Does anyone in the group know where I can get a good porting kit to use with a dremel or air die grinder? I want to complete some porting on aluminum intake / heads/ runners and plenum. I though I had seen this discussed elsewhere but have had no luck searching for it.

I also want to do some polishing so if anyone has experience with porting and polishing please chime in.

Thanks to all in advance.

 

Google A cut above distributing co.. A good start would be an aluminum pear shaped carbide, either 1/2" X 1", 5/8"x1" for rough shaping, followed by one similar sized with more veins. 40-80 grit flap wheels and cartridge rolls to help finish. A ball shaped bit is good for the bowls, and a straight barrel type carbide makes port matching easier. I'm not a "porter", just a backyard wannabe, but here's some of the stuff I use...
An air die grinder with a bleed valve or a high quality (Mutabo)electric (adjustable rpm)works pretty well.



Practice on some old parts, 'cause you will ruin some . Use some oil/ WD40 to keep them from clogging. Eye protection and a dust mask is a must. One metal chip in your eye will ruin your day.

Consult a pro if you can afford it, but if youre dead set, have fun

 

Good book, has porting profiles for LT1 and L98 heads:
How to Build Horsepower, Volume 1, By David Vizard

Good article:
http://www.sa-motorsports.com/diyguide.shtm
scroll down to the "Head Porting Guide" links

If you're buying bits, there's a difference between aluminum burrs and iron burrs (aluminum burr's teeth have courser pitch).

 

Also remeber your cutting speeds. Aluminum has a much lower cutting speed than steel.

I also like to use a electric diegrinder with a router speed control.

 

Some of your "better hardware" stores carry what you want, or try someone local that carries industrial tools. You could also try KBC TOOLS, they have stores across the USA and carry exactly what you want at decent costs.

I just finished porting and pollishing the SuperRam runners and plenum that I bought thru TJ Wong. I used a air die grinder, a "tree shapped" grinder and then followed it up with the flapper sanding drums in 60, 80 and 120 grit in my 1/2" multi-speed drill. They really came out good. I don't think a dremel will hold up to what you want to accomplish and it will take forever!

Just take your time. I used blue layout "paint" to mark the parts and then traced around the gaskets with a tungsten carbide pointed marking pen. I clamped the parts to a metal horse with "C" clamps. I put plastic strips that I had around under the parts and several layers of cloth on top of the parts where the clamp hit the parts. This held the parts in place while I used the die grinder to cut away large amounts of material. As I got closes to the marks, I matched the gaskets again...several times to be sure that I didn't go too far. The I smoothed or tapered these cuts back into the parts. After that was completed, I used the 60 grit sanding drums followed by the 80 and finished up with the 120. Again, go slow, especially on aluminum.

 

You guys have to see this!!

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...66&forum_id=50

 

You can also get sanding rolls & tapers at the Eastwood company. I also got most of my polish/buffing wheels & compounds there. The grinding paste really helped w/ keeping the alum. out of the sanding rolls. Air die works but you need a regulator to slow it way down.

I'll post some pics here in a min.

 

 

Summit used to sell both standard 2" long and 6" long burrs, both for ally and cast iron.
Dave,

 

Thanks to all. I will certainly go out to my local machine shop and grab some wasted aluminum heads from them first.