Features:
• New! Revised and updated edition - complete with extra illustrations - of this best-selling SpeedPro title.
• The complete practical guide to successfully modifying cylinder heads for maximum power, economy and reliability.
• Understandable language and clear illustrations.
• Avoids wasting money on modifications that don't work.
• Applies to almost every car/motorcycle (not 2-stroke engines).
• Peter Burgess is a professional race engine builder. David Gollan B ENG HONS is a professional engineer.
• In the past decade there has been huge resurgence of interest in modifying cars and motorcycles for higher performance.

The complete practical guide to modifying cylinder heads for maximum power, economy and reliability. Don’t waste money on modifications that don’t work. Applies to almost every car/motorcycle (not 2-stroke engines).

The complete practical guide to successfully modifying cylinder heads for maximum power, economy and reliability. Applies to almost every car/motorcycle (not 2-stroke) and to all road and track applications.

• What is horsepower?
• Types of cylinder head
  Squish | Swirl (& tumble)
• Theory and thoughts
  Airflow requirements | Suck it & see | Airflow fundamentals
• The flowbench
  Air receiver | The orifice plate/orifice drum | Flow bench pressure tappings | Suction pump flow settling drum | Manometers | Manometer pipes and damping | Manometer fluid | Suction pump | Connecting the flowbench | Flow calculation | Simple calculation | More detail | Using the flowbench | Leak free? | Dummy cylinder | Inlet port testing | Exhaust port testing | Valve curtain area | The flowbench experience | The good | The bad | The ugly
• Development pointers
  Port & valve guide boss | Valve throat & seat | Valve seat width | Valve shapes | Chamber shrouding | Valve flow potential | Port size & flow restriction
• Head work
  Inspection | Cleaning | Safety first! | Grinding general | Grinders | The wrong way | The right way | Porting accessories | Carbide burrs | Mounted points (stones) | Further accessories | Polishing | Valve, seat & insert machining | Valve seat cutting | Valve refacing | Refacing using cutters | Valve refacing using grinders | Insert counterbore machining | Spring seat machining |
• Modification work
  Porting | Removing the guide boss | Port modification with the carbide | Stoning the port and guide boss area | Fan grinding port and boss area | Flapping the port and boss area | Carbiding the valve throat | Stoning the valve throat | Fan grinding the valve throat | Flapping the valve throat | Hand finishing | Matching ports to manifolds | Combustion chambers - reshaping & finishing | Chamber wall shrouding | Chamber roof roughing | Chamber roof finishing | Chamber wall finishing | Matching manifolds to gaskets/ports
• Valves, blueprinting, buretting, CR & 'unmodified' class heads
  Checking used valves | Choice of valves | Inlet valves | Exhaust valves | Forced induction | Valve guides | Valve seat inserts & conversion to unleaded fuel | Valve seats | Blueprinting & buretting | Blueprinting | Buretting | Compression ratios
• Valve train components
  Valve springs | Valve float | Valve bounce | Spring surge | Installed height & coil bind | Valve train lightening | Oil seals | Rocker arms & rocker shaft | High ratio rockers | Collets (valve keepers)
• Camshafts
  Camshaft terminology | Camshaft choice | Bedding the cam
• Fuel & fuel supply
  Carburation basics | SU, or constant depression type, carburettors | Modifications | Cleaning | Fixed jet type carburettors | Air filters | Fuel supply | Fuel for thought...
• Exhaust system
• Ignition system
  Points-type distributors | Mapable electronic ignition systems | Coils | Sparkplugs | Sparkplug (ht) leads (wires) | Pre-ignition & detonation
• Head cases
  Ford CVH - hemi chamber | Ford V6 3-litre 'Essex' | Ford 2-litre SOHC 'Pinto' | Ford 'Kent' crossflow 1.6 | Vauxhall 1.8 8-valve | Fiat twin cam 8-valve | Fiat X1/9 1500 | Triumph TR7 & Dolomite 8-valve | Triumph 1500 Spitfire/Midget | 1275 BMC/BL/Rover A-series | Ford 351 Cleveland V8 (2V) | Rover V8 3.5 (SD1) | Rover K-series 16-valve 1.8 MGF | General
• Appendix
  Compression ratio calculations | Head skimming (planing) calculations | Gas speed through inlet valves - effects of engine size & camshaft selection | Torque & horsepower calculations | Torque & acceleration calculations | Fuel supply calculation | Deciphering camshaft specifications | Overlap | Duration | Lobe centre angle | Lobe separation angle | Cam timing | Typical flow bench test programme