<VV> 1960 to 1961 Cylinder Head differences

[peter koehler]

As has been identified already, the balance tube is much 
larger on a 1960 engine. In addition to that, the later 
1960's had hold-down tabs spot welded to the actual tube 
that allowed it to be bolted to the top of the engine. 
When a 1960 balance tube comes off the carb base your 
engine will stall. If the 1960 head in question is a very 
early unit the method to hold the push rod tubes down is 
also different. You can convert just by using either later 
1960 parts or the bits from your 1961 engine. The earliest 
1960's were built so that you could change push rods 
without interfering with the cylinder head torque on the 
head studs. This was changed to the design that most 
everyone is familiar with - probably as a cost or ease of 
production assembly concern sometime very early in 
production.

A final note: 1960's used an aluminum spacer between the 
head and the carb base. This was changed in 1961 to a 
black bakelite piece. Suggest you use the bakelite on the 
Lakewood. - Caveman Pete