> My machinist here in L.A. has informed me that while the castings are > decent, the valves are crap on the Spanish AMC waterboxer cylinder > heads.......he said that the keeper grooves are not hardened and you will > have valve problems in a relatively short time......

Our engine rebuilder, AVP has made this comment to me too, and on their rebuilt engines they do the same thing your machinist does for the same reason (they either use AMC castings but replace the keepers, or rebuild German heads). Also it has also been mentioned here on the List before. Apparantly the U.S. distributor for AMC imports them bare from AMC and assembles them in the U.S., supposedly with South American parts. Therefore, the AMC heads sold in the U.S. and the AMC heads sold in Europe are not entirely the same head.

So I am now getting my 2.1 liter Vanagon heads from a source that gets them directly from Europe, fully assembed there, rather than from the U.S. distributor. Lately they've been branded as Kolbenchmidt (who is an OE supplier to VW), but in fact they are still AMC castings (as are the ones sold by VW themselves in the U.S.). I cannot say how long this availability will continue, but for the time being I have a decent supply.

As a side benefit, since I am bypassing the U.S. distributor, the heads are also cheaper than before - $369.95 each, part number 025 101 065C. These are completely new heads, not rebuilt.

I cannot get the 1.9 liter ('83-85) heads this way, but as long as you replace in pairs, you can use the 2.l liter heads on a 1.9 liter block.

- Ron Salmon The Bus Depot, Inc. (215) 234-VWVW www.busdepot.com

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