Hello.
New to this forum, so if this is not the correct place for the following question, please advise me which area I should post my question.
Can new valve seats be installed in the 230 cu in flathead in my M37 while the engine is still in the truck?
Thank you for any advice.
Valve seat in 230 flathead
Moderators: Cal_Gary, T. Highway, Monkey Man, robi
Re: Valve seat in 230 flathead
Well, there are no intake seats per se. So you can grind them in position with a seat grinder The exhaust CAN be done insitu, but you will need the necessary tools and skills to do so. Not very common anymore.
"It may be ugly, but at least it is slow!"
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Re: Valve seat in 230 flathead
Thanks. Sounds like it is beyond my skill level. Think I will have a shop do the work.
Re: Valve seat in 230 flathead
Sometimes you have to pay the man...
1952 M37 - Mods = Locking hubs, battery switch, 2 bank charger, PB, PS, Pertronix SSI, Elect fuel pump w/filter&pressure switch, bikini top, tool box liners, 24v & 12v fused circuits.
Planned: Seatbelts
Planned: Seatbelts

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Re: Valve seat in 230 flathead
True. A smart man knows this.
Re: Valve seat in 230 flathead
How bad are the seats? Are you sure you need to replace them? Any photos?
If they are bad enough to need new ones I guess you could manage to pull the exhaust seats with the block in the truck, but you'd be stuck with the intakes without some creative machining techniques.
If the seats are toast I suspect the engine needs to be rebuilt as well. When you machine the deck you'd have to re-cut the seats anyway and I bet you'd be OK. The height of the seats would drop, but that's not a big deal in these. I'd be surprised if the exhaust seats need to be replaced, they're pretty darn hard!
If they are bad enough to need new ones I guess you could manage to pull the exhaust seats with the block in the truck, but you'd be stuck with the intakes without some creative machining techniques.
If the seats are toast I suspect the engine needs to be rebuilt as well. When you machine the deck you'd have to re-cut the seats anyway and I bet you'd be OK. The height of the seats would drop, but that's not a big deal in these. I'd be surprised if the exhaust seats need to be replaced, they're pretty darn hard!