has anyone tried one of these yet? I keep seeing it on ebay, and it is getting
very tempting.

 

I've seen it on there for quite some time... even noticed a few price flucuations over time. Check his feedback, see if someone has bought a head from him, then send a email to that buyer, see what they think of it...

 

Idle speculation? For the price, it seems like a good option. Of course, step up to a cool $1k, and you can get better stuff. (IE. The stuff DMH is allowed to publicly sell, on his site).

 

I haven't tried a Clearwater head either, but I'm also interested in the performance and reliability compared to say, the Jesus head that Longboard has.

The procurement side of me from a previous life is impressed, though, that Clearwater included the cost of shipping the core back to them. Their website leaves a little to be desired.
http://www.cylinder-heads.com/index.cfm

 

I think I remember don posting here on NAM that he helped them in some way to develop the head. I might be wrong though...

 

You are right on! The link to that specific post:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...0&postcount=38

 

I looked into it. Call Don of DMH, he can tell you about it for he was involved in developing it. Note the reference on Ebay of Precision Mini.

 

hmm. definetly temping. But I was really hoping someone had tried one. I'm not sure I want to be the pioneer on cheap cylinder heads

 

Once you have seen the Jesus Head you get a real appreciation for quality. All of the parts used in the head are "the" best you can get. Reliability?

The price cannot be beat as well and the performance continues to amaze.

Longboard

 

Well, if you decide to take the plunge be sure to let us know your experience with it!

 

I hear that!

Perhaps Don or someone else can key us in on someone who's bought one.

 

+1 on that. Incredible head.

 

+2
Old racing addage: "Cry once, cry hard"

Why mess around with mediocraty when you can have what you really want.

 

For information about the heads on eBay you can call me at the shop, 732-748-1964; or my mobile, 732-259-5941.

 

Think about it. If you get a 20-25% increase for $800. Not a bad bang for the buck. I'm looking for a head now and have a hard time dropping $1250. to 1500. for a Port and Polish job. I'm really thinking hard about his head. IF I jump I'll let all of you know how it looks. I did talk to the guy @ Clearwater and he made the comment he had done a few for Mini Club in Florida. Maybe they will chime in.

 

Why do I keep getting the impression that this is another one of those heads created by a guy in his back yard with a die grinder? I'm not trying to imply they won't be good, they could be, but there's just something about it done via a CNC machine that makes me sleep a little more soundly at night.

I don't care how good you are with a grinder either, you will never be able to match the precision and consistency of a CNC machine.

 

If you would like some information concerning the head you ought to call me. Though I have not dealt with CCH in quite some time they still use my phone number in the eBay ad.

One trouble spot with the head is that it utilizes 1 mm oversize Si valves and the stems are simply too small for the guides -- they wobble and do not seat properly. Lee at Si is aware of the problem.
It is ported and polished by hand-- it flows great but does not allow the mixture to burn properly as these two important areas – swirl and tumble – are overlooked.
Furthermore, you’ll need to measure how much was milled and compensate with the correct size gasket as this can negatively affect the static compression ratio.

If you are going to spend the money to install a head but don’t want to spend money on a head with a racing valvetrain (though that is where the power is made) consider spending a little more and buying one from a professional outfit. I have seen far too many tuning issues, e.g., pinging, altered flame fronts, fuel puddling, burned exhaust valves, from heads ported by amateurs and/or machine shops that have no way to test the end product other than give you worthless flow numbers. (We do this to Hondas so it must work for MINIs.) Once material is taken away from the wrong spot the head is junk.

I sold my last Wegner built head with the stock valvetrain and will not be doing any more of them anytime soon as my focus is on high performance and that means valvetrain. Thus, I would steer you to Lucky Dog Garage as his NJ done heads with the stock valvetrain meet all the criteria. (He also makes a high performance head.) Shop wisely.

 

DMH- THANKS for your input!

I, along with several others was seriously considering buying one of these heads, but will now look elsewhere for stock valvetrain heads.

Since the professional install charges can be almost as much as the head itself, we should definetly make sure it's the highest quality product we can afford.

just my $.02