Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines 235 manifold fitment problem

I'm putting a Offy 2x1 intake and split stock exhaust manifold onto a '60 235. Everything bolted up fine, but then I noticed an 1/8" gap between the exhaust manifold and the block, but the intake was against the block tight.

ANyone else run into this problem? Do I need take both manifolds into a machine shop and have them planed down, or can I use some more/thick gaskets? Someone told me I needed some special angled washers??? I need to have this car on the road in 2 days! arrrggghhh!!!

How was it split?
Did you check it for straightness before you installed it?
Which port is off?
Are the flange thckness different between the intake and exhaust?

The "angled washers" would be in reference to the clamps, without seeing whats going on, I can't say for sure if some more clamping force is all you would need or not...???

I suppose if you had to, you could double up the gasket on that one port and use some copper RTV for the short term, to get it to the show, etc...
but if its off because of the job that was done splitting it, then you will probably need to have it plained or redone long term....

Pictures might help...

Another possibility would be to have your welder add some weld around the port and then have it machined down to match the rest...

BTW, 3/16" ??? both the fuel pump and carbs should be 1/8" NPT...

I screwed a 3/16 brake line into the pump just to test the size and it fit.

It's not just one of the ports that don't meet the block, NONE of the exhaust ports do!! They are uniformly about 1/8" off. At least the 2 middle ones are. I don't remember checking the 2 end ports. The mounting bungs on the 2 manifolds meet just fine (unlike in the Offy + Fenton problem). So, if the exhaust is warped, it warped in a very uniform way. The 2 manifolds bolt together fine, but they 2 of the mounting holes in the Offy were slightly mismatched to the exhaust, but we were still able to maet them together. Other than that, they fit just fine.

I will try to get a picture tonight.

The mismatch was probably created when mating the two manifolds. This should be done only after fastening the manifolds to the head. Maybe you can just loosen them up, make the fit to the head, and then retighten?
Joe

Another thing is that the 216 and 235 manifolds have a different bolt pattern when bolting to each other. I have not heard of this causing fitting problems at the flanges though, just the need to slot the inner 2 holes on the intake. Not sure if the angle of the mating surfaces is the same between the 2 types or not. Try what J.L. is suggesting first...

Did you try a 1/8" npt fitting? the two are very close to each other in size...

yeah... I'm an idiot. :rolleyes:

yep, the pump is 1/8. 3/16 seemed to fit.. but 1/8 fits better! I picked up a 5/16 into 1/8 adaptor this morning.

Idiot move #2: the manifold just need to be tightened down more! My girlfriend installed it (it's her car)... and following my advice to not over tighten the manifold, she didn't! It felt tight, but I never checked the bolts. My advice was referring to the bolts going into the aluminum intake, not into the block. Oh well! should be ok now. SHe's really doing a good job on this and has never really messed with engines before.

Great!
It's usually something simple, its just a matter of remembering not to assume the worst right away...