1941 Buick Manifold Question

[Guest Earl]

I of course had to take the manifold off that engine when I removed the frost plugs to see about cleaning that block out some. The rear heat riser had been stuck in a partially open position and of course caused that to run hotter than it should, especially on hot days. After it would run for about half an hour it would tend to act like it wanted to vapor lock, but it really never did do that. Someone before me twisted one of the bolts off so that will have to be removed. I know a really good welder and he is sure he can weld the crack so it won't cause me any more trouble. My questions are these; does it make sense to put a piece of sheet metal above the flapper on the manifold to help control the heat, or is just fastening the flapper in the off position enough? And, while the bolts that hold the intake and exhaust manifold together are out of the thing, should I replace them with studs and nuts? It would make taking the thing apart the next time easier of course. It really did not take long to get that rear flapper to work properly once I had it out of the car and could tap on it with a small hammer and keep it sprayed with some penetrating oil. I really should have done that a long time ago, but really thought that was going to be a huge chore to get loosened up..... It took about 15 minutes I'm ashamed to say! I like to see pictures, so I think you probably will as well so I've posted some. The last picture shows the front manifold. You can see it looks like the rear one get exposed to much more heat. I suppose that's because of the flapper stuck in a partially open position.

[FLYER15015]

Earl,

I do not have the 2 carb set up on my '40 LTD, but I too found my flapper partially closed and rusted in position. I got her free and not trusting a 70 year old thermo spring and weight, I rigged up another spring to hold the flapper closed to the carb base. But then I only drive her in the summer months.

Mike in Colorado