ol' race car stuff,...help

[Davey_Joe]

ooookay,.. as you know some of us ol' bastards have been out gittin' in trouble..... when lee, keith an' i went to see the legendary '40 chopped coupe,.... leaning against the shed were a set of old finned aluminumn heads... have any o' you sleuths or defective detectives ever heard of "allstate" heads??.... or allstate speed equipment??... i done a bit 'o sniffin' around, but came up short! (excuse the pun) soo i ask,.... can any o' you guys think of a way ta dig this info up??.... we should be able ta have some fun with this............. an' kieth,.. will you post a pic of the head please?!!.....

[PG409]

I suspect these were probably made by a "Name" manufacturer at the
time and just simply put Sears name on the heads. Thus "Allstate".

Anybody out there help??:)




http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q101/pg409/IMG_0346.jpg

[Deuce-Merchant]

Hey Davey
Just pull out the Cornholer registry and start at the top, I'm sure one of your guys has heard of these heads, as for me, never seen a set like that.
Good score buddy!

Kelly

[Aero46Chevy]

Davey..Never heard of them. The '52 Henry J had Allstate stamped on the heads but I have never seen finned heads for a flattie like that. I would kinda be thinkin' there from Sears of course. I'll have to dig thru some of my old books. Gona try the google thing and see what they come up with... I love this stuff. Good deal DJ!!!

[wrascal]

Maybe try an old sears catalogue?

Russ:)

[stovbolt]

thats what i was going to say "google " sears store and get into the archives i remember gatting a few sears parts back in the day

[amarthfea]

I can't seem to bring anything up on google about allstate speed equipment. or anything about allstate except for the sears car the allstate from the early 50's. they had two engines a 134.2 four cylinder L- head (aka flatty) and a 161 six.

as for you, you said you found a set, the chances of you finding two heads from 2 different four cylinder sears allstates really makes me think that its not form this car.

thats the only help i can find so far sorry.

\~adam

[tinmann]

I posted a pic and a question on the HAMB last night..... and sure enough "Allstate" heads were a product of the Sears-Roebuck company as a replacement part for flathead Fords..... back in the 50's when service meant more than it does today.

[Jeff Norwell]

Those are very cool......

[Davey_Joe]

thanx daryl,..... now i can sleep!.................

[Old-Soul]

Tinman mentioned on the HAMB that they are beyond repair, thats to bad. Those could have been really cool to see on a running flatty!!

[Digger_Dave]

Tinman mentioned on the HAMB that they are beyond repair, thats to bad. Those could have been really cool to see on a running flatty!!

That's one of the sad things about early aluminum heads. (even Ford's)

The formulations of anti-freeze hadn't started to include anti-corrosive preventer's that would stop - or at least partially counteract - electrolysis between the cast iron block and the aluminum heads.

The fact that the grades (types) of aluminum used in the older castings ranged all over the "map" didn't help either. Newer grades of aluminum are a lot more resistant to corrosion.

In the older heads once corrosion had started to "eat" around the stud (bolt) holes; it became almost impossible to stop leaks. And there wasn't any way to repair them either.

But ... cleaned up; they make for interesting "wall hanging" stuff. (or conversation pieces! :D )

[got_an_anglia]

TAKEN FROM ALLSTATE 1926-95 FROM SEARSARCHIVES.COM Today, when people think of Allstate, they think of automobile insurance. Over the years, however, Sears used the Allstate brand name on a wide variety of products for the automobile, from spark plugs to rebuilt automobile engines.
The Allstate brand began in 1925 as part of a national contest to name Sears' new brand of automobile tires. Public response in the contest was overwhelming. Before it was over, 937,886 people submitted a total of 2,253,746 names. Entries came from every state and in 25 different languages. Hans Simonson of Bismarck, N.D., received a $5,000 cash prize for his winning entry Allstate.

In 1926, Sears adopted the trademark Allstate for initial use on automobile tires and tubes. The tires-guaranteed for 12,000 miles-quickly became big sellers in the catalog and at the new Sears, Roebuck and Co. retail stores (which first opened in 1925). Sears Chairman General Robert E. Wood credited the Allstate tire with making an important contribution to the success of Sears' retail store program.

