Re: Boat Anchors

["Jim Blair" <carnuck@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Not to cast aspersions, but I'd send heads in that were already marked to 
see if they really were yours coming back. A machine shop I used to deal 
with (because my uncle did) complained about cracked Ford 2.3L heads when I 
brought one in for machining (I asked hom much before bringing it in and a 
little alarm went off when they said that w/o even seeing it, so I marked it 
where it wouldn't be too noticeable and took photos that I had notarized and 
pressure tested the head before dropping it off) and after a couple hours, I 
was called and told mine had a crack and they had a good one for $500.
   I went to court to run those bastards out of business because they 
switched heads on me and sold mine to someone else! (I think they kept the 
cracked head around to keep showing people that their's was cracked. They 
were sure upset when I grabbed it and left w/o paying for their "work" they 
had done)
   Needless to say, they aren't in business anymore. So far, I have seen 5 
cracked AMC heads. 4 of them were 6 cyl (mid '90s 4.0L and 1 early 258)


From: JOE FULTON <piper_pa20@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Boat Anchors
To: mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx

I have a 1970 360 which I am freshening up to put in a
Javelin.  I took the 291C heads to the machine shop
yesterday for a quick valve job.  The machinist called
today and said both heads were cracked.  I retreived
the heads today and he showed me the cracks which are
visible on the rear of the heads where the thick part
of the head runs onto the "shelf".  There was no
obvious sign that the engine had been overheated but
it is a used engine and I don't know the history.

The machinist says they can't be fixed.  He also said
that he doesn't see that many AMC heads because they
don't do much Jeep work, but he has seen a
disproportionate share of cracked AMC heads.  He
warned me about this when I dropped them off.

Joe Fulton


Salinas, CA