Dove Performance sucks

[Sbholder]

I just want everyone to know about Dove Performance parts in Columbia Station Ohio. I Bought a set of Tunnel port FE heads from them. I had to fight with them for over 2 YEARS!!! I finally recieved my heads today, just days before I was going to press charges and have them sued for fraud, false advertising, and breach of contract. I don't know where to start. There is porosity and pits all in the intake face, around the exhaust ports, and on the cylinder head mounting spotfaces. 2 of the 4 exhaust ports have the port floor screwed up by casting problems and were quickly ground down before shipping. To say the least, the heads look like crap. One of my friends that didn't know the history of them, thought I had bought them used off of E-bay. I have taken digital pictures and will send them to anyone interested.

Needless to say I will never, ever, ever, do business with Dove performance again, and strongly encourage everyone else to not take the chance. During the period of time that I was waiting for the heads, I found several sets of original Tunnel Port heads for sale, and cheaper than Dove's offerings. I also talked to many people that stated that they had the same problems with Dove, extremely poor quality and no interest to actually ship product to customers.

[Mr.Fixit]

I have only heard of the porosity problems with Dove, and that's enough to scare me away. But they didn't even ship their crappy heads for over two years.....

[Jeff Frigo]

Sbholder

Took me over 4 months to get a set of roller rockers and shafts! What can be any more common than that. Many phone calls, they really don't care. I have heard of numerious problems with their heads. Make sure that every threaded hole is heli-coiled or you will be pulling threads out. (Im geussing they are aluminum).

They don't even have a web site, they are out right out of the 70's.

I would like to see pictures of them, I will send you my e-mail address.

[ColoScott]

Sbholder,

I guess I am surprised that you are surprised by the performance of Dove! They have been screwed up for a long time! I started researching FE stuff in the summer of 99 and I quickly decided to stay far away from them. Their aluminum blocks were a disaster...perosity problems up the wazoo, machining that was incomplete and/or wrong, and wait times that meant an engine build was a 12 to 19 month long project. Their heads are scarce...you see iron Ford, Shelby and Edlebrock aluminums and that is about it. I can't remember the last time I have seen a Dove head. The internet is loaded with horror stories and complaints about this company. This site and the FE Big Block forum on networks54 have dozens of "warning" threads.

I don't want to sound unsympathetic but this is a coveat emptor (let the buyer beware) territory and you have to do your research. Find a way to get your money back as you aren't likely to get satisfaction with this supplier.

Scott...

[Sbholder]

Thanks for the feed back, I was wanting to make more people aware of this. I'm now having to get into a big pissing match with them over it.

[Michael C Henry]

My car and engine came w/Dove heads and intake. The date of production would have been befpre 03 of 92 . I just had George Anderson checked out the my 2x4 tunnel wedge manifold for pourosity.He said he would have bet twenty five bucks that it would have a leak ,but none were found.I don't know if all Aluminum heads grow the same when hot but my current condition (I think) was caused by not keeping up with the valve adjustment in hot condition. Alluminum heads cool off so fast.And I haven't figured out what warm or cold settings will result in a .022" intake and .024" exhaust hot setting.

[ERA535]

Mike -

I have found that .012 cold results in .024 hot.

I have Edelbrock heads.

Pat

[Jeff Frigo]

Michael

Subtract .006 for cold engines with aluminum heads and iron blocks. This is per Crane's web site and works well for me.

[chopper]

I am close to ERA535. I use 0.014 and find that gives me 0.24 when the heads warm up. I also have the Edelbrock heads.

[Jack Zupan]

I think I'm missing something here. How can a hot valve lash setting be greater than cold. It should be the opposite.

Jack Z.

[wilf leek]

Ally head expands more than steel pushrod???

[ERA535]

Wilf -

Right!


Chopper-

I bet you actually did it hot at .024" and then measured it cold like I did!

I can't claim genius here.

All I did was follow the advice of one of the best engine builders in the country who has forgotten more about building engines than I will probably ever know. His name is Bob Santilini from Sparton Performance.

I would recommend him but he is so busy that "walk in" work does not exist at his shop.

I am priveleged to know him through friends.

Pat

[wtcobra]

Sbholder-I have some experience with Dove heads and I would be interested in looking at yours. My e-mail address is wtcobra@insightbb.com. They don't have to be pretty to work. Have you had them pressure tested? I have a pair of SK Dove fully ported and flowed by Kuntz.

Wayne Turpin

[chopper]

ERA 535:

Actually, I called Southern Automotive and talked with them (they built my engine and installed the Edelbrock heads). They said to subtract 0.012 from the iron head specs. Being basically a coward, I fudged that a little and subtracted 0.010 and went with the 0.014 number. When hot, I measured them and came up with the 0.024 clearance. It all seemed to work out OK.

Jack Z:

The correct answer is that the aluminum alloy heads expand more than the steel pushrods. This pulls the rocker arms further away from the camshaft when the engine heats up; hence the increased hot clearance.

[chopper]

Sorry, for some reason it posted the message twice.

[GEORGE ANDERSON]

I'm with wtcobra.....I do use and sell Dove components for many different applications and you need to have experience dealing with Dove or any other brand of FE parts out there....
This one was shipped last Sunday...and these are Dove heads as wtcobra mentioned and a Dove Intake too....and yes, sometimes aluminum castings do leak...but Dove isn't the only one we've found to leak...and most aluminum castings are easily repaired.

http://www.gessford.com/projects/ima...kes427-Y01.jpg

this engine runs chevy style (oil through the push rods) push rods and T&D rockers on Dove Aluminum Heads with 11/32" valves....so the Doves do work and can be built to make power and wt certainly knows this....
George

[carbide]

I purchased an FE water tank from Dove several years ago. It took a lot of work with a file and 2 home made gaskets to get it to hold water. Now I am rebuilding my 428CJ engine after 17 years and forty thousand miles and was saddened to learn that my engine builder wants to use Dove tunnel wedge heads. They are Already 3 weeks late shipping and I know they will be crap when they arrive.

[HI Cobra]

If it is your engine and you are paying for it I'd be telling him to get what you
want, especially if it is something like what the original poster got, you have about two more years to wait for that.

[Sbholder]

It is your engine, you can override your engine builder. Get heads from someone else, do not go thru the headaches and trouble caused by dealing with them and their products. I was forced into it because I wanted to build a Tunnel port and they were the only ones making repro heads.

[undy]

I sent my porous Dove Tunnel Wedge to these people and it's now tighter than Dick's hatband...

Vacuum Impregnation