j head repair

sweet, thanks alot everyone for all the great information. And Okatar, no offense was intended at all by questioning what APE Jay said. He is a EXTREMELY knowledgeable person who i have alot of respect for. I just wanted to know if it was possible to get away with using differnt caps even though it is not the recommended way of doing it. Looks like i will be getting some aluminum stock, and seeing if i can fix up this head. I didnt see any on ebay, aybody have any ideas where cam caps can be purchased? Kaw dealership?

They are not sold separately from the head if you buy them new from Kawasaki. You will have to wait until a set is available on eBay. I unfortunately made a similar purchase some time ago and am in the same situation with one head. I do not worry about it any more since I have bought a few 84GPZ heads since than and do not require the standard J head anymore. Just bide your time and get them when they are available on eBay.

I have fixed more than a few heads like yours just by welding multiple passes...and then using a die grinder and a file to contour the fins after.
kinda like fixing a prop on an outboard.
hope this helps

There is a undamaged J head on eBay right now for $75 buy now. Is it worth fixing this one? cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&s...IT&item=390047866297

Hay Jordan, I hope it was you that bought that head. It was bought almost as fast as I posted the link on this thread. That head was a steel for the $75.

DAMN! i just read your post, just barely too late. THanks alot anyways for looking out for me. I appreciate it greatly. I won mine for $30, but for that price and in much better shape its definately worth it.

What is a J head?

someone else more knowledgeable will chime in, but basically it is the head they used on the later kz's. They can be made to fit on the early z's with a minor cam chain idler mod. Can't be certain on the valve differences. Better flow = more horsepower. There is nothing wrong with the early heads though

just a thought...i found this thread of intertest as far as the broken fin fix....then was thinking...in my work i use a pre made shape to patch a hole by cutting my shaped patch a tad large but with clean edges ,then lay it over the junk hole and re-trace my fixer piece onto the junk...then cut the hole to accept the cleaner edged patch piece....can you square the broke fin and trace the flat stock to match then cut it???good cam tutorial too...good luck...

:blush: Hey Guys I bought that head I just couldnt pass it up for $75.
Tom