I had a cracked #4 exhaust valve seat in my '59 (the sneaky culprit that caused my Edsel to crap out on me two years ago!) I had an extra 223 but it was from a 1961 Ford truck, the engine was slightly redesigned in '60. I didn't feel like doing a whole engine swap so I used the '61 head on the '59 block and the '61 push rods. The headbolts were slightly different (7/16" in the '59 and 1/2" in the '61...a couple of guys who do engine builds said that it shouldn't matter, also using an MLS gasket with that copper head adhesive spray should help my case) I don't know how I figured that this would be a good idea but it worked. I have a feeling that this might also be my first, albeit accidental, attempt at souping up the Edsel because the '61 head has a slightly smaller combustion chamber but the '59 engine had a slightly higher HP rating.
I also switched the late small combustion chamber head to the early 223 and noticed better performance and starting. I think Ford reduced the HP rating from 145 HP to 138 in 1961, to not embarrass the new 145 HP rated 221 V8. We just gave away your Edsel speed secret.
I've been having fun driving around with my new franken motor. My fuel economy is pretty awesome too!
The Jalopy Journal
