VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 '32 Engine valve guides

I got the head back from the machine shop for the '32 engine I found. They cleaned it and magnafluxed --- no cracks and it looks good.

This head was actually made in April, 1933 ( D 27 3 ). Casting number 836961. My parts book covers '29 to '32. Is this head significantly different from '32? I see the Filling Station lists valve guides as the same, but the valves are different.

The shop manual (for '32) says that replacement valve guides have to be reamed because the holes are smaller than the valve stems. Reamers are listed as .3125 needed for intake valve guides and .3140 for exhaust valve guides. Does this hold true for the valves in the '33 head? Clearances are listed as .0005 to .002 for intake guides and .002 to .004 for exhaust. Do those hold true also?

Does anyone have experience with the valve guides that FS sells? Are they cast iron? Is it best to use a hand reamer or a high-speed chuckable reamer? Is it possible to ream the guides in a lathe and then press them into the head without distorting them? I can make insertion tools like shown in the shop manual for any hole size.

The shop manual talks about using a valve seat cutter tool with an expanding pilot to fit any size hole in reamed guides. The seat cutters I'll use don't have the expand feature. Should I buy an extra valve guide or two and get them the right size for my pilot and move them from hole to hole to cut the seats or is it really more critical than the 2 or 3 thousands difference I'd get by using the finish-reamed guides?

I hope this isn't overload, but some of this is different from my flat head Studebaker experience.

Thanks in advance Tom

The 836961 33 head will work OK on the 32 engine but requires the 33 push rods (1/8" longer) as the head is higher. If that is what came off the engine then chances are someone has already made the conversion. Information came from Hollander Interchange and push rod length listed is quite different than posted below so verifying the correct length would be advisable. I don't have either here to measure but if the head is only .200 or .125 (Hollander) difference then possibly something else determines the need for an extra .6875 in length of the push rod.

Hi Tom
The cylinder head you have is a 1933 Master cylinder head. This head if I remember correctly is .200 inch thicker than a 1932 cylinder head. The pushrods for 1933 Master are also about 11/16 inch longer than the 1932 pushrods. The 1933 head will fit on a 32 engine but I believe you need the pushrods from a 1933 Master engine to make it work correctly. The valves for 1932 and 1933 are not the same as the 33 valves are longer. Here is the website link http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/parts/1929_41/index.html to the online 1941 parts catalog which will show you the differences.

The valve guides are the same 1929-33. The press in valve guides have to be reamed after they are installed in the cylinder head as each one will shrink differently for the ID for the valve stem from hole to hole because of the variance in the OD of the valve guide and the ID of the cylinder head bore for the valve guide. Another option which can be less expensive than replacing the valve guides and having them reamed to fit is to have them bored out and have cast iron sleeves installed. I discussed this with my local machine shop and he said he can do this for $6.00 per guide. This included reaming them to the correct size for the valve stem. Nowadays, a good machine shop does this all on the same machine without ever unbolting the head from the work table as this is the low cost usually to have this done.

I sell the valve guides for $8.00 each and stock the valve spring set and valve spring retainer and key set also if interested. I also have valves too.
Regards Bob@marxparts

Thank you for the quick responses. Boy, am I glad I asked the questions. One thing I forgot to mention is that someone has added three 50-thousandths shims (total of .150) under each rocker arm support.

Now I'm really wondering what push rods are in this engine. I'll measure exact length tomorrow. I have another really rough engine that had a '33 head on it, so I'll also measure those push rods to compare.

Tom

It will be interesting to learn the results as my Hollander manual states that the 32 head can be used on a 33 by adding a 1/8" shim under the rocker arm supports. Might be good to get numbers off both the rocker arms and supports (if numbered) .

I measured the push rods that were mated to the '33 head I want to use at 12 - 11/16.

The rocker arms are number 827164 and the rocker arm supports are number 836958. I found the supports in the 1941 parts list, but not the rocker arms. Those came with nuts, etc installed so I guess they got a different part number.

The valves are 4.95x in total length.

If all that stuff is correct for a '33 head, I'm still wondering about the .150 in shims under the supports. The engine had been bored out .040 and maybe the deck and head were planed, but .150 seems like a lot

I'm going to disregard everything that I found on that other '33 head (the cracked one). The push rods were shorter, the rocker arms were the type with oil wicks in them, the valves were shorter, spark plugs were monsters --- 1/2 inch pipe threads, rocker arm supports were shorter, etc. That engine came to me in boxes. Now I see why

Tom

I could not find the 827164 arm number but the 32 and 33 master are the same so they should be OK. The push rods for a 32 are about 12" so those you have should be the 33 rods and the ones to use. Due to the extra length (about 11/16") the shims under the rocker supports are likely needed to get proper alignment . I do not have any info on the valves.

Note that the 1933 Master valves are different than any other year. I believe I have some new exhaust valves.
Also raising the rocker arm assembly MAY take some of the tension off of the valve springs so some valve spring shimming may be necessary.

I can't see how the valve spring tension would change as it's determined by the height of the valve stem to head height. The rocker arm shimming should only adjust the angle of contact of the rocker arm and valve and pushrod. If the head has been surfaced then that will affect the spring tension.

That is why I said MAY... the picture in my head was not connecting to my brain.

Hey guys bringing this thread back alive I have a 33 master with a 33 block long story short and mismatched parts from the engine that was in the car and a spare engine I purchased for parts this is my setup I hope it works. I have a 837273 head which is 30-31 with 33 valves and pushrods the head has been resurfaced .020 removed. I have 33 rockers and pedestals rocker# 837164 and pedestal# 836958. I have a 1/8 spacer under the pedestals like m006840 Hollander book said I used two fender washers they look decent. I’m going to fire her up soon see how it goes. Had anyone else done a similar setup with mismatched parts?