacing. That is done by another shop that has the volume to justify the cost of that equipment.

[SchmidtMotorWorks]

This is where I think most porters go wrong, to support the cost of seat, guide and surfacing machines you need to be doing mass production.

When I did this stuff I had a shop that did that for me at a reduced rate so I made a percentage, If I did a base port job for myself or the shop I made $600.00 "cash", with no debt or overhead that can add up depending on how much you wish to do.

If someone was looking for the very last HP from a port job I sent them to a more advanced porter and he charged what he charged but he also used the shop I used for surfacing and valve work so he didn't spend money on equipment that ate his profit.

$900/40hrs = $22hr
$600/40hrs = $15hr

A $600.00 basic port job would be more like 12 hours, this does not include valve job or surfacing. That is done by another shop that has the volume to justify the cost of that equipment.

Maybe.

I think for a young person it is important to understand what makes a business worth investing in.
Profit and growth potential.
Ability to train and and employ others.
More important than those issues, it must accrue value that you can sell when you are ready.

[David Redszus]

Most small businesses are founded in a similar pattern.

A skilled technician works for a larger company for a number of years.
For any one of a number of reasons, he finds himself out of work and
finds difficulty finding a job that uses his skills.

He decides to open his own home shop and go into business for himself.
He sells his service or product to a few friends and is encouraged.
After a while he is low on work and lowers his price to attract more work.

Now the feast and famine cycle begins. Either there is too much work to
complete on time or not enough to pay the bills. Over time he finds himself
working long hours at an hourly rate much lower than what he earned
in his previous job. But now he feels stuck...with all the equipment, tooling,
parts, etc, that he purchased.

What is missing is a sound business plan that clearly identifies the intended
market, realistically identifies costs, and develops the educational tools needed to
get to the top (or nearly to the top), of his market segment.

He did not take a business course at the local community college (accounting,
advertising, finance, etc). He does not fully understand the differences between
gross sales, net sales, gross profit, net pre-tax profit, depreciation, product costing,
inventory control, blah, blah, blah.

Nor has he acquired cutting edge technical skills or kept up with the latest
equipment and processes. His business is still mostly labor based...his.

He feels trapped and disappointed. Maybe his kids will join him and help out;
but they won't because they have other interests involving less hard work.

Sad to say, there are hundreds just like him.

Then along comes China...or a newbie to the business.

[SpeierRacingHeads]

Most small businesses are founded in a similar pattern.

A skilled technician works for a larger company for a number of years.
For any one of a number of reasons, he finds himself out of work and
finds difficulty finding a job that uses his skills.

He decides to open his own home shop and go into business for himself.
He sells his service or product to a few friends and is encouraged.
After a while he is low on work and lowers his price to attract more work.

Now the feast and famine cycle begins. Either there is too much work to
complete on time or not enough to pay the bills. Over time he finds himself
working long hours at an hourly rate much lower than what he earned
in his previous job. But now he feels stuck...with all the equipment, tooling,
parts, etc, that he purchased.

What is missing is a sound business plan that clearly identifies the intended
market, realistically identifies costs, and develops the educational tools needed to
get to the top (or nearly to the top), of his market segment.

He did not take a business course at the local community college (accounting,
advertising, finance, etc). He does not fully understand the differences between
gross sales, net sales, gross profit, net pre-tax profit, depreciation, product costing,
inventory control, blah, blah, blah.

Nor has he acquired cutting edge technical skills or kept up with the latest
equipment and processes. His business is still mostly labor based...his.

He feels trapped and disappointed. Maybe his kids will join him and help out;
but they won't because they have other interests involving less hard work.

Sad to say, there are hundreds just like him.

Then along comes China...or a newbie to the business.

You nailed it! DEAD ON!

I was lucky, my dad was self employed my entire life. I've seen the struggles with being a small business owner.

This is going to sound crazy, but I have no idea how much money I have in my business account. I sleep better. I don't worry. I don't let my wife worry for me. Each month I pay bills, put money in savings, and know if I'm short, I have my other account. I have a pretty good idea where I stand by what is going out, what expenses I have, etc. I let my accountant depreciate my equipment, write off as much as possible, and have fun doing what I love.

[Joe-71]

I could stay busy six days a week if I would accept the work. I tried to retire 14 years ago, and I get requests from old customers almost daily for something special, or for a nostalgia build. Nobody around here ports iron heads or intake manifolds, and I get so many calls for that it is unbelievable. I am one of the few people who actually flows an intake manifold before and after porting, and balancing the flow in each runner as close as possible. I have done that for 40 years, and it has proven to make an engine easier to tune and build torque. I have specialized in Fords from day one, and after 49 years, I still keep more busy at 75 than I really have time for. I have heads and intakes in NZ, Australia, France, Germany, England, Nova Scotia, Canada, and all over the USA. Porting, especially hand porting will be needed as long as there is a love for the older builds that want to look stock, but build lots of power. Joe-71

[rebelrouser]

Most small businesses are founded in a similar pattern.

A skilled technician works for a larger company for a number of years.
For any one of a number of reasons, he finds himself out of work and
finds difficulty finding a job that uses his skills.

He decides to open his own home shop and go into business for himself.
He sells his service or product to a few friends and is encouraged.
After a while he is low on work and lowers his price to attract more work.

Now the feast and famine cycle begins. Either there is too much work to
complete on time or not enough to pay the bills. Over time he finds himself
working long hours at an hourly rate much lower than what he earned
in his previous job. But now he feels stuck...with all the equipment, tooling,
parts, etc, that he purchased.

