High Compression Head

J

jeepguy1948

Well-known member
I need some help. I bought a car and the seller told me had a Snyders high compression head. He had not installed it and he had no information from the gentleman that it bought it from. He just “thought” that it had a high compression. I now have the head off and need to determine what it is: stock, 5.5, or 6. If someone would be kind enough to post some pictures I would really appreciate it.
 
Here is a Snyder's 5.5:1 head. I imagine the 6.0 head looks just like it, only milled an additional 0.5 compression point. I would like to see the manufacturer stamp "5.5" or "6.0" into the water pump boss or upper water neck boss so that we Model A owners can tell the difference. Of course, if the 6.0 combustion area is noticeably different from the 5.5, I stand corrected. But even so, a stamping in one of those bosses would be beneficial for identification purposes when the next generation of owners takes over.
Marshall
 

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The 6.0 combustion chamber looks totally different. Sorta like the heart shape has been cut flat across the bottom.
 
jeepguy1948 said:
I need some help. I bought a car and the seller told me had a Snyders high compression head. He had not installed it and he had no information from the gentleman that it bought it from. He just “thought” that it had a high compression. I now have the head off and need to determine what it is: stock, 5.5, or 6. If someone would be kind enough to post some pictures I would really appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Posing a picture of what you have would be the most helpful......
You may have a HC head from some other source that someone could identify for you.
 
For grins and giggles, here's what the standard 5.9 Brumfield head looks like. The "BF" emboss stands for Brumfield-Finney, a former partner of Larry Brumfield.
Marshall
 

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A quick way to tell a Snyder's 5.5, even without pulling it off the engine, is they have two "dots" on top. It is also physically smaller than a stock head.

See picture

52605168235_03bcd8695a.jpg
 
That's terrific information, Y-Blockhead. Thanks! The picture I posted in #2 is the first 5.5 head I have installed. I have probably installed a half dozen or more 6.0 heads, but never paid any attention to casting marks or even the combustions chambers. I just assumed they would be similar to the Brumfield's triangular heart shape.
Marshall
 
jeepguy1948 said:
I need some help. I bought a car and the seller told me had a Snyders high compression head. He had not installed it and he had no information from the gentleman that it bought it from. He just “thought” that it had a high compression. I now have the head off and need to determine what it is: stock, 5.5, or 6. If someone would be kind enough to post some pictures I would really appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Check this site
Model 'A' Ford Garage ~ Model 'B' Ford Garage Thanks to Vince for Great site. Go to head section.
 
So I am quite sure that I have a 5.5 Snyders head based on Marshall’s picture. It has a couple “bumps” but much fainter than what Y is showing. I would like to see a picture of a 6:1 head if someone can post one.
 
A picture of a stock head would be helpful as well.
I’m very sorry that I can’t figure out how to post the pictures. If someone wants to send me a cellphone number I could text the 4 pictures and you could post them.
 
This is a Snyders 6.0 head. I have a new BEST 509C copper-clad gasket sitting on top of it, to show how the gasket matches the combustion chamber.
 

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The Vince site isn't letting me click on a topic to go to the particular page and its search feature doesn't work for "Snyders 6.0", either.
 
Y-Blockhead said:
A quick way to tell a Snyder's 5.5, even without pulling it off the engine, is they have two "dots" on top. It is also physically smaller than a stock head.

See picture

52605168235_03bcd8695a.jpg
Click to expand...


I have a cylinder head that's exactly like the one you pictured and assumed it was a Snyder's 5.5 CR head. It has the bumps pictured, is slightly smaller than the block and was on the engine when I bought my CCP. However, upon removal last fall for a valve job I discovered it has stock Model A combustion chambers. So, that makes me wonder, did Snyder's produce a standard CR head with the same physical features at some point in the past?
 
Yeah, the two dots don't mean anything. They're present on many stock heads. If you look at the Burtz head, which was produced from a high-res scan of a NOS head, it also has the bumps. I believe they're artifacts of the casting process.
 
So, we're back to how to differentiate between the 5.5 and 6.0 heads externally. I had no idea the combustion chambers were so different between them. That's the easiest way to tell one head from the other. But - It's not practical to remove the cylinder head just to see which head is on the engine. Is there a way to differentiate between the two heads from the outside?
M.
 
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