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I have a question concerning 2 heads off of an old chopper.
My brother purchased the bike 50 years ago, rode it for 2 years and took it apart. He has since died and my other brother and I have decided to resurrect it. The cases are a 49 FL and we are trying to identify the rest of the engine parts. One of the casting numbers is easily indentified but the other is a bit more difficult to read but we believe that the numbers are 50 & 501.
The front head is totally missing the letter "F" in the word Front. From the best we can tell, it was never cast. The date codes don't seem to be in the letter then number.format. They appear to be numbers only. There also appears to be the letter E on both heads.
We have the "How to Restore Your Harley Davidson" book and can find no mention of any of these issues. The heads have been sitting for 50 years so we're sure they're not repops ( or at least we believe they're not).
Must've changed from a letter / number date code system. A 48 and 49 head I have here dont have date codes like that. My guess on the rear head 1-1 is Jan 51, the front being 1-10 I dont know unless its 51, tenth month making it a 52 most likely. The base of the cylinders will have casting numbers and dates as well.
More pics are welcome, would love to see the bike in its current state.
The frame was chromed. Not a nice job either. It's out being blasted right now so that it can be powder coated. It's a 55. The engine is a basket case . The cases and crank are at a local indy being cleaned up and re-assembled. I'd love to show you some pics now but nothing is assembled at this point. Thank you for your response and once we get to building anything I'll gladly post some pics. We'll be having the cylinders and heads cleaned and checked next.
December 1949 was a changeover month for date code formats on aluminium parts for Panheads. Some had letter-number codes while others received numbers-only codes. But even after the change to numbers-only codes, more than one format was used and it can depend not only on year but also on month.
I agree the rear date code looks like 1-1 and that it indicates casting in January 1951. Casting number in full is 119 501 which was used for 195054 models.
Front date code looks like 110 indicating casting in November 1950. Casting number in full is probably 119 50 which was used for 195054 models. Are you certain the F is not present for the word FRONT? It may have partly worn away over time or perhaps it wasnt formed properly in the beginning.
The lone E is found on Panhead heads from many years but I do not know what it represents.
Which Palmer book do you have? I get the impression it is one of the three versions of his 3764 first edition? Whats on the front cover? Is there a price on the back cover? If so, what is it?
Eric
We just purchased the third edition last week from Deborah Palmer Publications. http://www.howtorestoreyourharleydavidson.com/. The book is with my brother right now so I can't say if there is a price on the back or not.
The book makes no reference to any casting date format changes that I have seen but from your comment I may need to look at what it says for 49.
As you can see in the picture of the front head, there is no F in that particular casting. It is not hidden by a cooling fin, it just isn't there hence my wondering about the casting. We've looked at it from every angle under various light and can't even see a raised area where it may have been and the R is very close to the cooling fin. The rear head casting marks are easy to read but the front.... not so much.
We just purchased the third edition last week from Deborah Palmer Publications. http://www.howtorestoreyourharleydavidson.com/. The book is with my brother right now so I can't say if there is a price on the back or not.
The book makes no reference to any casting date format changes that I have seen but from your comment I may need to look at what it says for 49.
As you can see in the picture of the front head, there is no F in that particular casting. It is not hidden by a cooling fin, it just isn't there hence my wondering about the casting. We've looked at it from every angle under various light and can't even see a raised area where it may have been and the R is very close to the cooling fin. The rear head casting marks are easy to read but the front.... not so much.
Good to know about the date code format changing. As for the poorly cast letters, it happens. It happens with car engine parts as well, the main thing is you can see the dates and they're oem.
My brother knows infinitely more about panheads than I do and insisted that because the heads have been in the families posession for 50 years that they were more or less guaranteed to be oem. He says that there was no one making any aftermarket heads at the time that our brother acquired the bike. The casting on the front head and date codes on both just threw us off.
Our brother left us other treasures that we've been able to identify and others that we'll be trying to identify and the book will help us greatly.
I have Palmers first and second editions but not the third. However a few of my friends do and thanks to them I have some info from it. I dont know how many pages mention aluminium date codes but page 12 does although there are problems with some of the info.
Thanks for the clarification about the F.
Regarding cylinders, most H-D Pan cylinders have a date code but some do not. For example I wouldnt expect a date code on H-D Pan cylinders for 4849 models. The earliest date codes Ive seen on H-D Pan cylinders are from Jan 1950.
Eric
I have Palmers first and second editions but not the third. However a few of my friends do and thanks to them I have some info from it. I dont know how many pages mention aluminium date codes but page 12 does although there are problems with some of the info.
Thanks for the clarification about the F.
Regarding cylinders, most H-D Pan cylinders have a date code but some do not. For example I wouldnt expect a date code on H-D Pan cylinders for 4849 models. The earliest date codes Ive seen on H-D Pan cylinders are from Jan 1950.
Eric
My 49 EL cylinders have no date code on them; my 49 FL cylinder have no date code either but the front cylinder has a pressed in casting number "120-48" on it.
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Head Markings Question
