Re: valve job on my 22nd series 8cyl.

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2009/5/8 12:00:03

Rusty, I'd disagree with you to this extent - if the owner has good mechanical skills, is thoughtful, studious, patient, and is willing to study up on the job and even watch a skilled mechanic do a valve job, I think that he should be able to do a credible job on his own, assuming that the guides are good and that power seat refacing isn't needed. I've done more valve jobs on L-8 Packards than I'd care to count and very often the owner, after watching and participating, could probably do a basic one on his own. After all, this is, when doing it right, how we increase our skill set.

In their day, the first valve job ("carbon a valve job") on a flathead engine of almost any type was about 25-40,000 miles; it was often the second valve job that included doing rings.