Rocket Man VW Heads... What alloy?

On Jan 10, 9:18*am, "Maxwell" #$$9#@%%%.^^^ wrote:
|
| So what's a good alloy? *Ideally, something cheap & commonly available
| (and doesn't say 'Coors'!)
|
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The after market racing heads are usually made from 355 or 356, and heat
treated to T-6.
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Are you talking air-cooled heads?

356-T6 is usually selected for its HIGH STRENGTH rather than its
ability to pass heat
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Regardless of it's previous use, I wouldn't recommend
reclaiming anything. Every time you melt aluminum you gain and loose
elements, and usually reduce or at least changes it's physical properties..
It's too cheap and easy to just use an off the shelf alloy with known
physicals.
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I'm afraid you've confused me with some of those Double-Dipper Retired
Military types :-) Whatever I use for casting will have to come from
the junk yard.

I can get two engines-worth of 1.3:1 rockers for $200, which is about
the only thing I'd care to buy. I'll hit the junk yards over by the
airport to see if I can come up with the studs & hardware.

My casting ability is limited to about one quart of melted aluminum,
which should be enough for the type of heads I'm thinking about.

This puppy is going to need two cores. Pulling an accurate core is
where I've had trouble in the past. That is, using the Old Fashioned
method of baking cores. (Smells like a batch of cookies... until the
cores reach the carbonizing stage. In the past, I've scheduled Core
Production for those times when I'm home alone... then try to air-out
the kitchen before my wife returns :-)

It's unfortunate that, with almost a thousand 'subscribers,' grass-
roots ideas such as this, the primary glider and so forth, garner so
little attention. On the other hand, I continue to suffer what the
physicians refer to as 'mini-strokes' that leave me wanting when I try
to recall something like a pass-word or telephone number... with the
'chuggers' Group being a good case-in-point. I've no idea in the blue-
eyed world what 'chuggers' expects for my screen-name or password.
(Kinda reminds me of the two geezers who went for a local hop in the
one's freshly licensed home-built, which began with a neat diving turn
to pass UNDER a local powerline. But he finally climbed up to a sane
altitude and except for sneaking in a bit of input now & then, the
flight was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, as they began lining up for a
landing the pilot made no reduction in power until his friend shouted,
"Keee Rist! Jim! Are you trying to get us killed?" To which Jim gave
his friend a guilty look. "Actually, I thought YOU were flying
today.")

Still flying today.
-Bob