Cylencar Head Storage

[H. L. Chauvin]

Hi Ray,

FWIW: Unlike wood:

1. Metal will not warp or bend on its own & stay bent until one places it under enough stress such that it exceeds its ability to resist stress.

2. A Model A head supported fore & aft is not subjected to enough stress to cause it to bend or warp by the forces of gravity caused by that of its own weight.

3. How are heads warped? By uninformed mechanics overstressing metal heads.

4. Example One: Heads may be warped by not tightening head bolts slowly in sequence, one at a time; i.e., install a head by first tightening only one (1) head bolt to 55 ft.-lbs thus mashing the head gasket in one small area; then go to bolt #2 & tighten all the way to 55 ft.=lbs., such that the head is "overstressed" with powerful bolt stress forces in all directions.

5. Example Two: One cranks up an engine until it is at operating temperature; and/or it got overheated. Rather than let it cool to ambient temperature, & rather than slowly loosening head bolts again evenly in sequence, loosen only one (1) head bolt, (all the way), one at a time to insure that a hot head is very much overstressed by the remaining tightened bolts.

6. Example Three: Buy high strength head bolts, & do not use a torque wrench to tighten same evenly; or better yet, tighten with a wrench with a 48" long handle & over-tighten single head bolts with "extreme" stress like that indicated in the above of Example One, until the head is overstressed in different directions.

7. Example Four: Works every time: Support a Model A head fore & aft. Place an eye bolt in the center bolt hole. Attach a heavy duty chain to the eye bolt. Wrap the chain around a 1940's steam locomotive & allow the weight of the heavy locomotive to pull on & stress the head & the chain slowly until the chain or center eye bolt brakes.

Hope this helps anyone seriously trying their very, very best to try to warp a new head; or a resurfaced head -- it just requires total reversed human mental concentration.