Hardened Exhaust Seats

[Dave1931Pickup]

My '31 Pickup has a fully built touring engine with hardened exhaust seats. I'm now rebuilding my wife's '30 Coupe which will not be a touring car but rather just used for short trips. Are hardened exhaust seats necessary?
Thanks, Dave

 

[Synchro909]

It sounds like the Coupe won't be doing many miles and what it does will be at low speeds. I wouldn't bother.
Henry didn't use them and there were thousands of Model As criss-crossing the country. The engine I use for long trips (up to 12,000 miles) does not have hardened seats

 

[nkaminar]

If you do not use the hardened seats, keep an eye on the valve clearances as they can change as the seat wears. A friend found one exhaust valve with only 0.002 clearance, but this is an extreme case.

 

[Kurt in NJ]

It depends on how much the seats were previously ground , the seating area can be too wide and the valve can be sitting too low , some engines should have all the seats replaced

 

[Synchro909]

It depends on how much the seats were previously ground , the seating area can be too wide and the valve can be sitting too low , some engines should have all the seats replaced

I should have mentioned that. Hardened seats are a good way of overcoming worn seats in a high mileage engine. I use a lead replacement additive in the fuel to prevent valve seat recession.