So I am in the process of building a motor from the ground up. I have a head here that I just took to the machine shop for surfacing and a valve job.

The machinist was saying how I should get a aftermarket valve, since he saw a guy with a evo 9 drop an exhaust valve and it was hollow. He said might as well get solid valves cause "they arent good ****". Mind you this guy is real old school. What are some thoughts on that?

Also he said to get harden valve keepers. Has anyone used aftermarkets or just sticking with reused/ new oem?

I am not ready to dump a wad of cash onto these if they arent needed.

And as far as aftermarket springs and retainers do I keep the stock shims? Or need other "special" ones.

 

Nope to the first one and nope to the second, as far as the third question, aftermarket springs sometimes come with new seats/shims. Just check with the manufacturer before you purchase. Also a lot of the times you will see springs come with seats when they are dual valve spring sets not singles. Hope that helps and it seems this old man may need to come into the modern ages where things are lighter when they are hollow....like our cams.

 

You don't need aftermarket unless you're going to go over 7kRPM but it's good to get some while it's getting machine jobs. I would definitely get new valve seals and guides just to be safe.

 

The valves are hollow because they're filled with sodium metal. When they get hot, the sodium melts and sloshes up and down the valve, pulling heat out of the combustion chamber. The valve did not fail because it was hollow. Also, the stock keepers are hardened. I don't know of any keeper from any manufacturer that isn't.
As far as springs go, that's a case-by-case basis. Double springs will always need different seats and retainers, but a lot of the single springs are designed for use with stock retainers and seats.