Is this a 32 Head?

farmboy

farmboy

Senior Member
Is this a 32' head? I posted this on a facebook page, and a fellow "who may very well be on here to lol" noticed I was using a 32 head. I didn't know what he was referring to, till he showed me the difference between a 32 and a 36 in his pictures. This was the way the motor came out of the truck (a 36 1.5 ton). He said it will work but will cool different and have a tad less power. The motor had a tag on it that stated it was reconditioned in june of 1940, wonder if the heads were changed out then? Wanted to see if any of you guys that know a lot more than I can confirm this is the case, i'm going to post another pic of the motor before I restored it just below. Thanks Bret.

Also, I believe Macs sent me the wrong ford engine paint as a 36 is suppose to be more green? My dad really likes this, so guess gonna roll with it.
 

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I was the fellow that commented on the head on Facebook. Hopefully on here we can be rest assured whether or not it is with the opinions of others..
 
As many '32 heads do not have cast-in part numbers, the one surefire way to tell without removing the head to look at the shape of the combustion chamber is to measure the diameter of the holes for the spark plugs. If those holes are 7/8" with NF threads, then it is a '32 cylinder head. If smaller than 7/8", then it is a post-'32 head.
 
DavidG said:
As many '32 heads do not have cast-in part numbers, the one surefire way to tell without removing the head to look at the shape of the combustion chamber is to measure the diameter of the holes for the spark plugs. If those holes are 7/8" with NF threads, then it is a '32 cylinder head. If smaller than 7/8", then it is a post-'32 head.
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Good info David. I always wondered if there was a quick and dirty way of checking the many cast iron heads I see laying around in various vendors spots at swap meets/flea markets. I had previouly thought that the conical shaped area around the sparkplug threaded hole might be of a slightly different configuration than those that are cast on '33 to '36 cast iron versions.
 
Once you see and own a few 32 heads they are easy to spot without any measuring device. For me the other easy way is the recessed area cast into the head around the plug holes is much larger on a 32
 
If anybody wants pictures - have a couple handy (not on engines). Heck - Mike (35fordtn) was there on that fun auction day when I picked up all this crap/treasure! LOL
 
Attached is a side by side comparison of a 1932 V8 and a 35-36 replacement cast iron head. The differences are not as obvious once installed on a engine, but once you see a few in person you can spot 32 heads 50ft away. As I mentioned on Facebook, even though your heads were on your original engine it is very common to see them turn up on later engines. I would imagine in the 50's if a part simply fit, they would run it in the event a original head cracked or such. Same holds true with the rest of the bolt on parts.

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Michael,

Good point regarding the recessed areas around the plugs. In case farmboy is left with any doubt as to the answer to his question, it is: that's a '32 head.
 
35fordtn said:
Dale, I think you did quite well at the auction!
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Who knows - some of the stuff you kick yourself for bidding on . . . some you believe you'll turn out all right on. Auctions are kind of like Vegas - they're fun, but you need to get the Hell out before you go broke! Guys like you do it for a living - completely different deal.

Take care my friend - looks like you had a great vacation, glad you took some time off!

D
 
You guys are my heroes :D Thanks for those pictures!! Downloaded in my files now for future reference :)
 
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I've never seen one before, but the top head stud bosses breaking into the plug recess slightly is the best indicator I can see.

Mart.
 
This is interesting indeed. Being the engine was "conditioned in 1940 as the tag said on it, which is only 4 years from being new. My guess would be it overheated to the point it was rebuilt and had to have different heads? Only folks that could confirm that are no longer here...
 
I don't know a lot about the value of flathead parts, but seems like useable original '32 heads in good condition would be almost priceless.

Sal
 
Seems as though they do not command the prices they did several years ago.. However they are far more valuable than the later 21 stud iron heads which are a dime a dozen.
 
35fordtn said:
Seems as though they do not command the prices they did several years ago.. However they are far more valuable than the later 21 stud iron heads which are a dime a dozen.
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Not that these will ever sell of course, but what kinda prices you talking about out of curiousity?
 
Opinions will vary when discussing values, but 32 V8's good used seem to bring $100-200 a pair depending on which variation. The later cast iron heads in my opinion are worthless since they are everywhere. I have scrapped tons of them, and NOS pairs can be found for under $100
 
My 36 pickup had 32 heads on it when I got it. The engine also had a Ford Rebuilt tag on the bellhousing. The original owner told me the original engine cracked and he had ford put a new one in in the 50s. I can imagine that they used whatever was available for cores as long as it worked.

I sold the pair of heads after cleaning for ~$150 to someone overseas.
 
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