262 head on a 308

Unknown

While rebuilding the engine in my 54 Hornet we noticed that the water holes on the old head gasket do not align with the water passages in the engine block. It seems that a previous owner had installed a head from a 262! I have heard of people doing this but as we examined the misaligned water passages of the head with relation to the block, we wonder whether cooling in the head would be adequate. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Should I look for a 308 head? Must the replacement head be from a 1954? I'll appreciate any help you Hudson experts can offer.

Unknown

Hi Tom:

Using a 262 iron head on a 308 was/is a fairly common practice and an alternative to using the aluminum high comp head. The iron 262 head raises the compression ratio to about 8:1. I haven't heard about a misalignment of the water holes but you first said the misalignment was between the gasket and the block, so maybe it was an incorrect gasket or maybe the gasket had been misaligned when first installed. The main problem with a high comp head was/is leaking and blown head gaskets which is one reason that AMC increased the head bolt diameter size from 7/16" to 1/2" in '55. A replacement head does not have to be from a '54. You will get a lot of different opinions about using a 262 head vs a 308 iron head vs an aluminum head vs one of the iron H-145 heads (which we run on our '54) so I will stay out of that discussion. Hope this helps.

Tim

Unknown

Hudson had two different width blocks. Narrow block in 48-50, wide block 51-54. Head from 262 51-54 will line up perfectly, 48-50 262 will not. You might have a 48-50 head.
Hudsonly, Nevada Hudson

bob ward

There is 10mm (3/8") difference in width between the early narrow blocks and later wide blocks, the extra width is on the LH side of the engine.

If you have a choice between using a 262 cast iron head or a high comp 308 alloy head, use the 262 head on the car, polish the alloy head and put it on the mantlepiece.