36hp valve seat replacement - any new options?

[Bug-nut]

Hey guys,

As the title says, I’m currently looking for options for my 36 hp heads. Several thousand miles ago I had my heads rebuilt; the machine shop replaced the original cast iron valve guides with new silicone bronze ones from Wolfsburg West, along with all new intake and exhaust valves from the same. They ground the original seats with a three angle valve job.

So every 1000 miles or so, I’ve had to adjust my exhaust valves, they always were getting tight. Tonight I went to adjust them after reinstalling the engine (check my thread for details on that) and I had no more room to adjust them... so I pulled everything back out and apart and pulled the right head to see what’s up. I found the valves in good condition but the exhaust seats have recessed heavily, so much in fact the valve is flush with the seat. I measured it at .045”. I don’t see any cracks (yet - I still have to pull the other head) and the guides are nice and snug so I was wondering is it possible to get the seats replaced. I assume they are soft like the original valve guides and running on unleaded gas has finished them. Valve Seat Recession I believe it’s called. I did a search on here and the only place I’ve found is Rimco, however Matt at air cooled research wasn’t happy with the job they did on a set of heads he sent them. However rimco was bought by FAT last year so maybe they have improved and so far they seem like my only option. I’ll call them tomorrow and see what they say, but I wanted to ask you guys first. Thanks for your help

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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[txoval]

Matthew Kenney is my favorite,he’s out of California though, but shipping heads is simple

www.Aircooledresearch.com

Phone number is on website

[sunroof]

I'm interested to know too. I am just starting to rebuild a 36er myself.

Don
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Better and better mistakes!

[Bug-nut]

Thought I’d post a quick update. I boxed my heads up and sent them to Clyde Berg out in California. He owns and runs Clyde Berg Heads and Motors in Orange, California. He said he should be able to fix them however he won’t know for sure until he looks at them. I didn’t want to take them to my local machine shop because I don’t fully trust them... I’ve had to hold their hand before in the past and don’t want to risk them trashing my heads if I can help it. I’ll let you guys know how this goes. Wish me luck!
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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[sunroof]

[Bug-nut]

Since it’s been a while I thought I’d give this thread a quick update. I talked to Clyde about 2 weeks ago, and he said he had ordered some seat material and was going to have to make new seats since new ones are not obtainable anymore. I’ll update this thread again when I hear more. 😐
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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[splitjunkie]

Couldn't ask for a better person to work on them.
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Chris

You know, a lot of these scratches will buff right out... Jerry Seinfeld

[Bug-nut]

Well guys I’m afraid I have nothing but bad news. Clyde called me at the beginning of last February and said my heads were finished and after he received my check he would send them on their way. It’s been three weeks since he cashed my check and as of today I’ve still not received them. I also am not able to get ahold of him and he hasn’t returned my calls. I don’t know what to do, I’m kind of at a loss now. Do I continue waiting for them to maybe perhaps show up or do I start sourcing some NOS parts to get my car back together? I searched the classifieds and found everything except the exhaust valves, and have sent emails to the gentlemen who are selling the heads on there to check if they still have them.
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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[Bug-nut]

Still no news or updates from Clyde. I’ve decided to go with NOS parts to get my car back on the road again. So I warn you all against using Clyde Berg. He never will call you back, nor will he bother giving you updates on your parts. Maybe it’s different if you are a local and take your parts to him in person, but do so at your own risk. At the beginning of February he called me and said the heads were finished, and if I would send him a check for $420.00 he would ship them when the check cleared. He received and cashed the check the second week of February, and that’s the last thing I’ve heard. As of today he has kept my $420.00 and my heads. He won’t answer my calls nor return my voicemails. I’ll update this post if he ever sends my heads back but even if he does I still advise you to stay away. So far I’ve been very civil about it and haven’t started any legal proceedings, however my patience is about all gone. Perhaps I should go to the seller feedback page and start a thread on him?
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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[jason]

Can take a few weeks for money to clear at his bank. Hes probably on the road also. Good rule is to double time frame.

[FeelthySanchez]

Local Yelp review shows the shop as closed.
Maybe shoot me a PM w/ any info that might help: I could swing-by there to rattle his cage.
Was a UPS tracking # provided?

This is enough BS to make ol' Gene roll-over in his grave.
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[Dave]

I really doubt you have anything to worry about. Doug Gary, and Clyde Berg, are all the sons of Gene Berg, who is/was absolute royalty in the VW scene. I would seriously not worry about it, the Berg last name has a fantastic reputation in this industry, and there is NO WAY any of them would jepradize that reputation for 400 dollars and change...They SoCal area just had a huge Drag Day event, and chances are, Clyde has been working 16 hour days, getting customer's cars ready.
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2003 Samba Chummie Winner- Best Story

"Those that matter, don't mind,
and those that mind, don't matter"

[splitjunkie]

I'm sorry to hear that. This is puzzling because as others have said, Clyde is a Berg and has a good reputation. Hence my endorsement.

