SOHC Production Numbers

[machoneman]

If you read the letter Joe posted you'll see Ford had Paramount Boring do the machining & final assembly on the aluminum heads, my guess would be PB stands for Paramount Boring 

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Nice catch Kevin, you win the internets this week!

Darn, I was at Garlit's museum earlier this year and took a pic of the only SOHC in a stand in the "Engine Room" as it has the only OEM cast iron Cammer headers I ever saw. Didn't think to take close ups of the heads to see what numbers were stamped on it. Bet they were low!

[jayb]

I don't think the cast iron heads were numbered.  I've had two sets of factory cast iron SOHC heads, still have one of them, and they do not have numbers stamped in them like the aluminum heads do.  Probably because they were done at Ford, not an outside shop. 

[Autoholic]

Jay, do you know if the aluminum heads were put on engines as part of the production run or were they parts only?

[jayb]

I have never heard of the aluminum heads being installed on the crate engines.  I believe they were over the counter only, designed for Ford's drag racing program back in the day.  Pretty sure that the top fuel and top alcohol racers in the mid 1960s drove that decision.  I'm also pretty sure that the aluminum heads made less power on a naturally aspirated, gasoline fueled engine than the cast iron heads did, and that the reason the aluminum heads were cast was to save weight on the top fuel cars. 

[cammerfe]

John V. would likely know the answers to the questions posed in this thread.

KS

[WConley]

I don't think the cast iron heads were numbered.  I've had two sets of factory cast iron SOHC heads, still have one of them, and they do not have numbers stamped in them like the aluminum heads do.  Probably because they were done at Ford, not an outside shop.

My original crate engine cast iron heads are indeed numbered:

Notice the "PB" mark too!  Right head:



Left Head:



Remember that Ford sold quite a few cast iron heads in individual boxes.  I've seen several NOS examples.  These, of course, would not be numbered.

[jayb]

Wow, that's cool Bill!  So then if the heads weren't stamped, you think they were sold over the counter?  And I wonder if all the heads were machined at Paramount Boring?  I'm going to have to take a close look at the cast iron set I have left, and see if they have that PB mark stamped in them...

[Nightmist66]

Wow Bill, I can't seem to find any rust on those heads. Must be a nice climate. All my iron parts rust before my eyes.

[WConley]

Sunny, dry, Southern California!  Of course this winter we're supposed to get a massive El Nino, so it may be raining a lot.  I keep everything wrapped and hit it with WD-40 anyway.

Oh, and Jay, I believe there were at least as many iron heads sold over the counter as assembled onto crate engines.  For a while they were advertising a conversion kit for your sideloiler block.  I have seen a lot of those individual heads

Here are a few that I think come from the Rick Kirk collection:





- Bill

[Nightmist66]

I'm jealous of the weather there, I'll trade any day. Especially the winters, last one was no fun at all. Been raining mostly all week for over a month and humidity is usually high. Another product I've found that works well for rust prevention is Slide- No Rust.

[WConley]

Did you guys notice that on the iron heads, the right is odd-numbered and the left is even?  This is opposite to Jay's aluminum heads.  Interesting!

[Autoholic]

If you really want to clean a part, even remove oxidation from it, Gibbs brand is an old but still made product. Originally created to keep magnesium parts clean and free of oxidation.