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Discussion Topic:
cast vs aluminum heads
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parrish |
06-06-2011 @ 7:12 AM
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Member
Posts: 349
Joined: Oct 2009
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If you wanted to change from head water pumps (pull) to block (push), would you opt for center discharge aluminum or cast? Other than the final torqueing procedure, what are the advantages/disadvantages? Thanks!
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supereal |
06-06-2011 @ 10:07 AM
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Senior
Posts: 6819
Joined: Oct 2009
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Original aluminum heads were prone to attaching themselves to the block, making removal difficult and often destroying the heads. Today's finned aftermarket heads are made from vastly different alloys, and can be removed as easily as the iron type. Old aluminum heads are usually eroded to the point of being useless. Henry Ford had a big interest in aluminum parts, but the heads were eventually replaced by iron in production. In theory, aluminum should be a better conductor of heat, but not enough better to overcome the attachment problems. To use the later type pumps you have to have the correct block. The pull type pumps proved to be considerably more efficient than the push pumps in the cylinder heads. That is why they were adopted in '37.
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JM |
06-06-2011 @ 2:21 PM
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Senior
Posts: 823
Joined: Oct 2009
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If you prefer the appearance of the original aluminum heads but do not want to take the risk of corrosion/erosion that typically occurs with aluminum, you could consider having a set of cast iron heads powder coated with a coating that looks exactly like aluminum. Of course this assumes you are not trying to do a high point restoration.
JM
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1934 Ford |
06-07-2011 @ 2:41 PM
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Senior
Posts: 573
Joined: Oct 2009
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After 39 years of playing with and driving my 1934 Fords, I can count on one hand the people who said anything about the cast iron heads (Painted green). Only the 1933 & 1934 owners seem to know that they should be aluminum. My Paheton had the correct ones and functioned for many Glidden Tours without trouble. For the 1984 Great American Race I polished a set of original aluminum heads. Looked great but developed leaks from corrosion from the inside out before we even got to the Race. Went back to cast iron. I just had a cast iron head develope a leak from the inside out and replaced it with another cast iron head, but this time I sandblasted it and painted it with aluminum engine paint. Looks like aluminum and runs cooler with all that old green paint off. Now when you look in the hood fins, it appears to be alumminum. Have had no trouble with the head mounted water pumps. (1932-1936) When I do I'll send them to Skip for a rebuild.
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