OK, so I've looked around the HAMB and I know there is a thread somewhere that explains whether or not you can put earlier 24 stud heads on an 8BA flathead, but I can't find one that says for sure. I realize the water necks are in the center as opposed to the front, but is that an issue? I'm planning on running an aftermarket 2X2 intake if that makes a difference. Speaking of intakes....will an earlier intake work on an 8BA? I think there's something to do with heated or non-heated, but can you make a pre-49 intake work or is it something to steer away from. I do know that care should be taken when buying old used heads, but in my case a friend has a set of 38-48 Fenton finned heads and doesn't want my first born for them, so I figured I'd take the risk. They don't have any cracks or broken fins and the chambers all look good (uncut). Any red flags I should check for before handing over the cash? Like I said, I know this has probably been discussed before so if someone can point me to a thread that would be great too. Happy New Year HAMBr's!
Yes you can use them. You need to plug a water p***age on each side of the block in the front. Lay your 59ab head gasget on the block & you will see the one that needs to be plugged. Tap threads & install a plug flush with the block surface. Use the 59ab head gasgets that match the heads.Have fun.
You also lose the distributor lockdown tab. The other intake will fit, but it messes up the crankcase ventilation. You can put vents in the oil pan.
Early intake bolts right on. There is just more bolt holes in the early intake. You lose the road draft tube, but ditching the fuel pump, and running a vent or road draft tube in the back opening works good. You can take off your front cover that the dizzy slides in, and drill and tap the top ring for three set screws. This will hold the dizzy in place, since you lose the hold down when switching to early heads. Tap the two holes in the front of the block with 3/8" NPT tap. you will need to start it with a regular tap, and then use a bottom tap. If you dont have one cut the bottom inch off a regular one, and use it to get the tap in all the way (otherwise it bottoms out on the casting inside). Use the flush plugs with an allen head indent. STEEL ones. If you cant find them anywhere go the the GM dealer. They are everywhere on GM cars/trucks. It will make sense when you start doing it. ROB
Search function works well - search 'flathead heads early late' & see how many pages of stuff comes up - not all of it will be relevant, but I found these two in the first couple: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=229022&highlight=flathead+early+late+heads http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211538&highlight=flathead+early+late+heads
I knew this would be an easy one. I appreciate all the info. I guess I only have one more thing that I need clarified. Are older heads/intakes worse for performance and fuel economy than the 49-53 heads/intakes? I'm talking about aftermarket intakes and heads.
If you're not rebuilding it...just wanting to bolt on the heads...I wouldn't tap the water p***ages. I know it's just a water p***age, but it will still have metal shavings roaming around. I used a couple of little freeze plugs from the parts store, they went in nice and tight. We also used a tab made from an old set of U-bolt shackles for a hold-down for the distributor. It bolted to one of the head bolts, and works like a standard dist. hold-down.
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