How to rebuild heat riser on 1941 Commander 11A B3 - 6 cylinder? Where to find parts?

Hello - thanks for any help you can be. I am replacing my manifold gasket and find that the heat riser is rusted fast. Lots of penetrating oil is not freeing it up. I'm afraid I'll crack the manifold if I hammer it. Any idea of ways to get it apart? Do they still boil clean engines - would that help? What are the parts that it takes for this rebuild? (bushings?, spring coil?, shaft?, plate?, weight?, what else?) When you remove the shaft - does it come out the counter weight side or the spring side? Another problem is that the riser plate screws are inaccessible because of the way the shaft is rusted in place. Any chance you have a picture or a diagram of the set up?

Also do you know some place that for sure has the parts needed to rebuild it?

(also I'm looking for door trim for the passenger side, rocker panel passenger side and original gravel shields for both sides)

Thanks.

John in NJ

John

all you can do is heat it up and then cool it fast hoping you do not crack it, try not so hot and work hotter and try it several times. have some pb blaster soaking on it overnite. I have soaked frozen rusted parts in a ultrasonic heated tank with chemicals for soaking cast iron and treating while removing rust and this slow process has worked also. Hot - cold. if that don't do it get one from

http://www.myersstudebaker.com/

Ken

Studebaker International has rebuild kits for the Champion 6 but I am not sure about the Commander. Worth giving them a call. I had a heat riser bolt snap off and the mounting plate crack. Ended up having a machine shop drill out the broken bolt and re-tap it when I got the manifold sandblasted. I used stainless hardware to put it back together

The best way to repair it is to install a1942 version of the valve.

The shaft is smaller to accommodate bushings in the housing.

If you only drive the car very little , live in a warm climate and the valve is open.I would not mess with it.Leave it alone.

These manifolds are very hard to come by so be carefull.

Robert Kapteyn

http://www.studebakerstore.com/Studebakerstore.com/Welcome.html

Bobs right. If it is stuck in the open position, leave it alone.

Robert (and others), Thanks for the advice. Now the question I would have is - How do I know if the butterfly plate is open or closed? It depends how you define open and closed. Is it open when the car is cold or is it closed? Seems to me that if it was functioning when the car was parked for a long time (and it rusted in one spot) that it would be in the "car is cold" position. Meaning that the exhaust would go up under the carb. My plate is somewhere between 45 degrees and straight up and down. Is it supposed to lay flat once the car is warmed up? My worry is that if I leave it rusted as is that I'll be pumping hot air up under the carb the entire time I am operating the car. Would that cause problems on longer trips? Also about the 1942 version of the valve - do you mean that I should also get the bushings that go with it or just buy the valve shaft and use it so it fits very loose? (from what I can glean it seems that the 41 didn't have bushings and the 42 did have - correct?) Also if I was able to take the plate off the shaft - would that be better or not?

Thanks for the extra help.

John in NJ

The best way to repair it is to install a1942 version of the valve.

The shaft is smaller to accommodate bushings in the housing.

If you only drive the car very little , live in a warm climate and the valve is open.I would not mess with it.Leave it alone.

These manifolds are very hard to come by so be carefull.

Robert Kapteyn

http://www.studebakerstore.com/Studebakerstore.com/Welcome.html

The 1942 shaft is similar to the 1941.

Bushings were added in the cast iron and the shaft was turned down where the bushings fit.

If you take both halves apart you may have problems with the casting warping enough to make it hard to seal with a new gasket.

If you can take the valve off the shaft , leave it off.

Robert Kapteyn

Hot air under the carb will cause reduced volumetric efficiency in the engine. That is, the incoming air will be warmed and thus less dense and thus have less oxygen per cubic metre. The car will run rich and run best in cold conditions. Otherwise there should be no problem.