Hi all,
Both cam sets of my 54 KHK and 55 KHK are stamped with numbers, 1 to 4
Never seen a set stamped KK or KHK, and I have seen a few on ebay and elsewhere
Friend of mine has a 56 KHK, I could ask him to pull down his timing cover, but I doubt he will even if it's to settle an historic point!!!
And no, I have never seen a 52 KK, but the way they were made tells me it's in the realms of possibility that one or more 52 K had a retrofit...
One thing for sure, they would not be KK prototypes since we know of one that survived, 53KKX8 or sommat like that, which is the winningest KR ever made out of bits by Ralph Bernt, Carroll Resweber's factory employed tuner (and shit stirrer as well!!!) Once Carroll had his fateful accident, Bernt passed it on to George Roeder.
I'm on holiday at the mo, so can't check my parts books... But as a single thought, the confusion between early KK/KHK and 56 KHK could simply be the way they were made: Early ones, whatever you think, were few on the ground, so no special jigs were made to do the cams. Indeed these early KK/KHK sets were just KR grinds mounted on thicker shafts.
When the decision was made to make it a full model sometime in early 1955, not just a rare speed kit as before, they needed loads more cam sets and the KR route was neither too clever nor too fast. Hence new jig, and possibly, I don't know, back to std gear width???
Don't know for you guys, but to me, KK, 54 and 55 KHK are rareties while 56 KHK is more mainstream, that's how I look at them...
Patrick