Technical Aluminum manifolds who knew?????

Hey fellas I have been rooting around like I have been known to do and found these old aluminum exhaust manifolds for Ford Flatheads. They have a provision for exhaust manifold heat (like an old beetle bug). The reason they caught my eye is that we have had a lot of discussions about aluminum exhaust manifolds and these look to be cast and waterless.

I think that they have the cool factor in spades and if you drive your coupe or pickup when it gest cold you could even keep your toes warm.

Anybody ever seen a set in the flesh? I sure haven't.

Feel free to post pics of other oddities like these if you got 'em.











Uh these are not mine, yet. But I may have to own them, just incase I ever build a flatty powered car.

 

Notice the "must be removed in warm weather".

 

I think those are COOL. The bottom one is like the heater headers for Model A's. I'm curious about the design though, does the back end have a restricted flow, or does it route up into the finned area?

Does the one on top have some sort of water jacket or is it a flow through tube to heat air?

 

I wonder if that is because of the heat manifold to the cab thing or if they get too hot when it is 90+ degrees out.

I don't have them in my hand but I would bet that it is just heat transfer to an upper transfer space. Like an air handler in a heating furnace.

 

I wonder if it pulls too much heat out of the exhaust and block then puts it too close to the heads for warm weather operation.

Makes me wonder if anybody ever used finned motorcycle exhaust clamps on their headers though. It's crossed my mind.

 

Hey these are mine! Beaner is correct, its just like a heat exchanger. I'll get some pics looking inside the upper transfer space.

 

Didn't Pontiac cast some aluminum exhaust manifolds for Super Dutys in the early sixties?

 

YEP! Very hard to find! I think they cracked and or melted?

 

Joe Gemsa, used what looks like finned exhaust clamps on his overhead cam B motor. Just saw em on another thread.

 

I saw a pair on a '62 S.D. Pontiac at Fremont drag strip in '63...Impressive.
I had just installed gaskets on a '63-1/2 Galaxie with cast iron manifold 'headers'...the long ones.
Could appreciate the weight difference...

 

Heres a pic inside the "tube" heat exchanger

 

I have considered it too but my engines seem to run cool enough and in my mind it would be too busy. I have removed a bunch of them from old limeys though over the years.

 

I think on a flathead running stock or otherwise non-finned heads it might work at least visually. What i don't know is if it would do anything strange to the heat in the block that would be detrimental.

 

Well aluminum transfers heat well unlike cast iron that is a heat sink. I would think that they would work more to draw heat out of the block then to put heat into the block.

One of the reasons to put aluminum heads on a flat head is to draw heat out which is one of the reasons that I am a big advocate of copper shim gaskets over cometics for aluminum headed flattys. heat transfer can be your friend and you don't get much through the head bolts.

 

Yeah, what I was concerned about would be cold spots around the exhaust outlets. Since I've never seen it, must be a reason' type thinking really.

 

Beaner, I think as you that there musta been some heat plenum to get the heat into the car. Much like a Model A, maybe?

 

I agree, I bet there was a plenum. Unfortunately there was not one with the manifolds, it must have gotten lost along the way.

 

Intriguing for sure but I don't know about cool. They would likely look a bit large. Since the patent is pending, it makes me think they were after market?? Ford would probably had the patent in hand if they made them and I don' recall any of the posts mentioning aftermarket. Tim

 

VW used aluminum exhaust heaters for years BUT they a) had a steel exhaust pipe in the middle b) had a continuous air flow through the heat exchangers. In other words they were fan cooled, when you wanted heat they directed the hot air into the car, when you didn't they dumped the hot air under the motor.

Flatheads have water cooling to the exhaust passages so the exhaust should never get hot enough to melt aluminum. But, I can see why they don't want to chance using them on trucks or in hot weather.

Even so, they would probably be OK if they had a blower attached,

 

It appears there are 2 different designs, one piece and with a separate shell or cover. As if these were prototypes or experimental.

A quick search turned up the information that the Central Specialty Co of Ypsilanti Michigan made tools and accessories for Sears under the Craftsman, Companion and Dunlap brands with the source code "103". They also supplied auto manufacturers with parts like Hudson manifolds and Chrysler power steering pump bodies. They were taken over by King Seeley in 1944.

