The Flex-Hone® for Valve Jobs in Classic Car Engines

Leaded gasoline boosted engine compression, reduced knocking, and provided lubrication for valves and seats. An inexpensive octane booster, anti-knock agent, and valve wear preventive, tetraethyl lead (TEL) also fouled spark plugs, gummed up engines, and polluted the air via automobile emissions. Today, most countries, including the United States, have banned TEL from motor fuels. For the owners of classic cars, the end of leaded gasoline means lead substitutes, alternative fuels, or engine overhauls.

Valve Jobs and Unleaded Gas
As Jim Smart of the Auto Enthusiast Weekly explains, “there’s everything to be gained” by overhauling your classic car’s engine so that you can use regular unleaded gasoline. Engine mechanics need to start with a plan, so Jim recommends “a blueprint valve job that includes new valves, guides, hardened seats, value springs, and Viton seals.” The services of a competent machinist are essential, and all valve jobs should begin with value guides that are in parallel. The right tools for a valve job are important, too, and that’s why we recommend a small-diameter Flex-Hone® from Brush Research Manufacturing (BRM).    

Valve Guides and Bronze Inserts
As the slide show that accompanies Jim’s article explains, valve guide honing is a key part of the engine overhaul. Although some engine builders replace their valve guides altogether, others keep the factory originals by using bronze inserts. Acting as a valve stem bearing, the bronze insert is driven into the factory value guide. “Bronze inserts,” Jim explains, “are an economical high-wear answer to valve job life because they wear well and control oil flow to valve stem”. Measure the valve stem to the proper size, and then use a ball hone to improve the surface finish, “like honing a cylinder bore for piston rings”.

The Flex-Hone® for Valve Guides
Built with a stiff metal steam and abrasive nylon filaments, the Flex-Hone® from Brush Research Manufacturing is a cylinder honing tool that features abrasive globules for a soft cutting action. Unlike honing stones or other rigid hones, BRM’s flexible hone produces a uniform pattern of peaks and valley for optimum oil retention. Users may call our brush tool by other names (including ball hone), but the results speak for themselves. If it says BRM, you know you’ve got the best.