Brumfield Head?

[Mitch]

This head was acquire about 10 years ago by the previous owner and may have been from a swap meet or something. And yes I'll be scraping the paint of of the stud & distributor bosses, threads, etc. Anyway it took about 0.010" to get it flat.

The head has "B-F" on it. Is this a Brumfield head?

Thanks for the help.

[cannon]

you bet

[Larry Brumfield]

Yep, that's a B-F Head. It looks like it's been overheated in places.

You should have cleaned the gasket surface almost spotless (and the chambers) before you surfaced it. Also, be sure to check it with a machinist type straight edge before you install it. It may be too low in the center as it looks like the tool barely touched it. Then again it may be all right. I'd check to make sure.


Larry B.

P.S. Notice the manner of the soot/carbon formation. On a properly tuned and running engine without a rich carburetor, improper timing control etc., etc. carbon is slow to form on a B-F Head. Look out to the side of the spark plug area into the chamber. Sometimes this area will stay completely carbon free for miles and miles. That is a sign that the maximum amount of the fuel mixture is completely burning.

[Mitch]

Hi Larry,

The engine has only had about 150 miles total on it, to date, since it was bored 0.060", new pistons, rings, babbet, etc. First time I ran it, it stalled out when applying the brakes. I found that the zenith carb had the cap jet and the idle jet reversed, as I remember. Also it had an air cleaner on it. Anyway, the thing had run awfully rich as the carbon indicated. Plugs are Champion W-14.

I re-torqued the studs twice after I acquired it, but after sitting over the winter, the head had blew/leaked water between cylinders 2 and 3 (as shown in the pictures). I forget now, but the gasket was a copper R2, if I remember correctly. The studs and nuts were not high grade. I put a machinist straight edge on the head and it was low in the center by 0.005-0.010".

I've since gone through the whole engine to make sure things are correctly done. Yes the tool just touched the center, and it looks like the machining will give it enough bite for the gasket. It's hard to see since the surface because of discoloration from sitting around and the metal prep I used on it before painting. I also will clean up the combustion chambers before reinstalling and I have higher grad chrome-moly studs and nuts.

[Larry Brumfield]

Originally Posted by Mitch

Hi Larry,

The engine has only had about 150 miles total on it, to date, since it was bored 0.060", new pistons, rings, babbet, etc. First time I ran it, it stalled out when applying the brakes. I found that the zenith carb had the cap jet and the idle jet reversed, as I remember. Also it had an air cleaner on it. Anyway, the thing had run awfully rich as the carbon indicated. Plugs are Champion W-14.

I re-torqued the studs twice after I acquired it, but after sitting over the winter, the head had blew/leaked water between cylinders 2 and 3 (as shown in the pictures). I forget now, but the gasket was a copper R2, if I remember correctly. The studs and nuts were not high grade. I put a machinist straight edge on the head and it was low in the center by 0.005-0.010".

I've since gone through the whole engine to make sure things are correctly done. Yes the tool just touched the center, and it looks like the machining will give it enough bite for the gasket. It's hard to see since the surface because of discoloration from sitting around and the metal prep I used on it before painting. I also will clean up the combustion chambers before reinstalling and I have higher grad chrome-moly studs and nuts.

Don't jump over the edge and hit the gasket surface when you clean out the soot and carbon. It's very easy to do!

Be sure to check with your straight edge AND also check the block with your straight edge. Both added together should not exceed .0035

Also, the surface looks a little too smooth but maybe it will be o.k.. These modern day automotive machine shop "boys" tend to apply too smooth a surface for these old flat heads. They have no experience.

Use a Fel-Pro 7013 copper-clad gasket available at Auto Zone stores across the country. Torque to 60 to 65 pounds and re-torque using the 1/8 back off method, very important.


Larry B.

[Mitch]

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Thanks for the info. The machining in the area between 2 and 3 is actually a little smooth. Dragging my finger nail along the other areas I can see and feel the machining grooves better. I'll check with the straight bar to see if it and the block are flat.

[Mitch]

Thanks for the offer. I've only driven the car for a few 10-15 mile trips before the restoration started, which start a few years ago. This is a 1930 coupe I bought when I was 13 and now have it back. The power is much better than the car was with the original head, so I plan on keeping it.