I bought this Mckee head several years back and sold it to a friend that had to have it. Now i had to have it and got it back. Looking for any info i can get on it. The head is missing valves and could use some machine work in the valve seat area. Dont think it was ever finished and run.
Plan is to run one of these covers with the magneto. They should be back in stock by the time i need it
Love it,awesome cool ! Start with Valve steam size,fine valves with that size that is longer then needed,and hopefully a valve head size right or a little bigger around,then cut down to what you need> start with older type valve that are not new hard SOB to work with{ Like old Ford "Y" block valve are soft by todays stander.} Cut keeper grove for type keeper an hight of spring an retaner. Just ideas !
Do you suppose that it is serial number 62 from the Star 62 Star? Kind of like how Henry had the frames numbered. Cool piece for sure!
Looks a bit Gemsa inspired... With the exhaust pushrods passing thru the exhaust ports and all... Finding valves can be a pain... I always go straight for the Manley book to find something close. Avoid cheap valves as the chrome stems and stellite tips are important for longevity. Materials are important too, unless you like doing valve jobs. Springs seats can be spaced up, and keeper grooves can be recut further down. Manley has custom order options as well... get almost anything you want for $25 bucks a piece. May not have stellite tips or be titanium... but not too bad for special order! Here is the extra keeper grove I had to cut for my banger O/H. No sweat for a carbide grooving tool!
Thanks... i do believe Gemsa had the molds before Mckee and possibly started as Rutherford or Gerber I like the Manley custom option. Didnt know about that
Clark, do you know about Thinbit Co. for carbide grooving tool bits? Their stuff really woks and is way cheap, at least the last I bought from them.
Ya won’t need pop up pistons with that thing! Whats with the groove in the head under the front rocker tower...? Clearance for a rocker oiling tube...?
Bob McKee was a sprint car racer from the Columbiana Ohio area. Columbiana is just south of Youngstown. He was known to experiment with lots of things revolving around Ford four cylinder engines. Back in the early seventies he dabbled in promoting old time sprint car racing in Eastern Ohio which is where I came to be acquainted with him. He was the person who rebuilt Model A engines for Snyder's Antique Auto Parts for many years.
Does each rocker have a groove? It looks like there is a boss that may be drilled out in the bottom of that rocker? Like where a line would run? Similar to the spray bar on my OT L24 6banger
I think he was talking about the deep groove in the head itself. Not sure about the individual rockers
Think it is Dick McKee that made that head based on a Rutherford. Link to one of the cars he once had. Bob “PRISON CAR” NOW ON DISPLAY IN THE NATIONAL SPRINT CAR MUSEUM - Sprint Car Racing News and Press Releases (sprintsource.com)
Gemsa used the 30S Morales brothers castings to start with. Lots of changes because Joe went junkyard shopping for valve gear parts and sometimes the stuff he got before wasn't currently available. A close friend of mine bought 2 different heads from Joe, one was an OH only, and the other was a "convertible" as Joe called it because it had bolt on cam towers that allowed an overhead cam to drive the valves. I wish I could tell what happened to them, but he passed away and his widow put everything in storage, only to pass away herself and left everything to an addlebrained daughter that cleaned out the storage unit, and now nobody knows the fate. He had a B block and C crank set up that was going to receive whatever head he chose. Then install it in a 27 roadster on deuce rails. I was really impressed with what I saw. Mike at H&H flatheads knows lots about Gemsa because he apprenticed with him. He might be able to help you figure out just what you have also.
Interesting it mentions Gene Dodd in the prison car article. I have no.61 McKee head. The rocker cover has "DODD BROTHERS" cast into it. I have been told it is based on patterns from a head built by Gene. I cannot guarantee this.....
I don’t know if this is any help @Clark but you might try contacting Bob McConnell at Gaslight Auto Parts in Urbana, OH. Bob has been an avid collector and restorer of old race cars for decades and may have some info on the McKee head.
Thanks for posting the head pics Clark. Looks like someone used a bridgeport freehand to cut the CCs. Marcus...
Great score! My Alexander had all different valves with welded stems and such. Armed with stem diameter, seat diameter, and stem length needed, I spent several eye crossing hours going through TRW valve dimension charts and found that a BBC 1.88 exhaust valve fit both intake and exhaust. Early 2.3 L valve springs also worked. My Rocker arms were 34 Chevy and Ford FH V8 con rod bushings were the correct size for them.
The Jalopy Journal