So, it appears they were an accessory heater for flathead Fords made by an established foundry, machine shop and parts manufacturer. But they never reached production.

Rare indeed!

 

Rusty
I would imagine that they were either prototypes or people back then just were afraid to buy them, maybe the same people who thought you couldn't build a motor in a V configuration because the bottoms of the pistons would wear off or like people on the internet who read something that someone said with no real world knowledge and were afraid to use them.

I can hear the conversation now, "Why those thangs is made from luminum and what'll happen when they git melty and then thet 'zaust jest gess in the car with ya." We read things about that way all the time and I have heard things like that all my life. Like open headers and burn valves.

I would think that like the V-dub you could run a fan all the time and either pump heat into the cabin or out on the ground. But maybe it would not even be necessary.

All that said I'll bet there isn't a soul that doesn't agree with Rare indeed. I think you nailed it on every account but if you didn't rare indeed is it for sure.

 

Ever see an engine with headers glowing red? That means like 1400F or more degrees. Aluminum melts around 1000F. In an open car those alum manifolds might get sufficient air cooling to keep them from melting, don't stand on the throttle for a long time, that is what makes the exhaust hot. The warning about no summer use is probably to help keep the manifolds cooler. I agree a plenum would attach top them and direct the heated air into the passenger compartment. What does not make sense is why bother when you have hot water available?

Those early 60's Pontiac Super Duty manifolds were for 1/4 at a time, never used on a street car; for exactly the reason they would get too hot and melt.

 

they repop them now for $1700 , and you could only use them for drag racing as they would soften and sag if used on the street , a freind of mine has a damaged set hanging on the wall of his garage , the ends are melted out .

 

You might (might!) get away with aluminum manifolds on a flatty because the exhaust passages were water cooled (passed completely thru the block from one side to the other). So they would not get that hot.

On the other hand many a beautiful theory has been mugged by an ugly fact. Maybe they tried them and they did melt. Or maybe they only melted under extreme conditions, like in heavy duty truck use or on a long hard uphill pull in summer.

Maybe that is why only one set seems to exist. Or maybe they found out there was no market for manifold heaters anymore, since hot water heaters had taken over the market.

Every other exhaust manifold heater I have seen, was made of cast iron (except VW)

 

who would want to change them out twice a year? maybe good for a dedicated winter vehicle, but then why not just put a superior water type heater in?
interesting collectible.

 

have to remember back when these were made people worked on there cars almost as a weekly thing like mowing the grass . they were not spoiled like we are today with our once every 2 months jippy lube to change the oil and once every 3-5 years for the plugs and brakes , back then it was a oil change , grease everything up and valve adjustment and adjust the brakes too while your at it joe . thing ... and I remember my Dad and grandfather talking about it . I kind of laugh a little when I see the turdota commercial when the little girl says in 10 years it will be mine , sorry its not, your Dad doesn't know how to take care of a car, so that thing will be recycled by then ....

 

Perhaps another reasonable explanation for the rarity of these now would be the Wartime Scrap Drives. Since these things went on and off seasonally, and it was probably a bit of a chore to do so, these may have been among the first things to go, especially if you already had a Southwind.

 

One thing to remember is that back then even up into the '60s heaters were optional equipment. Most cars unlike most of ours got driven year around and changing manifolds spring and fall would not have been that big a deal. the reason that ours don't get changed is because we leave them forever and the bolts get rusty. Back then you even had summer and winter oil, I actually still do summer and winter oil in everything but the wife's Silverado.

I learned something that maybe some of us will never catch onto, manifold heat is often cause by too much lag in the ignition. *Of course too much lead can be detrimental on an engine that makes compression or has solid lifters (or both) and no rev limiter. But yes on a high compression engine running hard the exhaust manifolds do get hot anyway. It is not as bad on a low compression motor.

All that said if I had them I would use them. of for no other reason they would make good windshield defrosters. Even if I didn't run them they would be cool to own like those people who have intake collections that they will never ever use.

* I recently changed the tune on my bike cool my pipes a little bit. Compression, solids and revved quicker than I expected floated me a valve. Got lucky no damage but I am going to have to lighten my valve train.

 

No hot rodder would ever use these, as they will kill your performance even more than the stock Ford Flathead manifolds. They'd be an interesting wall hanger, but that's about it.

 

X2....