1956 Hornet 308 motor numbers began with F-8601 so you most likely have a '56 engine. 1955 started at F-1001. Warshawsy Company began its life in 1915 as a scrap metal yard on the South Side of Chicago. It became JC Whitney sometime after 1947, but there doesn't seem to be any source that says when. What is known is that on August 17, 2010, J C Whitney (along with the rest of Whitney Automotive Group) was acquired by U.S. Auto Parts

Hudsonly,
Alex B

Thank you. Any info on the word super on the head?

The block casting # is located on the lower left center of the block, somewhat hidden by the distributor. For 55-56 the number would be 532500. Casting date code should be above the casting number Letter indicates the month cast, next digit or digits is the day of casting.
Last digit is the year. So for example D 156 would be April 15th 1956.

[quote="Steven Hardy" post=14067]Thank you. Any info on the word super on the head?

Super Power Dome

So, this is one of the famous J.C. Whitney (or Warshawsky; depending on which door you used to enter the building, LOL) engines that were sold into the 1960's, right? They were 1955 or 56's, and .... didn't they have hydraulic lifters? And were NOT cast of the chrome allow steel? I believe I've seen one of these, still in the original crate, up at the Old Spokes Car Museum [url= http://www.oldspokes.com/index.html ]http://www.oldspokes.com/index.html[/url]

I'd guess it was "Super Power Dome" as that was common on the Hudson engines.
It's amazing such things are still out there, found only by [i]other[/i] people. Congrats!
Please do the proper prep work prior to initial startup. That's a rare find and the '56 308s had hydraulic lifters, so I'd recommend pressurizing the lubrication system before you ever turn it over. I'd also recommend the addition of a full flow filtration system prior to start-up as well. It has been theorized that the hydraulics were a source of problems due to the lack of such a system on the hydraulic lifter-equipped engines. Just my biased opinion.
I did a little biz with Warshawsky & Co. when I was a kid in the 60's. There were Warshawsky & Co. and J.C. Whitney catalogs that came out together with addresses that appeared to be across the street from one another. I always figgered it was actually the same outfit.
Frank

Hi All....Well I purchased the engine...Now I have heard I need some extra parts to make it bolt up correctly. I heard a new crank shaft? as well as other parts. Anyone familiar with this?
Thank You

The 55 and 56 Hornet engines had the crankshaft shortened 1/2 inch at the flywheel flange to fit into the Nash body used as Hudson's. The reason hydraulic lifters were used because the solid lifters had to be adjusted every 5,000 miles and in the Nash body you had to remove the engine to do so. Hornet engine were built to have 38 to 40 pounds oil pressure and at idle, 20 pounds and that is why Hudson had to replace all with solid lifters, they got noisy. Do not try to build higher pressure as that wears out the oil pump gear and the cam. Those 2 companies sold left over Hornet engines. Put solid in before you install in your car. Walt.

[quote="Frank Hughes" post=14074]I'd guess it was "Super Power Dome" as that was common on the Hudson engines.
It's amazing such things are still out there, found only by [i]other[/i] people. Congrats!
Please do the proper prep work prior to initial startup. That's a rare find and the '56 308s had hydraulic lifters, so I'd recommend pressurizing the lubrication system before you ever turn it over. I'd also recommend the addition of a full flow filtration system prior to start-up as well. It has been theorized that the hydraulics were a source of problems due to the lack of such a system on the hydraulic lifter-equipped engines. Just my biased opinion.
I did a little biz with Warshawsky & Co. when I was a kid in the 60's. There were Warshawsky & Co. and J.C. Whitney catalogs that came out together with addresses that appeared to be across the street from one another. I always figgered it was actually the same outfit.
Frank

Back in '53 I visited the Warshawsky/Whitney home store in Chicago. There were two sets of phones on the counter. One set was answered with "Warshawsky:, the other with "J.C. Whitney." The Warshawsky prices were about 20% lower, as that side of the house was treated as the wholesale companion for J.C. Whitney.

JC Whitney began its life in 1915 as The Warshawsky Company, a scrap metal yard on the South Side of Chicago. The company's founder was a Lithuanian immigrant named Israel Warshawsky. Lots of info on Google, but I can't seem to find where Warshawski morphed into J. C. Whitney.

Hudsonly,
Alex B

Alex, it looked to me at the time (the fifties), that Warshawsky didn't [i]become [/i]Whitney, but took on the second identity as a retail version of W's quasi-wholesale operation.

[quote="Park Waldrop" post=15360]Alex, it looked to me at the time (the fifties), that Warshawsky didn't [i]become [/i]Whitney, but took on the second identity as a retail version of W's quasi-wholesale operation.

Could be. Alll I know is that I, along with a whole generation of wanna-be's loved the J. C. Whitney catalog back in the 50's.

Hudsonly,
Alex B

I remember the JC Whitney catalogs, mainly from the 60s and 70s. The Warshawsky catalog was identical, but had slightly lower prices. I remember buying camshafts, lifters, pistons, rings and such from them at prices much lower than available locally. And I remember seeing complete engines, especially the Hudson engines advertised in their catalogs. My 54 Hudson Hornet, which I acquired in 1963, had a 56 engine in it (and still has the same engine). I believe that was because the cost of a surplus 55 or 56 engine from Whitney/Warshwsky (maybe other places?) was cheaper than doing repairs on the existing engine. I think there is a thread on this site somewhere that talks about the issues related to the shorter crank in the 55 and 56 engines when those engines are installed in the 54 and earlier Hudsons. I recall (maybe correctly?) reading something about an adaptor spacer that was used when the 55/56 engines were installed in 54 and earlier Hudsons with automatic transmissions, but there was also a warning not to use the adaptor with the standard transmission (which my Hornet has). About a year ago the hydraulic lifters were replaced in my engine with new mechanical lifters (didn't change the camshaft) when one of the lifters failed and I couldn't find replacements. A friend and I just drove from Brookings, OR to San Diego, CA to Plano, TX (2247 miles according to Google maps) in 2.5 days in my Hudson with no mechanical problems. With overdrive, the rpms indicate about 2000 at 70 mph and we had no problem driving (or slightly exceeding) the posted speed limits in west Texas which was sometimes 80 and in a few places 85 mph.

I was a Warshausky fan and recently ran across a box full of those old catalogs, mostly from the sixties. There's some pretty funny stuff in there. There are more ways to increase fuel mileage, plug and point life, performance, top speed, acceleration and ride than you can shake a steering wheel at. They'd have you believing that you could actually create gasoline while you drove, if you were that gullible.
Fun stuff.
Merry Christmas to all.
Frank