The deck and the head have been milled just enough to prepare the surfaces for gaskets. The valve diameters are all the same from '41 to '52: Exhaust 1.5" Intake 1.64". There are pictures of the head here:
Inliners post circa '06 In '53 the intake valve diameter grew to 1.875" but that is in the newer style (short push rod cover) 235 head.
As for the static CR for this build - I am expecting it to be somewhere north of 8:1.