What is missing is a sound business plan that clearly identifies the intended
market, realistically identifies costs, and develops the educational tools needed to
get to the top (or nearly to the top), of his market segment.

He did not take a business course at the local community college (accounting,
advertising, finance, etc). He does not fully understand the differences between
gross sales, net sales, gross profit, net pre-tax profit, depreciation, product costing,
inventory control, blah, blah, blah.

Nor has he acquired cutting edge technical skills or kept up with the latest
equipment and processes. His business is still mostly labor based...his.

He feels trapped and disappointed. Maybe his kids will join him and help out;
but they won't because they have other interests involving less hard work.

Sad to say, there are hundreds just like him.

Then along comes China...or a newbie to the business.

You are exactly right, when the Chevy dealership I worked at closed in 1982, I opened up my own shop. Just because you can fix cars does not mean you can run a business fixing cars. Running a business is a completely different skill set. The successful people, understand and can do both. Learning as you run the business can as you say run you into the ground. One of my biggest problems was they always requested that I personally work on their car, even when I had 4 guys working for me. I ran myself to death trying to keep everyone happy and running the business.

[gmrocket]

I only seen one person mention iron heads and how hard it is to find someone who will do them.

That’s my bread and butter, always has been. I’m
usually one year backed up just on iron head work. Shops that are strictly head shops, just don’t want to deal with older iron heads anymore. I don’t blame when they are busy enough doing aluminum

My advice to a young guy starting out...read all you can from those who are successful. If you have to work for no wages at a good head porting place, then do it ..sweep the floors if you have too. Good head porters will share what they know if you’re willing to learn.. the hacks, pretend it’s black magic and will share nothing, because they have nothing

Simple things like how to hold the grinder wether it’s air electric, positioning the head, how you move the burr, and the most important in my view ,, is never getting ahead of yourself in a port. By that I mean,grind for a few minutes in one area, then move on to the next port and do exactly the same , in the same amount of time.

That way when you’re learning you keep things the same and consistent. Don’t do a whole port start to finish, then move onto the next,, you won’t remember all the details of every area.

So if you are looking for work to get hours and experience, put the word out you will do iron...do your research on the old heads and find out what works and what’s a waste of time.

[BILL-C]

I only seen one person mention iron heads and how hard it is to find someone who will do them.

That’s my bread and butter, always has been. I’m
usually one year backed up just on iron head work. Shops that are strictly head shops, just don’t want to deal with older iron heads anymore. I don’t blame when they are busy enough doing aluminum

My advice to a young guy starting out...read all you can from those who are successful. If you have to work for no wages at a good head porting place, then do it ..sweep the floors if you have too. Good head porters will share what they know if you’re willing to learn.. the hacks, pretend it’s black magic and will share nothing, because they have nothing

Simple things like how to hold the grinder wether it’s air electric, positioning the head, how you move the burr, and the most important in my view ,, is never getting ahead of yourself in a port. By that I mean,grind for a few minutes in one area, then move on to the next port and do exactly the same , in the same amount of time.

That way when you’re learning you keep things the same and consistent. Don’t do a whole port start to finish, then move onto the next,, you won’t remember all the details of every area.

So if you are looking for work to get hours and experience, put the word out you will do iron...do your research on the old heads and find out what works and what’s a waste of time.

Some good tips here, but I don't agree with the work for free part. If a young guy is trying to make this their profession they need to have some business sense. No legit shop with good business model would ask anyone to work for free. It is very important to have an agreement with customer on what you are going to for the agreed on budget and you have to be realistic with goals. Nothing is worse than getting half way through the job and realizing that you already spent your time budget and from here on out you are working for free. Actually, there is something worse--- hitting water! Now what?

[novadude]

There is now so much information for proven combinations and ready made parts that a complete idiot can build a decent car.

Didn't copy the whole quote, but this is a great post about the state of the hobby. Internet and availability of information + huge aftermarket has been a game changer.

[6.50camaro]

There is now so much information for proven combinations and ready made parts that a complete idiot can build a decent car.

Didn't copy the whole quote, but this is a great post about the state of the hobby. Internet and availability of information + huge aftermarket has been a game changer.

Somewhat , Not everyone can just buy the right parts and go fast. Case in point ,I sold an engine I had never run to a fellow across town . His car was the same weight and ran very close to mine {we both ran the 7.0 index class} on n2o his old motor ran in the 6.50's so the chassis is decent . the engine was less carb and dizzy . I set the valve lash for him after he dropped it in the car . Told him where to set a safe timing to start with and ballpark jets.
He had a QF 750 and MSD billet dist. with a MSD7?? box and left it at that . I could not go to that track that weekend so gave him a call monday . He was not happy ruined his starter and only could make 2 runs the best was 7.25 . And said he didn't think the engine would do more. Me being the nice guy I am said if he was not happy I'd take it back and his money.
He pulled the engine and returned it. It sat on my engine stand for a couple months when I pulled my engine and install the one he had just to see what was up with it. First run off the trailer 7.01 second run 6.95 went a couple round running 7.0's out of the throttle end the stripe before I broke out. The next week for a test and tune I put on a better 750 carb [I had a 700 dp on, as I most always run a new engine with the carb I had on the last engine} .
Off the trailer 6.75 second run 6.71 I feel It had more put started tuning to run 7.0 index .
So this little tale just goes to show even with the same parts not everyone can go fast. The better head porters will still go on reworking, refining and making improvement in already good heads for the racers not content with cookie cutter parts . Just my $.02 and ramblings Dan