I stumbled upon some photos taken at Phil Hawksely's funeral yesterday, which was the first time I heard that he had died.
I bought my much modified cylinder heads from Boxerman as he was selling down his stock of airhead parts around 5 years ago. The heads had been stored on the floor under a shelving system, he was VERY honest about them and said "I cannot remember where I got them from, or what might be wrong with them, so check them carefully before use".
Then when postage was going to be astronomical, he kindly reduced his price to make the deal affordable. Of course when the heads arrived they were so full of rat droppings and other nameless "stuff" that my workshop put them in the parts washer for a week or so before looking at them.
Inspection revealed that the heads had spent a lot of time on a flow bench and that they had been fitted with bigger than stock valves (which fortunately intervalve was able to match). That they had previously run reliably was beyond doubt as the guides were well worn, and one guide was actually loose which is probably why Phil had kicked them under the shelf.
When I discovered how much work had been done to them I contacted Phil, his response was "so that's where they went". We continued to exchange emails for some time and he offered a lot of very good advice as far as parts sourcing went.
My impression was that he was both a gentleman and a genuinely helpful person - the world is poorer for his passing.
