Aluminum Head difference

[rockfla]

SO I have a pair of Aluminum Ford heads.....ON one head the water jacket holes are all flush to the surface, the other head all of the water jacket wholes have a rabbited area cut around them.......Different heads??? One pop ups the other flat tops??? ANY difference????

[deuce lover]

More Corrosion on the right IMO.

[alchemy]

That's erosion. Ate away by the coolant.

[rockfla]

SO, any concerns....fix that "should" be done with what you see?? Interesting how one did and other didn't and by all indications from the same motor!!!!

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by rockfla

SO I have a pair of Aluminum Ford heads.....ON one head the water jacket holes are all flush to the surface, the other head all of the water jacket wholes have a rabbited area cut around them.......Different heads??? One pop ups the other flat tops??? ANY difference????

[19Fordy]

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I wonder if you could fill in those rabbetted depressions with a high quality epoxy and use them? Looks like you will need to install Helicoils in the spark plug holes. Check the surface of the heads for "flatness" also. It appears they may need to be milled. Don't let someone resurface them by using a belt sander.
https://www.google.com/search?q=epox...hrome&ie=UTF-8

[rockfla]

I'm gonna do some more checking of them. I have to make a water pump blank off plate and I will pressure check them first before I attempt any other fix or repair. They are NOT mine but part of an engine I am helping someone overseas with and their restoration. In the process I am learning for my "future" 21 stud build!!! I wonder IF Devcon (aluminum) would work?? The "depressions" sure have perfect distinct edges for "natural" oxidation process.

[19Fordy]

Rock: Read ALL the thread below that explains the trapezoid shaped corrosion on those heads.
The early style flathead heads have different water port openings than the later style
(1949-53)heads. During 1953 Ford tried to make a head gasket design that would force more water to the rear of the heads for better cooling. Anyhow, this is good reading.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...askets.225221/

Can you post photos showing the complete top view of the heads? What year engine are they for?

[tubman]

Any numbers on the heads? The one that has the more corroded combustion chamber (top) seems to be less corroded in the depressions. Weird.

[flatjack9]

I see no need to fill those areas.

[rockfla]

Originally Posted by flatjack9

I see no need to fill those areas.

That was my initial thought BUT I am NO expert on these heads!!!

[DavidG]

Robert,


Noticeably more advanced corrosion on '33-'36 right side heads is commonplace, that's why there are more surviving NOS and good used left side heads than those for the right side.

[flatford8]

Originally Posted by DavidG

Robert,


Noticeably more advanced corrosion on '33-'36 right side heads is commonplace, that's why there are more surviving NOS and good used left side heads than those for the right side.

It looked to me in the pictures that one head was more corroded more than the other. Even in the combustion chamber area. David, do you know what causes one side to corrode more than the other?...........Mark

[rockfla]

Tubman - NO numbers, Just Made in Canada

[rockfla]

David & Flatford8

I "believe" the head in question (or discussion) is the "left" side??? I will get a better picture tomorrow BUT IF you look at the rise on the top of the head for the water pump mount, I believe that the left, NO???? EVEN the two lower round holes at the bottom ALSO appear to be "rabbited" (If you will)???

[DavidG]

Robert,


You're correct as the additional photos make it clear that it is a left side head that is the worse for wear. So this pair are contrary to my own experience with aluminum heads where the right side head seems to be almost always the worse for wear.

[Bored&Stroked]

They would probably work just fine, but I don't like how close to the edge the upper triangular corrosion is. Is there enough material left to seal the head gasket? Heads can be welded up and surfaced, but a lot of times the whole casting will warp/bend, so then you have to try to "flatten it" - which can be a dicey operation. If you just mill it, then you have different combustion chamber depths. Kind of a crap shoot!

Also, the aluminum used in a lot of early castings can have a lot of impurities - which makes TIG welding a bitch (anybody who has welded on this stuff knows what I'm saying!). Sometimes it just seems to get worse and worse . . . the deeper you go in the prep before welding, or each time you have to grind it out and try again.

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by rockfla

NO numbers, Just Made in Canada

I "believe" the head in question (or discussion) is the "left" side???

[Lawson Cox]

All of the above considered, don't forget, corrosion on the INSIDE of the heads is probably just as bad as around the water holes on the underside.

[Ol' Ron]

Had a set of 24 stud Alum Heads worst than these. Milled them .070 " re domed them for .050' Piston to head clearance. Worked great.