The early Ford V-8's had similar problems but worse since there was no head. For its time, without computers, they did pretty good at designing engines, but they are vintage so its just expected that they really didn't have the tools at the time to understand metallurgy, heat transfer, etc relating to longevity.
Yet, think about what they accomplished. At the time, most people changed vehicles every 3-5 years and they managed to create heads that can be found good 60+ years later. I could bring up the Vega and its 4 cylinder alum engine. If you can find the CAR these days you are lucky.
Just be aware that when you buy a head, you have a 40% chance of it being usable. Unless its guaranteed, forget it.
