I need my 1952 Ford 8N to start... please help!!

Soundguy · Sep 18, 2014

IMHO.. that advice is a dice roll.

1, 2 head gaskets sucks. it's a poor bandaid to a problem that needs a real fix.

As to the planing.. sure.. you can get SOME planing. How do YOU know how much / many times it's been planed before!..

the valves kissing may be more of an issue than the pistons kissing.

there are PLENTY of examples of heads needing relieving after planing on the antique website i hang out much of the time.

If it's my engine.. I might personally take the chance and plane it, knowing a may be in there with a die grinder fixing it... but for giving advice to another person? I stay safe...

oldpilgrim said:
this.

I wouldn't worry too much about cracks, but bring it to a machine shop and have them check to see if it's warped. If it is, they can plane it flat.

If it's warped, and you don't know it or fix it, you will just be doing this again very soon.

oldpilgrim · Sep 18, 2014

Im not advising him to use 2 gaskets, just that ive seen people use 2 gaskets to solve spacing issues.
I'm telling him that he needs to know if the head is flat. If it is, then replace the gasket and continue on, if not he needs to know.

Head gaskets dont fail for many reasons. The primary reason they fail is due to warped heads.

Giving someone advice to check something before they reassemble is playing it safe.

If he has to plane or replace the head, it's his choice. I'm just saying that many heads, particulary on Fords can be planed without issue.

I've been doing it to old Fords for nearly 50 years and never had a problem.

Soundguy · Sep 19, 2014

You can still find fords with factory gaskets and untouched engines, ironically the level they were overbuilt may have actual hurt long term tesales. Also for this same reason it has been easy to find non planed heads for decades, a good reason why planing can many times be done without issue.

Of course checking flatness is needed, and its easy to do as a home go/ no go test with a quality t square. Checking spacing also easy to do with grease and no gasket. Warpage on those thin flatheads with a large number of headbolts is much less of an issue than ohv designs.

I'm just trying to keep the op going in a safe direction and not toss out too many ideas that may end up spinning him more money than needed. Lets face it, machine shops make more $ planing a head than checking it. Heads going to a machine shop... We all know there are shops that will self generate work, thus my caution of know what's going on prior to doing something. Lastly, I've seen many a shop that is unfamiliar with older tech engines and actually destroy parts due to that, sad but happens. Check, sure, plane? Maybee. Evaluate clearance, planing cost may mot be worth it vs replacement, or if you figure in labor to relieve it, again, trying to cut down on potential wild goose chases for the op.