Fuel System: Use of Cadillac intake manifolds.

[CarCrosswordDan]

I've seen references to the use of early Cadillac, multi-carb, intake manifolds on Stude V/8s. What modifications are neccessary to adapt such manifolds to Stude V/8s ? Will any of the Cadillac multi- carb manifolds, from '55 to '60 work, or is it limited to only the 2x4, '55, '56 & '57 units only? Anyone used the 3x2 version used from '58-'60? Thanks, Dan

[bezhawk]

They fit.......poorly. Bolts in the ends need to be filled, and moved. Ports don't match well. The last thing most Studes need is over carburetion.
Anything over 500 cfm is wasted money . One advantage in some, is the use of lighter aluminum. Wait for John Erb to get the Lionel Stone manifolds back on the market, or get Jeff Rice to make one for you. Most any Cadillac manifold up to around 64 can be made to fit. You most likely will see a decrease in performance.

[3x2stude]

Spent Time On This

Dan,

I wanted a tri-power for my Stude in the worst way. I did some research on the Caddy option. It is do-able but it is a ton of work. It requires welding to get the ports to line up and unless you are a the god of fire, being sucessful on that much welding or brazing on cast iron is iffy. If you can find an aluminum Offy or Weiand of the day they would be easier to modify. They are scarce and would be pricey. I have only seen one in my life. I tried to by an iron trip for about two years and never saw one go for less than $700.00. Several brands of 2 x 2s are often on ebay that are "Stude". I have seen them go with carbs for as low as $500.00. "Vintage Speed" offers a re-pop of a "Caddy" 2 x 2 for $370.00 but then you still need to modify it. Dave Thibeault in Maynard, MA make a re-pop of a "Smoljan" tri-power, a Calli based company in the 50s. He charges around $430.00 and it will bolt right on. I have one built and ready to install. Its not for sale but I can send you some pics if you PM me with your email and I can send it to you.

Jon Kammer
3x2stude

[Mike Van Veghten]

Work...yea...work even "somewhat" correctly...not without a LOT of expensive work.

Yea, there's ways to cheat some of the things, but you'll end up with JUST eye candy when you are done. Yes, you'll have a 2 x 3 manifold but....! You cannot make the port walls matchup without either ruining the heads or "moving" the manifolds walls to match the heads. Have people used the Cad. manifolds over the years, sure, but have they worked correctly...as I stated, not without a lot of work.
ALL of the port wall mismatch's are in the completely wrong direction airflow wise.

To make one of these work properly, not only do the bolt holes need moving, but so do the port walls.
This means cutting into one of each of the (8) port walls, and welding in a new wall to make the port narrower...to match the Stude head. Then...you also have to shorten the port. Neither the roof or the floor match up to the Stude head...there again...some welding is required..!

So...yes, the engine "will" run without the proper modifications.
BUT...what's your definition of "running (well)"...?
OR...does it matter how well the engine runs if it's just a car show queen..?

Pick up one of Lional Stones "R4" dual quad manifolds that's already been modified to fit standard heads. A coupla small 4 barrel carbruetors....plenty of eye candy with that setup.

Mike

[R_David]

Yeah, I saw the reference to Cadillac manifolds in the most recent issue of Turning Wheels and was pretty excited. Glad I found this thread!

[SN-60]

Another somewhat negative thing about the Cadillac factory cast iron multi-carb manifolds is that they're soooo darn heavy! (Ditto the Packard Dual quad factory intake)

[R_David]

I am not into "eye candy", I am in to driving my Studebaker. Guess I will stick with the stock manifold if I wouldn't see any performance increase. Great thread discussion!

[Skybolt]

I have used the Smoljen 3x2 on a modified 259, larger bore, valves, cam etc... and liked its performance over the AFB I was running. All that being said a good aluminum 4bbl manifold will be the best for all around driving. The prices are the only inhibiting factor but you cant get something for nothing.

[Dan White]

Does anyone know if Dave T. is selling the R3 type aluminum repop manifolds?

[Mike Van Veghten]

He was...both the single and dual.
Don't know about his stock quantity though.

Mike

[SN-60]

I believe Dave Thibeault can supply all the different style aluminum manifolds. Built per request.

[jeds55]

I have a '53 Cadillac manifold mounted with WCFB carters. I get around 18 mpg on regular, with a 355 gear.

[jimmijim8]

That really looks nice under and all over. Lot of carburation on a small engine that is happy with 500 cfm. Does your truck have a lot of asse? {get up and go?} 18 mpg light footin it? What's the low side when your red neckin. cheers jimmijim

[jeds55]

I just got home from the PSMC Drags, about a 100 mile drive for me and I got 14 mpg. I was in a hurry to get there and had to get home asap for a family gathering. The carburation works because the heads have been opened, the cam is re-ground and the exhaust is a little larger than stock.

[candbstudebakers]

And the stock Cad manifold was done right with a lot of work to get it that way.