Moved to "Hudson" forum category.

Luke,

Back in the days when these were running cars, the aluminum heads tended to have the problem of corrosion of the water passages adjacent to the head gasket, with eventual leakage resulting. My first Hudson was a 1951. I bought it in 1959. When I showed it to my favorite junk man, he commented that the car had enhanced scrap value because the head was iron. He claimed that he had sold many iron Hudson heads to people whose aluminum heads had failed in this way, or were quite corroded when the cars had their first valve job, although not yet leaking. It may be that your head is not the first one which was on your block, (as one would suspect from the layers of paint).

If you take the head off to repair it, you will see if the water passages are alright. There is another possible difficulty. Several years ago I bought a 1949 eight that was stored in the early 1960's with 32,000 miles on it. I removed the aluminum head, but the head was very corroded onto one of the head studs. It was necessary to drill away part of the head around the stud. Although the water passages on this head are in good condition, and I could repair the part of the head I drilled away, I expect to use an iron head instead.

Per

Thank you for the info. Kind of matches what I was able to dig up - corrosion problems, not many survived. Car was stored for 28 years with the cooling system dry and this is probably why the head was still "good" when I got the car in '99. I was running the best multi-metal coolant with corrosion inhibitors I could find, bit alas it appears that was not enough. I loosened and re-torqued the head bolts before I started the engine the first time and although it has been off the road, periodically started and warmed up the engine to full temp at a moderate RPM (1,500). Will pull head when weep becomes a problem & decide then what direction to go in. If it is solid enough to repair, anyone tried a coating that can slow/prevent this (like gas tank liner or hard anodizing)?

Cheers, Luke

Ford (recommends) allows repair of casting porosity in iron thin wall blocks, that is to say, all of them, with JB Weld.

I have used JB Weld to repair loss of section caused by corrosion in Ford 385 engine die cast aluminum timing case covers (they have two main water passages, one on each side), with generally good results. This is at least similar to what you are seeing.

The chance of success with JB Weld clearly depends on how much section has been lost to corrosion and what the effects of loss of section (beyond a mere coolant leak) are.

If it doesn't work, you shouldn't be out a ton of time or money. You can't say that for the option of finding a good head to replace the leaker.

Or just find another head, iron or aluminum, and not mess with the one you've got. Not too hard to find a good one.

Back in the 1970's when I lived in Maine I knew a Frenchman, Emile Levesque, who could weld anything, anywhere, anytime. Got a cracked head - Emile could weld it; got a cracked block, same thing. You name it he could weld it.
Only one trouble with Emile - he couldn't weld worth a damn when he was sober!!!! Bring what you needed welded and a few bottles of wine. You'd sit around getting plastered and then he'd jump up (or stagger if you wish) yelling "BY GAR LET'S GET THIS JOB DONE!!!"
Emile passed away about 30 years or so back - somebody was bringing a car in to have something welded and hit the gas instead of the brake. Emile was standing in front of the car by the back wall - they figured he died immediately being pinned to the wall.
Crazy Emile, I miss that nut case.

Hudsonly,
Alex B

DITTO- Cast iron head. I also believe the head gasket for the aluminum head might have a different Part#. We also use "alumi-seal" in these splasher blocks. Make sure that the block has been cleaned properly, especially around the exhaust ports. Remove all dish plugs in the sides and deck of the block. This allows much better access. Drill a hole in them and pull with a slide hammer. Sometimes the machined shelf these plugs seat on is deterioted away from years of corrosion, and driving them in to remove knocks the seat off, causing more more and sealing problems for the new plug. A known perfect radiator and/or re-cored unit is ALWAYS recommended. Don't cut corners on the cooling system. It is as important as doing the brakes properly.!

Back in the days when these were running cars, the aluminum heads tended to have the problem of corrosion of the water passages adjacent to the head gasket, with eventual leakage resulting. My first Hudson was a 1951. I bought it in 1959. When I showed it to my favorite junk man, he commented that the car had enhanced scrap value because the head was iron. He claimed that he had sold many iron Hudson heads to people whose aluminum heads had failed in this way, or were quite corroded when the cars had their first valve job, although not yet leaking. It may be that your head is not the first one which was on your block, (as one would suspect from the layers of paint).

If you take the head off to repair it, you will see if the water passages are alright. There is another possible difficulty. Several years ago I bought a 1949 eight that was stored in the early 1960's with 32,000 miles on it. I removed the aluminum head, but the head was very corroded onto one of the head studs. It was necessary to drill away part of the head around the stud. Although the water passages on this head are in good condition, and I could repair the part of the head I drilled away, I expect to use an iron head instead.

Per

Have not seen anybody explain the two part numbers for the aluminum/iron heads. The all steel gaskets are for use on either head. The gaskets with the copper sealing rings are NOT to be used with alum head.
Aluminum heads not happy with straight water (tap or well).
Distilled a bit better. Modern coolant/antifreeze is safest bet.
"Ric"