Head swaps on a Ford 215

Are there any head swaps you can do to a 1952-53 ford inline six? I was looking through some shop manuals and it shows in 57 the compression ratio for a 223 got bumped up to 8.0:1 where as mine suffers from a 7:1. I was wondering if this head could bolt up to the 215 block. I've searched and haven't been able to find anything yet so any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

The easiest path to higher compression for you would be to mill the head you've got. They had sufficient meat to withstand a .060 mill, and as far as the later 8:1 head goes, you can't put much faith in factory ratings anyway. Once the horsepower race really got rolling in the mid '50s, most manufacturers got "creative" with their published compression and horsepower figures.

 

If you look at both combustion chambers, you can tell the difference right off the bat. The 52-55 chambers were heart shaped voids where as in 57 it looks like the shape of a 64cc SBC head. I wouldn't mind shaving down the head but the original valve to piston clearance was only 0.017"-.019".
I thought about welding up part of the chamber but there would have to be too much material laid down to the point where it's not worth it.

 

I'm sure that you can mill your current head more than that. I've got an old "How to Hop Up Your Car" manual on the shelf at home; I'll see if I can find it tonight. I know it had a head milling chart in it.

 

Thanks. I wouldn't gotten back sooner on this but I just returned to civilization. Let's just say not many places to access the internet in West Virginia.

 

That clearance number sounds more like the valve lash setting. The valves probably clear the piston by a lot more than than, probably more like .100" or more. If you have the head off, you could easily do a check with some clay. Put a lump on top of the piston, rotate the engine, and the vavles will make an impression on the clay. by measuring the clay you can determine the clearance.

Also, take a look a the piston-to-deck clearance. Typically the piston on a later Ford six is as much as .020-.030" below the block surface at TDC. The older 215 may be similar. Decking the block by removing that material to get to a zero deck improves both quench and CR. That may yield better performance than just milling the head.

 

The book (copyright 1953) suggests a .080 inch mill for a compression increase of one full ratio over stock.

 

As soon as I get my rotating assembly back in I plan on doing the clay test. I thought those valve clearance numbers sounded odd too.