overhead valve Chevy for Model T

john hamilton

Senior Member
Helping a widow clean out her late husband's car parts storage and came across a 4-cylinder Chevy engine. Remembering these Chevy heads were adapted to T's for racing back in the day it got saved.

Kits are still available. It is an overhead valve head with esposed rockers and pushrods. Later versions had rocker covers but this one doesn't.

As soon as it's home I'll post some pictures. If I had a T this would be tempting.
 
Here are some pix. They look the same as the "3-port Olds" which has only 2 valves per cylinder. Anyway, my old car is a Packard and these don't fit that.

The Thunderbolt web page you mention has all of the details, pictures and instructions and can sell you all the parts you need to give yourself an OHV T.
 

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You didn't take a picture of the important side, the exhaust side. It looks like its an
earlier head with only 1 exh port and the lower ratio rocker arms.
Not worth the expense of buying the Jern kit for. look for a 1928 head.
 
The single port head is still worth using if you want OHV. Especially if you are me and are inclined to install some extra ports so you have 3 of them.
 
The single port head is still worth using if you want OHV. Especially if you are me and are inclined to install some extra ports so you have 3 of them.

The exhaust manifold is cast inside the head with water passages around it, additional ports would be almost impossible to add.

Aside from a less efficient design, the single port heads are very prone to cracking if overheated. The cracks develop internally between the water passages & the exhaust passage - virtually impossible to repair.
 
The exhaust manifold is cast inside the head with water passages around it, additional ports would be almost impossible to add.
People of my nationality do not always think that sort of thing would defeat them. The cool kids are, or were cutting 2 types of modern cylinder heads apart to weld in the 24 valve passages into a 12 valve head, so what looks like sleeving a new passage into a cast iron head and adding 2 studs should be a piece of cake for them.
 
Dont use the single port exhaust head as these over heat easily but these are great way hope up t engine neal jern thunderbolt set up is very nice kit
Make a stck otherwuse car ru like a raoed ape
 
It's got one exhaust port but it's cheap. Of no use to me; I don't have a Model T.
 

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That is a whole engine. Pretty sure someone fitted one onto an T oil pan but personally i think it would really good in a '20s chevy chassis.
 
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