The steel cylinders that I have were manufactured at the Rock Island Arsenal in the early 1950s. They were built as spares for the 50,000 plus engines that had been built in WW2 and were still widely used around the globe.
The chrome cylinders are used cylinders that were reconditioned for the US government (the RIA) probably also in the 1950s. Unlike chrome cylinder repair jobs done today, they have the complete package; so including new valve guides and valve seats. As I checked the remanufacturing details provided on some of the box labels (see below) I discovered an interesting story.
Some of the cylinders were reconditioned by the Van der Horst Corporation. These cylinders were reconditioned by honing the used bores out oversize, and then chroming the bores back to standard size. This technology had been developed through a patented process by a Dutch engineer named Dr Hendrik Van der Horst in 1936. He called his patented process "porous chrome". He improved his chrome plating process again in 1943 and set up a plating company in the USA called Van der Horst Corporation of America ( later United Van der Horst). His challenge had been to create a plating process that was not as hard and smooth as traditional chrome plating. The chrome needed to have the ability to retain oil in it's surface. This was accomplished by chroming the bores in the traditional way but then near the end of the process to reverse the polarity of the electrical charge which attracted the chromium solution onto the bore surface and in so doing, create a series of tiny grooves and furrows which would retain the lubricating oil. The finished bore has a frosted appearance but is still very hard.
While Dr Van der Horst was setting up shop in the USA, that nation entered the war against Germany. At home his son Kuno was in hiding with the wider group of people that included Anne Frank, having refused to swear an oath of allegiance with the German occupiers. His wife Catharina provide refuge to a number of displaced Jewish citizens but ended up having the family home (Alexanderlaan 22, Hilversum) seized by German forces for the use of their officers. After the war the family moved to the US. There is much more to this fascinating story and you can find it by googling.. "More Than A Footnote, The VanderHorsts, Anne Frank and World War 2 Resistance" .
A final word about cylinders. Steel cylinders are easy to work with, the rings are quickly seated and they have minimal oil consumption. They look great and are often the choice of high end collectors and restorers. Chrome cylinders on the other hand, area little more difficult to deal with. It often takes a much longer time to get rings to seat. One old A&P mechanic I know told me he always uses a ball type glaze breaker to encourage ring seating. Chrome cylinders frequently use more oil than steel though some have reported that this is really most apparent during the first few weeks of break in. Most importantly however, may be the much greater resistance that chrome has to rust and corrosion than steel. If you do not run your vehicle on a regular basis or if you have a cold, damp storage facility, steel cylinders may not be your best choice. I have photos of engines I have dismantled that sat for 25 years, and often it would appear at first glance that with a bit of tidying up maybe the chrome could be used again. Not so with the steel cylinders which are usually badly rusted and pitted.