If you sent the check in the US mail and you don't get your heads the you can file a mail fraud claim against him. The USPS takes mail fraud very seriously.

I hope that he is truly really busy. Still not an excuse but I hope he hasn't gone down the same road as the likes of BFY and other one time reputable businesses who went down the tubes for one reason or other.
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Chris

You know, a lot of these scratches will buff right out... Jerry Seinfeld

[Bug-nut]

I appreciate everybody’s comments. I’m still gonna give him a while and see if they ever arrive before I take anymore steps. However this isn’t any excuse for his very poor communication skills. I feel that as a paying customer I should at least get an update every now and then. I really don’t like being kept in the dark.

FeelthySanchez no no tracking number was provided. And since he won’t ever answer the phone nor return my calls I’m unable to try and get one from him. However I do appreciate your offer to swing by his shop. If nothing happens within the next week or so I’ll be sure to let you know. Thank you!

Dave I’m very aware of the Berg name and reputation. That’s one of the main reasons I sent them to him without any hesitation. However I will never make that mistake again. He’s had since the end of November to change eight valve seats. I understand and am okay with him being busy and backed up, but he’s had my money for a month now and so I feel justified in wanting my heads back. It’s been long enough already.

Splitjunkie thanks for the tip on the mail fraud. I was not aware of that fact. And yes I did send his check in the mail. I was hoping this head repair would go smoothly and I’d have someone to recommend to people for 25/36hp seat replacement. Sadly however it has turned into the opposite.

I’ll keep y’all informed.
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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[scdevon]

[jason]

I dont even know what youre trying to say. $400 is nothing, only 4 hours labor. I had someone buy parts with a check once. I told him as soon as the check cleared the parts would ship. 2 weeks later they shipped. Guy was saying I took his money and etc. I wasnt on here everyday or checking emails, I was busy. Not making excuses but 3 weeks is nothing.

[txoval]

Definitely hope this clears up for you.

There are a few good 36hp guys out there as mentioned at the beginning of this post.

Joe and Matthew are the best in the 36hp business in my opinion

[Bug-nut]

Hahaha ok guys well guess what showed up yesterday. Yep, the heads. Of course it would be after I get on here and start raising a fuss. And after I sourced new parts elsewhere. Oh well, it is what it is. He did box and ship them very securely. Double boxed, bagged and oiled with foam padding to secure everything.

I’ve not had time to break all the valves out to check them all. Been too busy reassembling my engine with the other set of heads and valves. However I did pull one intake and exhaust from the “worst” looking cylinder. I can’t tell if he changed the intake seat because of all the red stuff. I’m not for sure what it is, perhaps something like Prussian blue? You guys will know I’m sure. Anyway I lapped both valves to see the contact patch, it’s higher than I wish it was.

He installed new springs. Said they were out of a Honda V-Tec engine. If/when I use these heads in the future I’ll install some NOS springs first. I’m sure these would work fine but I’m weird like that.

The exhaust valve sits a bit lower than I would like.

My old valves on the left, lapped to the seats he fixed; the NOS ones lapped to the NOS head on the right. Note the difference in the contact patch area.

For grins and giggles here is the NOS head and valves.

So here are a few things I noted. On one head the valve stem ends are all equal and in line, on the other head both exhaust valve stems are about 1/16” shorter than the intakes. Not enough to be a problem in my particular case, but it’s something to note. He also lightly ground the ends of all the valves to clean them up.

He flycut all the heads enough to clean them up. Also beadblasted both heads. I was not expecting him to do either of those so that’s a pleasant surprise.

He installed new springs. Not VW but they will/would work fine probably.

Made and installed new exhaust valve seats and did a complete valve job. I’m not for sure yet if he changed any of the intake valves seats, I’ve still got to pull all the valves to see. However I don’t think they were bad to begin with so he probably didn’t have to.

So here’s my takeaway from this experience. And please remember I never called him a crook or dishonest or anything. My main concern and problem was my inability to ever get him to answer the phone or call me back with a status update. When you make repeated calls for several days and never can get in touch with someone you tend to start worrying. Or at least I do. Especially when you send them payment and several weeks go by and still nothing. It’s not like I could drop by and check up on him. I live 1900 miles from his shop.

His workmanship seems to be pretty good. Not perfect but if I didn’t already have new parts I would run these heads. As it stands I’ll hold on to them as a spare. Probably order new exhaust valves just because these are used ones and also some NOS springs. So if you aren’t in any hurry whatsoever then go ahead and give him a try. It’s your decision. I’ll update this thread with more info and pictures when I get all the valves pulled.
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1959 Fjord Blue Volkswagen Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite

[FeelthySanchez]

Good to hear that it eventually worked-out, & appears that he R&Rd only the exhaust seats.
The following is perfectly normal for used valves: "He also lightly ground the ends of all the valves to clean them up".
Red Dykem (TM) is on the seats - normal/common for most any valve job:

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[joey1320]