Let's assume you have a 1954 high-pressure 235/261 engine that has a valve cover that attaches to the head with screws through a bottom side lip (not two nuts attaching to studs through the top of the valve cover).

Here are locations of codes.
Find and post the following codes:
engine serial number - you already posted
block casting code
block date casting code
head casting code
head date casting code (you have to remove the valve cover).