What is the correct cam cover for a 1953 FL ?

[Derf]

I have a 1953 FL. In the book How to Restore Your Harley-Davidson By Bruce Palmer. It reads that the cam cover for the 1948-1953 is the 8 ribbed cam cover. I would like to run the 8 ribbed but it seems incorrect. Looking at the website info and old brochures they point to the 4 rib cover. Did Harley still use some of there left over 8 ribbed covers on the 53? What is the deal? Would I look like a fool running the 8 rib?

[panz4ever]

My info shows that 53 used a sand-cast 8-rib cover. This cover no longer shows the ridge for the breather tunnel and the outline of the pinion bushings were no longer visible. if you are not building an AMCA special, don't worry, run what you want.

[Derf]

Thx Panz,
That was the info that I read in How to Restore Your Harley-Davidson. What I read on this site under info per year is:The FLE 74ci "Traffic Combination" motor is introduced for slow speed and escort work, lower end cams and smaller carbs. 4 ribbed gear case cover.
Is this just for the Traffic Combination?
I included a pic with the 8 rib and an ad from 53. Did they run both this year?

[Cotten]

It is my best guess that the bottom picture is of the "prototype" built upon a '52, and the advertisement is artistically retouched.

The un-restored examples that I have encountered had the four-fin cover.

....Cotten

[neilw]

Hi Derf,
I'm looking at the photo on page602 of palmers Harley restoration book which shows the 53 FL with 8 ribs .Then I fliped over to another book where Strve Terry an expert pan restoration man who Clymer relied on when doing their book "panheads 1948-1965" he says on page 483 " The 8-fin timing cover used on 1952 and earlier models was replaced with a 4-fin timing cover" This is the section saying what changes were made each year ...He has this listed under 1953 ,which he is saying that the 8 fin cover used on 1952 and earlier models ( meaning 1953 cause hes telling what changes were made in 1953). So they used the 8 fin in early 53 then when they were all used up they put the 4 fin cover on.
I'm redoing a 59 pan and wanted info on it ,so I phoned the factory and someone called me back and even sent photos of a 59 .He was telling me so much stuff I couldnt remember it all ..I found out frames had a year code stamped on the top eng mount ..He even new what was selling on e-bay at that time ,I was thinking of getting bubble bags guard rails and he said they had some ,sure enough they did but my bid of $100.00 or so was to low ,they went for over $300.00.Good luck
Neil

[Derf]

Thx Neil,
I suppose that I should run the 4 fin for correctness since my VIN is 53FL4056. I would like to run the 8 fin, but the one without the breather passage showing is hard to find.

[Speeding Big Twin]

Derf, a guy on another forum posted a photo of his father on a police Panhead a while ago and the opinion of several people was that the bike was probably late 1953 but with a four-ribbed cam cover. And in that thread I posted a photo of a police Panhead from a book by Robert and Robin Genat about H-D police bikes. The photo was credited to the Orlando, Florida, Police Archives and the bike was said to be a 1953 model but it had a four-ribbed cover.

I have the September/October 2008 issue of Heavy Duty magazine and on pages 136-139 there is a story about a 1953 FL with a speedo reading of 17,999 miles. It is not a police bike, apparently has hardly been altered since new and it has a four-ribbed cover. The story is by David Reidie who runs Harley City in Australia and the bike lives at that shop. He mentions that a new cam cover was fitted to Panhead engines for 1953. Because of the shifter rod, only the first five characters of the serial number are visible in the magazine and they are 53FL4. And although the bike is now registered in Australia it still has an Indiana Certificate of Inspection and Approval sticker on it from 1978. And you'll notice below that the serial number on the sticker appears to be 53FL4131.

Regarding touched-up H-D pictures, Palmer mentions one on page 10. And did you notice in your H-D ad that the start of the oil feed line, its attachment point at the tank and also the drain plug appear to be missing? The same errors can be found in the illustration used for the 1952 and 1953 Panheads in The Legend Begins because they all appear to be the same picture, although the two illustrations in The Legend have eight-ribbed covers. So sometimes it is risky to go by certain H-D pictures. Eric