Sears formed the Allstate Insurance Company on April 17, 1931. Allstate offered low rates, available to customers through direct-mail sales (Sears catalogs) and through sales booths in Sears stores. Allstate eventually expanded into fire insurance.

The highpoint for the Allstate brand came in the 1950s and 1960s, when the brand appeared on a wide range of products, including garage door openers, fire extinguishers, motor scooters and camper shells. During these years, before seatbelts, heaters, radios, and air conditioners became standard equipment on automobiles, Sears offered a complete line of these accessories under the Allstate brand.

In 1952, Sears introduced the Allstate automobile. Built by the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation, the Allstate automobile came in two models: The Standard ($1,395) and the Delux ($1,796) models came with a choice of optional four- or six-cylinder engines and a transmission overdrive. All automobiles came with a 90-day guarantee. As popular as the insurance and accessories were, however, few people wanted to buy an entire car with the Allstate name. Disappointing sales caused the Allstate automobile to disappear from Sears stores after 1953.

By the end of the 1960s, Sears limited the Allstate brand name to insurance, tires, and automobile batteries. By the mid-1970s, Sears no longer used the Allstate brand on merchandise. In 1995, Allstate became completely independent after Sears divested its remaining shares to Sears' stockholders, ending the company's 70-year relationship with the brand it created. I'll look into the heads davey has more. if i find anything else i'll post it!

[Davey_Joe]

thank you jimmy.... D.D.,.... these were'nt so corroded as machined beyond use!!... the fellow we got them off of, planed them down,... an' down,.. to the point where he had ta run 2 head gaskets!!! laughing, he said the cost o' performance was the thing back then!........... i am rather certain that a guy could use these again if it was paramount.......... but fer now,.... conversation pieces...... thanx fer the input buds!!........

[Digger_Dave]

D.D.,.... these weren't so corroded as machined beyond use!!... the fellow we got them off of, planed them down,... an' down,.. to the point where he had to run 2 head gaskets!!! laughing, he said the cost o' performance was the thing back then!........... i am rather certain that a guy could use these again if it was paramount.......... but fer now,.... conversation pieces...... thanx fer the input buds!!........

Davey, another problem most aluminum -especially older ones - heads suffered from, was STRIPPED SPARK PLUG THREADS.
If some kind of "anti seize" compound wasn't used when installing the steel spark plugs, it was almost a guarantee when the plugs were removed, the threads would gaul.

Stripped - or galled - plug threads isn't as a big a deal nowadays with the thread repair kits that are available.
(I actually install spark plug "Timeserts" *** on brand new heads, before installing them)

But REPLACING material that has been "milled" - especially twice! - off the surface is almost impossible. (if not damned expensive!!)

Using double gaskets usually isn't successful, - there is a tendency to leak at various locations - but I have seen double SOLID COPPER gaskets used with limited success.
(usually on race engines, but I wouldn't try it on a street engine)

***http://www.timesert.com/html/sparkplug.html

BTW - "Timeserts" are FAR superior to "helicoil" inserts for thread repair.

[b-bob]

Sort of on the same subject, we were talking about these Allstate heads at lunch today. One old grey haired fellow with glasses about seventy said he remembered them. HA HA!
And another guy was at a swap in Wash state recently and there was a set of cast iron finned heads for a flathead. They had the name Rocket on them. Must be rare too , i would think.

[Davey_Joe]

yeah brian,.. its neat stuff fer us ol' bastards ta ponder over ain't it?......... anyway,... as it stands,.. PG409 hangs one on his wall,... an' DJo gits ta stare at the other one fer now.........

[dale48mrc]

Those heads have to be the coolest!!!Sure would like to find some peices like that.

[b-bob]

I am sure that 'cool' heads will prevail. haha

[John in Oz]

Davey just in case you did want to use them you could always O ring them, well maybe if you were real desperate.

C'ya mate, John