Head Compatibility Question
 

I'm in the process of rebuilding engine #2 for my Formula 292. One of the heads on the engine are a bit rotted around the rear water jacket hole that stops at the intake. One head is fine the other is very thin around the intake bolt hole. I could have it welded, one guy said he JB welded a similar problem with good luck (not sure about that fix) any other suggestions? The other option I have is to use a good 990 head that I have, note- the other heads are 188's. From what I can find the 188 and the 990's have the same intake flow but the 990's have 6-7 cfm better exhaust flow. Would it be stupid to run a 990 and 188 on the same engine?

Here is another option, I found a set of new 088 heads near me, is there anyway I can run an 088 head on a Mark IV block?

Come on- Nobody has an opinion on this. I find that hard to believe.

fixx
 

you can have your head welded with nickel rod or you can braze it up with a torch and a brazing rod with hte white flux,then file it flat again..

perfect! thanks for the answer!

i have 2 sets of 088 heads for sale, and a guy that was intrested in them asked me the same question, will the 088 work on a gen iv block, so i checked with my engine builder, he told me the water passages are different and that they wont work....

fixx
 

what i would do first is get the torch out and heat up the rusty area to get all the elements out ,go to harbor freight and get some evaporust,stuff is killer on rust,,soak that portion on the head in the evaporust for about a hour,,too long and it will turn the cast iron black then you have to wire wheel it..next blast the head with hot water to remove the evaporust....reheat and let it cool again..now it ready to start welding or brazing..

I spent an hours reading on the web last night and it seems sometimes it works. However, I don't want to get my engines in the boat only to find out it doesn't then I have to scramble to find heads that do. It's to bad because there was a guy near me with a set of new 088's for $500.00. Oh well!

Thanks for the tips. I'll get on this, now that I know what to do.

There's no problem running Gen VI heads on a Gen IV as long as you use the right gasket. If you end up going this route let me know and I'll give you a part number.