[rotorwrench]

The modern offerings of replacement valves for flatheads seem to be mostly stainless steel these days. Stainless stems have a tendency to gall against a cast iron guide so sleeving the guides with a phosphor bronze liner like Gary does is not a bad idea. His prices are not bad either for this service.

A regularly used flathead shouldn't have much trouble with stuck valves. Heavy carbon deposits can cause sticking but it's usually under extreme conditions with an excessively worn engine. A flathead that has set for 20-years in a moisture laden environment can have multiple stuck valves. The ones I've found down here in south Texas all had stuck valves and I mean stuck. One old truck engine was so bad that the follower was driven through the stem and the cam broke when an old farmer tried pull starting the truck with a tractor. It took me a while to get that mess apart.