I figure someone here can answer this. What is the best source(s) for identifying various years of panheads - frames, motor, transmission, etc. For example, what years were sidecars available, how to identify the model year of a sidecar frame, front forks, etc. Appreciate any help you can offer.

 

THE BOOK is Palmers "How to Restore Your Harley Davidson". It is no longer in print and can be a bit expensive, but it is absolutely the best source of information for knucks, pans and flatheads (640 pages).

 

best way to tell a frame year is casting numbers 58-00000 is a 58..engines before 69 had the year and model in the vin#. parts have casting numbers like the frames but it isnt exact,just the year it was designed,gives a rough idea on the year..other then that you just have to know what your looking at..i think side cars were available from 1913-2010..there are probably books,but i haven't seen many myself.

 

A bit more. Sidecars for pans were the same 48-65. The year is stamped on the frame itself.

Front forks for 48 were springer and few for 49 as well. 49 was the intro for the hydra-glide front end. 49 ONLY sliders had a casting stamp on them but other than that they are the same as the 50-65.

Early 49 have a different brake side plate that was a sand cast and used a 48-.... part number, but unless you know what you are looking at you cannot tell the difference form the 49 part...and again, they are all interchangeable for pan years.

 

48FLpan, as mentioned above, the best book to get is the one by Palmer. However, there are many errors in that book and it doesn’t cover 1965. Also, a lot of info which should have been included will not be found in that publication.

Sidecars: I haven’t got a very good photo of a Panhead sidecar number so I’ve posted one below from a 1945 model but I think the location of the number is the same:



Inside a 1937 sidecar body I’ve seen a small, screwed-on, oval-shaped plate with the same number as its sidecar frame so you MAY find similar ID inside a Panhead sidecar body.

Panhead frames: Beginning with either the 1952 or 53 model year, frames had a date code stamped on the top engine mount to indicate the month and year of manufacture but that will NOT necessarily indicate the model year of the frame. Beginning with the 1962 model year, additional ID was stamped on the LEFT side of the frame steering head. (Palmer says the additional ID began with the 1963 model year but that is wrong; it started with 1962. And I contacted him about this some time ago.) Similar ID was also stamped on the left side of the lower triple clamp, again beginning with 1962.

Motors: Most crankcases can be identified by the serial number and/or belly numbers. Some major engine parts have casting date codes but some don’t. And I’ll send you a PM regarding how to identify the usual types of characters used by H-D in Panhead engine serial numbers.

Trans cases: At least three casting numbers were used for Panhead transmission cases. Most will have casting number 121-35 but some will have 34703 64 or 34703 65. And most trans cases will also have a date code to indicate the month and year of casting. There are at least three different formats for those date codes, with some having a letter-number code—for example, F 9 on a Panhead trans case would indicate June 1949 casting. However, F 9 was also used to indicate June 1939 casting (Knucklehead and BT Flathead) so you need to know the differences in the types of cases and Palmer doesn’t mention all those differences. For 1950s and 60s Panhead trans cases, the date code, IF present, usually consists of numbers only. However, on those later cases the year is not always indicated by one number; sometimes it’s indicated by two numbers. And there’s a mystery surrounding one date code in particular (3 3) because although that would appear to indicate March 1953 casting, it has even been found on bikes as late as 1956 models that are unaltered from original.

Beginning with the 1962 model year, additional ID was stamped on the forward face of the trans case—for example, A1234. And as far as I know, only the letters A through D were used for that additional ID on Panheads. Eric

 

j1mmy, the YEAR CHARACTERS usually form all or part of the SUFFIX—for example, 47645-58 which is shown below (upside down) on the upper rear casting of a 1958–64 style of Panhead frame:



But the 58 suffix in my photo does NOT necessarily mean it’s a 58 frame. That frame could be any model year from 1958 through 1964. So a casting number is NOT the best way to tell a frame year. Eric

 

Were the fins cast on the cylinder head cast different from 1948- to newer, so that the Distributer could be removed without removing the head?

 

Yes, that was the case from 48 until sometime around 57 or 58, but don't remember exact year.