Stu,
I could well be wrong, but I have never heard or read that the MK2 head
casting itself was any different than the standard XPAG head. I would have
assumed that the differences (larger valves & higher compression) were
arrived at by machining a standard head. Your former owner's cautionary
statement is the first I've heard that indicates otherwise.
There seems to be no question that a standard XPAG head can be modified
to the MK2 specs.. The procedure for doing this was outlined in the
factory-issued "special tuning" manuals long before the MK2s were produced.
The std. XPAG (banana-hole) head in my TC was MK2'd years ago with no
problem, and was later fitted with seat inserts, again with no problem. (The
inserts became necessary because, during the initial MK2 mods, the machine
shop made the exhaust valve seats both too narrow and too close to the rims
of the exhaust valves. This double error led to burning both the exhaust
valve seats and the exhaust valves. It was not possible to reface the seats
in the head without having the valves recessed into the head -- inserts had
to be fitted to get a proper fit of valves into the head. Inserts were not
necessary for the intake valves, which had not failed)
Hope this helps,
Carl Fritz
Gainesville, FL
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