head work?? yay or nay?

[EyeTalk2Trees]

I've believe I've blown a head gasket, I have a constant stream of bubbles in the radiator and water in the exhaust. I've tried to figure which side, but it looks like both?? Plugs on both sides don't look too great, I've tried pressurizing the radiator and swabing the chambers via spark plug holes but that came up negative also. I was going to replace the head gaskets and have the heads checked for any cracks, i know it has to be small cause the car still runs....ok.

Should i get a valve job done on the heads or any port work? The local machine shops want $700-$800 for a valve job, and slight porting and matching. I'm not looking for a racer, i need this car to be strong, but dependable, and smooth. What shold i do. Oh and as far as I can tell it hasn't been unsealed ever and has 133K miles on it. I haven't cracked it open yet, trying do get a plan together first.

 

[EyeTalk2Trees]

ok i did more checking and I found a local that will check the heads out, and give them a valve job for $125. replace the guides for another $60 if they need them, but he said "those buicks usually don't" I'd had machine work done before, and know this is a decent deal, just is there any buick things I need to know before i yank the heads off and give them to him. I know for the block there are closer tollerences than chevys, is there anything like that I should look for in the heads? or is it pretty straight forward?

 

[turbowrenchhead]

I would definetly have a valve job done. As for flow it all depends on how much you want to spend on the car. Porting will help your top end more. There are also the options of the champion irons or the ta performance heads. I don't know what exactly they have yet out.

 

[cool 84]

I would have them ported if you have the money. There's no downsides, no loss of lowend, in fact I felt like I had more low end not to mention the better top end. Turbo also spools faster. If you're worried about too much power, turn the boost down. You won't have to run it as close to the detonation point to get decent power.

 

[racemybuick]

as for porting, it seems everyone looking for power and potential, have ported their heads. Valve job should be standard when pulling high mile heads anyway. I am considering sending my heads out soon to the ArizonaGN.com guys. They do a rebuild which is this:
Iron stock replacement turbo regal heads with performance valve job that have been bead blasted and checked for cracks are done as follows:
-Deck surfaced machined
-Bronze guides
-Three angle valve job
-Port-matched intake and exhaust
-Bowl work by machine cutters
-New valve springs and keepers
Max Hi Flow heads with new larger valves also available on special order
Flow numbers available upon request for all heads.

the cost on their page is listed @ 675, plus shipping. basically around 750 for the whole thing, and parts are included. That falls dead smack in the middle of your estimate, but these are guys who specialize in our cars. I think it is a good deal, considering the work is complicated, and they can give you flow numbers if you ask. Good luck!

John