Fuel preheat - 1922 Cadillac

[hidden_hunter]

Seems to be mixed opinions on if the fuel preheat using exhaust should be capped off or not when using modern gas 
 

On my 22 Cad, it's relatively straight forward to insert some blocking plates without it interfering with anything else - but should I? When the car first starts up and you touch the side of the carb it's very cold to the touch even when the rest of the car is starting to warm up. Some of the reading i've done suggested capping it off to stop it being difficult restarting the car when it's hot
 

Weather never really gets that cold around here (and if it did I probably wouldnt' be taking the car out nor if it was super hot) so would be dealing with ambients from about 40-100F
 

Any suggestions? or is it very much a case of try it both ways and see if you have problems? 
 

(Not sure if I've just created a religious debate like some of the oil threads  )

[edinmass]

Not much debate about blocking it off. One hundred years ago, you purchased gasoline, today you purchase fuel. Heat content, energy content, and specific gravity are all substantially different. The effect on carburetors is somewhere from three to fifteen percent regarding stoichiometry. Reducing the heat simply makes the car run better, and helps to cut down on vapor lock. It’s worth the time and effort to block off. A note of caution…….manifolds can be brittle and warped………unless already involved in removing or servicing the parts, leaving them alone is perfectly acceptable if you don’t have running problems. It’s possible to make more problems than you already have.

[hidden_hunter]

11 hours ago, edinmass said:

A note of caution…….manifolds can be brittle and warped………unless already involved in removing or servicing the parts, leaving them alone is perfectly acceptable if you don’t have running problems

I've already had that fun problem and had to have it repaired once 😐 

[edinmass]

3 hours ago, hidden_hunter said:

I've already had that fun problem and had to have it repaired once 😐 

And you thought I was  just another pretty face!😎

[Grimy]

32 minutes ago, edinmass said:

And you thought I was  just another pretty face!😎

Never, never, never, never, never, never, never....ad infinitum........

[hidden_hunter]

4 hours ago, edinmass said:

And you thought I was  just another pretty face!

Manifolds also seem to be a fairly unobtainium part for the Cadillac (along side a top cover) - I’m guessing they all break pretty easily

[EmTee]

The problem is that cast iron is like concrete; very strong in compression, but not so in tension...