I have a hemi head that has a casting number I have never seen listed anywhere. I hope some one has a reference that will tell me what it is. Casting number is 1536367-1 . When I could not find any thing on it I thought it might be a Dodge or Desoto head , however It measures 20 1/4 inch , Same as a Chrysler. I think it has Sodium exhaust valves as well. Thanks Dave
here is a archived link I found on google from this very site. Not sure if the info is accurate though since I do not have the books (hard copy)... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-427454.html
Well, I checked that thread out and it pretty well confirmed what I thought, It is a Truck head. The thread mentioned the "tall " water ports in truck heads, it has them. Man, how one forgets things if not constantly using the knowledge one has -- I KNEW about the tall water ports, but I put all my collection of parts and hot rod stuff in storage for over 10 years because of a job that gave me NO time to persue my hot rod p***ion. NOW I am retired and have moved to a tiny town in the Mountains of Colorado and all my collected parts are now stacked in a heap in the middle of a 6 car garage that will house my roadster project, the 64 Merc Maruder Coupe to be restored and my OT Ranchero to be gotten running again. My Sons OT Jeep also shares the garage when it is not in use trying to plow enough snow out to get us out of the house --- we live at 9500 feet in the beautiful Rockiey Mountains However on the bright side -- not remembering everything about what one has gathered to build a car has its surprises ! I just discovered that a**** the many 35 Ford wire wheels I have stockpiled , I also have 4 40 spoke KH wheels to use on the roadster-- I Knew I had a couple but forgot that I had a full set! When I get the last truckload of things from Las Vegas up here I will find more things to marvel at I am sure.
Just found my head casting listed on 73RR 's engineering site. He lists it as a 331 Marine head. Now to dig a bit deeper and see if I have another -- probably do -- they should work pretty decent on a 56 block bored to 4 inch with 392 slugs .
I have a few sets. They are the only production early hemi head that I know of with hard seats from the factory in both intake and exhaust. Will need new intake seats if using larger valves. They have a small deck surface and the water holes in the deck are different than later heads.
My brother ran a 331 industrial that we rebuilt - it had inserts for both the intake and exhaust seats.
So TR does the difference in the water holes cause a problem on a 354 block? I am thinking that since 354's are 331 blocks, factory bored, that these 331 heads should be ok?
I believe this is a case where you have to use a little creativity. The top gasket shown (darker) is a 331 gasket. Two things to note. The location of the water hole is one. Also, the deck and gasket of this 331 head will not completely cover the "keyhole" pushrod holes in a 354 block.
It is not just the gasket. The head deck surface is narrower. (think 241 vs 270 Dodge) Not a big deal, but needs to be dealt with none the less.
I seem to recall reading where someone dealt with the Keyhole pushrod problem with either sillicone gasket material or JB weld??
Is it possible to awake this old (and good) thread? I recently found heads in good shape that are the 1536367-1 casting. It matches your description above. It has no external water mounting holes and it also has the original hard seats. Now, I have a question: Do you consider the 1536367-1 heads good for porting and using in a drag race engine (1000+ HP´s) I know that the best heads to use are the 1955 331 heads, but are these heads also good to use? My block is filled and I run on alky, so I don´t have any water flow challenges. My current engine is around 900-1000 HP´s and I´m looking for iron heads to replace my current mistreated heads. Or it is better to save them for a street engine with not too many HP´s??
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