Picked up a set of 462s the other day, and was cleaning them up to take to machine shop when I noticed something I've never paid attention to before. Are the rocker stud holes SUPPOSED to go through to the water p***ages under them?? Someone has tapped these heads for 7/16" screw in studs, and the holes go straight through...it seems I remember that normally they don't. Either way, some good huge quan***y of Loc***e or similar sealer should square it away, no?
While it's not great to have that happen it's not the end of the world - when ported and setup for screw-in studs I've seen it happen plenty of times that it goes into the port. You'll want to use a thread sealer on them similar to what you'll use for the head bolts which go into the water p***ages. Also for best flow I've seen the intake ports epoxied up after having the studs screwed in and torqued - this way the finish can be smoother.
Yup, the stud holes were drillled through to the water jackets. If you get a chance to look at a pulled stud you'll notice the rust on the stud end. The press fit on the stud was sufficient to seal the water from getting into the area under the valve cover. Frank
Ok, good to know. This is the first time I can remember having a head with no studs in it, so I've never really looked. Thanks for the quick answers guys.
Buiencek, I don't know what kind of heads you have been working on but small block Chey heads do NOT have rocker stud holes that extend into the intake ports. After standard heads (with press in studs) have been machined for screw-in studs the machine work won't intrude into the port. If it does you've had an incompetent shop do the work and they have just s****ped a good set of castings. Frank
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