The valves were very pitted, and the valve stems were rusty, pitted, and worn. It appeared that the original diameter of the valve stems was .312. They varied in diameter down to .300. The valve guides in the head were also wallowed out and worn. The engine did have good compression, so the original valves were sealing, but I decided to make new valves and ream the valve guides anyway. The closest size I could get to cleanly ream the valve guides was .328, so that is what I used for the valve stems. An oversize reamer of .329 was used for the valve guides. This was done on 20 Sep.
The valves and stems were made in two pieces. I made the valve, and silver soldered the stem to it. The 45 degree face was turned after the valve was silver soldered, to assure concentricity. On the left is one valve with the 45 degree face completed, the other is not. On the right, both valves are complete. The silver solder solder wicked through valve face nicely, as can be seen.
The head was clamped to the table, using the flat side as a reference. A 0.329 reamer was used, to provide .001 clearance with the stem. Both valves were then "lapped in place", resulting in an excellent seal.
Here are the valves, and the new spring keepers. The keepers were machined from barstock, since I had no way to punch the form. Not original, but they look good. The originals were very beat up.
