Model b waterpump

M

michael lange

Junior Member
I currently have 32 model b engine in my 30 A, The housing on the B water pump is cracked, I have a Model A head,and after doing some research, I believe I can buy an A pump and change out the B pump by installing the A head, BUT, I have been told by some, there are more water ports on the B head. Can someone with more experience than me, shed some light on my issue
 
Just for clarification, the situation is:
  • You have a B engine with a B head and a B pump
  • The B pump is cracked
  • You have a spare A head lying around
  • You want to buy an A pump and then put the A head on the B engine?

Why not just buy a B pump?
 
The B block has additional steam holes, seen here

victor900sm.jpg
 
Michael,

Have you checked with the suppliers to see if any of them have an adapter? Perhaps someone on the HAMB may know where to get one.

David Serrano
 
These are not the right adapters, these adapt the V8 pump to the model A head. SoS does sell an $85 adapter farther down the page that adapts the V8 pump to the B head. The V8 pumps are readily available. Only problem is you have to customize the pump to mount the B fan on the end of it.
 
My '31 has a late model ('39 casting) B engine with an A head and an A water pump. It works flawlessly and has over 2000 miles on it.

I have compared the A head gasket and B gasket and either will work fine IMO. Some say the copper type works best but opinions vary - and should be based on the head (A or B) design.

Tom
 
michael lange said:
#1 Hard to find #2 cost, obviously you have more money than me
Click to expand...
By the time you buy a gasket to replace the head it may end up costing more. I would find an original B pump and have it rebuilt (try placing a "wanted" ad). Look for an original pump as I believe I remember people complaining about the castings on the reproductions. I am running a Model A police head (the one with the block "B" on top) on a Model B engine and never had any problems. If you decide to use the Model B pump be sure you don't buy a 1933-34 by mistake. The '33-'34 pump is shorter, see photo. If you run a Model A head on a Model B engine I believe you need to block the steam holes shown in Post #4.

Charlie Stephens
 

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458208

That is interesting in that there are two different lengths with these Model B Water Pumps.
The long one is 1932 while the shorter one is 1933-1934. Thanks for this helpful tip.
 
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Charlie Stephens said:
If you run a Model A head on a Model B engine I believe you need to block the steam holes shown in Post #4.

Charlie Stephens
Click to expand...


That shouldn't be the case; if you use the Model A head gasket with the model a head (which you should), those holes don't exist either in the gasket or the head. The gasket should seal off the holes - but to be sure, one could seal them first fairly easily.



Also notice that the B gasket width between cylinders (at valve side) is wider than the A gasket, so that would likely lead to premature failure if used with the A head. Both these gaskets are quality; the B is Felpro, the A is a Best product.




Here's a pic of the gaskets side-by-side:


modelAgaskets.jpg
 
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kawagumby said:
That shouldn't be the case; if you use the Model A head gasket with the model a head (which you should), those holes don't exist either in the gasket or the head. The gasket should seal off the holes - but to be sure, one could seal them first fairly easily.



Also notice that the B gasket width between cylinders (at valve side) is wider than the A gasket, so that would likely lead to premature failure if used with the A head. Both these gaskets are quality; the B is Felpro, the A is a Best product.




Here's a pic of the gaskets side-by-side:


View attachment 458219
Click to expand...
I think you will find that the holes are close enough to the edge of the gasket that they will leak especially if the head was not located properly when it was machined. Also the wider contour of the Model A combustion changer doesn't adequately clamp the gasket over the steam holes. And finally you have unsupported gasket hanging into the combustion chamber.

Charlie Stephens
 
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Go ahead and run the Model A head on the B engine. You can use either the A head gasket or the B head gasket. The A head stock has a 4.2:1 Compression Ratio and the B has a 4.6:1 Compression Ratio. The difference is too small to matter.
 
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