Some kind of patches in the water jacket, I am assuming.

Head has been run but appears to have sat for a very long time. Pretty nice port work. No valves but quick measurements show ~1.7int/1.45exh. O-ringed chambers. 24 lbs!

Needs work for sure but overall seems solid...

Very nice!

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12.70 @ 104.6

Wait, it's an aluminium head?

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

An aluminum head prototype, how cool. That changes things. Now we know yours is not, in fact, an early-production head but really is actually a prototype, I went back to the 1960 FPC and looked at the valve cover gasket: no up-to/after; it's just one part number, and it's the same as the gasket listed in '61 and subsequent FPCs. Moreover, the "after P22-6-6" valve cover is also the one and only '61-'62 cover. Which means I have seen (and owned) the "up to" cover, and I know what the difference is: the raised uppermost plane of the exterior of the cover continues all the way to the rear on the "up to" cover, but on the "after" cover this uppermost plane drops down before the aft end of the cover. Neither cover is scalloped at the mounting flange.

The "up to" cover will clear the heater box on a '60-'62 A-body only if it's on a 170 engine. With a 225 only the "after" cover clears the heater box, and then only just barely. That might not be the reason for the change, given that it happened very early in MY60 production and the 225 wasn't available in the A-body until MY61, but on the other hand it might still be the reason—225s were surely being tested in Valiants before very much of MY60 had passed. It's also possible the change was made for additional clearance on the larger cars, which also used heater boxes mounted to the engine side of the firewall.

O-ringed combustion chambers and larger valves: nifty, but makes me wonder about who might have carved up a super-scarce one-of-none-intended part like that.

Anyhow, thanks for the opportunity to make a post or two like this again.

-Sh'boom

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Is this the same style alloy head Doug used in the Magnate build? The guy who owns that car now claims the head on it is #38 of 100 cast in the early '60s, and only 2 exist.

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Enormous thanks Dan.... seeya on email.

I haven’t seen the Magnante/Dutra aluminum head in detail, but I did see that it’s got an Offy cover sitting on it, which more than likely counts this shape out, unless it’s been modified quite a bit inside/underneath.

I sent DD some pictures, perhaps he will comment.

Thanks everyone...

Just plain WOW ...... and seriously cool.

Good to hear from you again, Dan.

I had a couple of the "taller rear" rocker boxes, may still have one around even. Might be willing to modify something to that picture of yours if you want to go that route. That'd be a fun cobble.

You'd likely have to make up your own gaskets though. Not that hard, and it'd be cool enough to warrant it.

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The 3-4 prototype alum heads I have seen in person or in good photos all used the "standard" early 60s to 80 valve cover.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

WOW! This has got to be the "Holy Grail" of rare slant parts. As Dan suggested, too bad someone in the past had to modify it to such an extent.
I can't help but wonder if it was someone with some recorded racing background that we should know about.

In their defense, maybe when they modified it, it was just another engine part at that point, and there was no information available that that particular design would disappear, never to be seen in production again.

On the other hand, if it's a factory prototype, as Dan suggested, it could have been "carved up" by the engineers at the factory. For all we know, it may have been some attempts to get the head to seal better to the aluminum block. (That wouldn't account for the larger valves, though.)

It might be more efficient to fabricate an adapter to go from the head surface to a later cover surface, unless the bolt holes happen to be in the same locations.

Roger

Cool rare piece of hardware 'fo sho'



Greg

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Bolt holes are in the same location. A standard cover can be modified to work in a variety of ways. I’ve mocked it up....

The modifications don’t bother me at all. The work is well done, not your typical butchery... Car guys come in all shapes and sizes, and not too many purists around for a lot of those years. it’s amazing it’s still in one piece and it exists at all... 59 years later.

I will second that statement, amazing that it still exists.

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Hyper_pak

Now if we can get someone to start casting them at $750 a pop...

In this Master Tech video, if you check at the 6:35 mark it shows an actual picture of the 'correct' valve cover:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwujbldKC04

Interestingly, it has two lateral grooves instead of the usual longitudinal ribs.

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Actually, there's a better view of the right side at 5:33, but you have to look past the text in the foreground.

Roger

That’s the one! Great vid!