Deluxe overhaul kit from Kanter

While tearing apart my 225 I realized one of my rocker arms had a chip so I want to replace it. I figure if I'm going to replace one I might as well replace them all. Which leads to my question. I had planned on getting the engine rebuild kit from Autozone or Advanced but I don't think the kit comes with the rockers. Would I be better off spending the 1095 from Kanter and get all the parts I need or should I look for the rockers somewhere else. The Kanter overhaul kit seems to already come with everything I need. Does anyone have any experience with these kits. Is this the right way to go.

 

i will never buy anything from Kantar. my first engine rebuild was a Ford 289 when I was 15 years old. I bought a complete overhaul kit from them and they sold me a timing chain and sprockets that weren't the right size. unfortunately, i didn't know this until it was too late. i put the timing cover on, and spun the motor by hand. it was tight, but due to my inexperience, i figured the motor needed to "break in". turns out the timing chain and sprokets were carving a groove into the timing cover. after running the motor for a bit, i checked the oil and found metal shavings in it. i had to pull the motor and tear it all down again to figure out the problem and clean up the shavings.
granted, my experience now tells me that something was wrong when the motor was tight when turning it over by hand, but nevertheless, my opinion of them is shot. i contacted them and they insisted they sold me the right part and that the timing cover i used wasn't correct for the application, despite the fact that the ford numbers on the cover verified that it was the proper cover. so i've avoided kantar ever since.
as for autozone or advanced, i'd be hesitant in buying a kit from either of them too. look at summit or jegs.

 

Most of that stuff comes in the Autozone rebuild kit. What I worried about is the Rocker assembly that has a chipped rocker. I'm not going to put it back in a freshly rebuild engine. Maybe I'll order the Autozone kit and just get rocker assemblies from Kanter. Any other suggestions. Also do I need to have anything done to the heads at the machine shop. Probably have them hot tanked but is there anything else I'm missing.

 

Another possibility is to let the machine shop buy the parts for you. They will get you the right parts once you have the machining done. Talk with them about price - they should be able to meet or beat any rebuild kit price you can get on the internet.

Almost 100% certain that you will need pistons too, and these should be the most expensive single item. If you have the block machined, you must use oversized pistons. The only time you would use the old pistons is if the bore taper is within spec, and it won't be if the engine is worn out otherwise.

 

I was warned earlier about letting the machine shop do this for me as they might reuse parts or use old parts. Is this really something I have to worry about. I think letting the machine shop do this would be best for me with my little mechanical knowledge.

 

Well, you need to find a reputable shop. The help you get from a reputable shop will be very valuable. Ask around, talk to the shop foreman, and don't necessarily go with the cheapest quote.

Plus, there's little danger that you'll get used parts if you assemble the engine yourself. The shop will install the cam bearings for you, but you can do most everything else. If you buy the parts with the shop labor, they'll give you the parts in their factory-sealed boxes (except for the cam bearings).

 

Well I think I've got my shop picked so I'll go by and talk with them. Thanks

 

I had Carquest do the machining and in the course of interacting with the machinist it became obvious that he really knew the 225 engine so for the extra $300 I had him put it together. I think the total cost for a complete motor was $1400.
I just had him turn my brake drums, he didn't even look anything up as he measured them and told me they were standard. An old guy like that is worth his weight in gold.

 

Let's see, current price of gold is $510 an ounce....

 

The autozone engine kit for the money is impossible to beat, I talked to everyone that I could think of. The rockers for the Buick are still available singularly or as a rebuilt set from TA performance and several other internet sources. What you really need to do is find someone that can look at the block and tell what size it will need bored over, as you need the piston to fit clearance when its bored (this is the right way to do it) at the shop, a good shop should help you here. I measured my bores, crank and rods and then ordered my kit, I checked my pistons for size and then took them to the shop and had them bore the block accordingly. I even weighed my rods, pistons, bearings and wrist pins and then balanced them accordingly. I would simply say buy the autozone kit and buy the other parts like the rockers, roller timing set from some where else, the oil pump kit can be gotten from autozone cheaper than anywhere.
Show us a photo of the rocker please. If you do not know, I am a toolmaker by trade and am very anal about who does machine work on my motor, my personal thing is a motor is not precision and is rather crude compared to what I do for a living.
Yes if you are doing this much work get valve seals and hardened exhaust valve seats installed along with new springs. If the rockers still fit the shafts good I would only replace the one that is chipped. The rockers should have about .003-.005 clearance on the shaft, anymore and they need worked on.

 

Here is a picture I took of the broken/chipped rocker arm.

 

YOu can get he rockers here!
http://www.classicbuicks.com/V8valvetrain.htm

 

Could someone post pics of a hardened exhaust valve seat and tell me what the advantages of these are. Thanks

 

All engines built after 1976 have the seats already installed from the factory. The purpose was to keep the exhaust valve from burning the factory seat back into the head, this was the remedy for having engines that were designed to run on unleaded fuel, the lead in the gas lubricated the exhaust valve seats, once the lead was removed from the fuel the heads suffered the wrath of the heat and pounding of the exhaust on the cast iron exhaust seat.
Steves description is very accurate.

 

That article is kinda why I don't recommend the valve seats unless a total rebuild is in order. I do know that our old John Deere mode 40 was in bad shape from extensive plowing and the guy that bought it from my dad rebuilt it and said the valves were sunk a good 1/16" into the head.

 

So Mike, would you recommend hardened valve seals be installed in this situation:
V6 heads & intake are being ovenned/hot-tanked at the machine shop, and heads getting milled & a valve job. Rest of engine (block, crank, cam, etc) stays as is. In other words, not a total rebuild.

Thanks!