Shovel head engine in pan head bike

[keithlawes]

Hi,
Advice to a Brit please.
Have a 42 WLC which I love, but thinking of upsizing.
An original looking 51 Panhead has come up for sale in Europe. Mainly original parts and nicely patinated.
Main downside is that it has a 68 shovelhead engine fitted.
Any major practical pitfalls about fitting a shovelhead engine into a panhead bike?
What are the main differences between the shovelhead and panhead engines?
Would it have required major frame mods to make the change e.g. engine mounts?

[RUBONE]

The only thing needed to put an early Shovelhead in a Panhead is to match the length of the transmission shaft and use shovel header pipes. And that basically is about it. No frame mods, no mounting hardware mods, no alignment or offset issues. The engine may have had the sprocket spacer changed for an early thin one and a custom spacer outboard of the sprocket to fix the chainline difference, or it may have an early mainshaft, or the trans mainshaft was changed to the '65-'69 type. Either way can make it line up with zero issues. Even the tin primary will still work.

[keithlawes]

Thanks Rubone. Thought that might be the case as Harley don't seem to change anything for the sake of it. But nice to have it confirmed

[Andygears]

If you post some good pictures, the original parts reviewers will judge the authenticity of it being a ‘51. The value can vary greatly.

My 2 cents
Andygears

[RooDog]

Getting ready to swap out my '50 Panny for a '68 Shovel, it was all a direct bolt in, I only had to do some work on the motor sprocket to move it inward to line up with the short shaft, pre-1965 tranny main shaft. A quick and easy weekend project....
And that's the way it was in 1973
....RooDog....

PantoShovel1973.jpg (125.49 KiB) Viewed 1195 times

PS: That Panny engine stayed in the family, that it in my avatar thumbnail pic, belongs to my Brother and his Son.......

[RUBONE]

And lots of hybrids as well. My pan/shovel chopper in '72..

[Frankenstein]

Still the best lookin' motor Harley Never made! Shovel top on an early 7rib pan!
Nice Rubone, IT's what we all lusted for back in the day...
DD

[Scrap]

Did that bike ever get featured in a magazine?

[RUBONE]

Did that bike ever get featured in a magazine?

If you are asking me that would be no. At the time I built that bike I was working at a chopper shop in ABQ, NM. I didn't keep them long, I was constantly buying new projects and selling off the finished stuff. That bike was a '55 lower with an earlier cam cover (modified for the top oiling) and a '66 top end. Sportster forks. Flat bottomed Hummer tank with a vent for the Tillotson carb on it.

[Scrap]

Like we said back then " Far Out"

[Sarre]

I’m digging it.

[RUBONE]

"Bitchin"