Exhaust: Welded Exhause Manifolds to fit McKinnons into 60s Studes

[studebakerkid]

The weather has warmed up enough that I can heat my shop and get some work done. I tried doing some welding when it was 20 degrees but I would ice up the inside of my welding hood glass and I am blind enough without that.

Tonight I finished one exhaust manifold except for the exit port so those of you doing transplants like I did using a McKinnon and not being able to find the stock left side rams horn I can take some photos so you can see how I did it.

Yes I know that there are some magic block headers but I have seen what some of you had to do to the collectors to clear Stock Studebaker steering so I aint gonna do that plus Pinkie is high compression and I do not want those headers heating up my expensive high torque starter. I have one done and the other is half done and I am trying to decide if I want to just used my welded up one on the left side and use a rams horn on the right side.

My exhaust exits through the fender wells so I may just get lazy and put the rams horn on it all depends on how solid my current exhaust pipes are as they were done a bit more then 20 years ago and my glasspacks do have some long dents from bottoming out on mountain roads.

Here is my email so shoot me a message if you want photos.....hartcreek at bentonrea.com

Please put exhaust manifold as the subject so I can spot it better.

[sweetolbob]

The weather has warmed up enough that I can heat my shop and get some work done. I tried doing some welding when it was 20 degrees but I would ice up the inside of my welding hood glass and I am blind enough without that.

Tonight I finished one exhaust manifold except for the exit port so those of you doing transplants like I did using a McKinnon and not being able to find the stock left side rams horn I can take some photos so you can see how I did it.

Yes I know that there are some magic block headers but I have seen what some of you had to do to the collectors to clear Stock Studebaker steering so I aint gonna do that plus Pinkie is high compression and I do not want those headers heating up my expensive high torque starter. I have one done and the other is half done and I am trying to decide if I want to just used my welded up one on the left side and use a rams horn on the right side.

My exhaust exits through the fender wells so I may just get lazy and put the rams horn on it all depends on how solid my current exhaust pipes are as they were done a bit more then 20 years ago and my glasspacks do have some long dents from bottoming out on mountain roads.

Here is my email so shoot me a message if you want photos.....hartcreek at bentonrea.com

Please put exhaust manifold as the subject so I can spot it better.

SK

I think that your photos would make a great addition to the forum for posterity, I'll be happy to post them to the forum for you if you would like. Just PM them to me or I will email you my address.

Most interested, Bob

[DEEPNHOCK]

Here you go!

[bezhawk]

LOL....shouldn't the exhaust actually exit???

[jclary]

LOL....shouldn't the exhaust actually exit???

OH Heavens NO!!!! Having the exhaust actually exit could lead to noise and air pollution!

Shucks...this idea should be submitted to a certain Harvard Alum to go along with his new emission standards for large trucks. In fact...add a couple of goofy squiggly light bulbs and tiny solar panels and I'm sure it would qualify for a large federal grant for further study.

[1962larksedan]

The weather has warmed up enough that I can heat my shop and get some work done. I tried doing some welding when it was 20 degrees but I would ice up the inside of my welding hood glass and I am blind enough without that.

Tonight I finished one exhaust manifold except for the exit port so those of you doing transplants like I did using a McKinnon and not being able to find the stock left side rams horn I can take some photos so you can see how I did it.

Yes I know that there are some magic block headers but I have seen what some of you had to do to the collectors to clear Stock Studebaker steering so I aint gonna do that plus Pinkie is high compression and I do not want those headers heating up my expensive high torque starter. I have one done and the other is half done and I am trying to decide if I want to just used my welded up one on the left side and use a rams horn on the right side.

My exhaust exits through the fender wells so I may just get lazy and put the rams horn on it all depends on how solid my current exhaust pipes are as they were done a bit more then 20 years ago and my glasspacks do have some long dents from bottoming out on mountain roads.

Here is my email so shoot me a message if you want photos.....hartcreek at bentonrea.com

Please put exhaust manifold as the subject so I can spot it better.

For the record: any straight dump Rams Horn will clear the steering on a 1959-66 Lark type, even repop 'Corvette' units with their 2.5" outlets. The bugger is the headpipe since it has to 'snake' around to clear the drag link/reach rod but even Don Simmons (or a good exhaust shop) has that issue covered.

[Xcalibur]

Not totally unlike the original Series I Excalibur headers.

[studebakerkid]

I have not welded the exits in yet so that I can position the exits exactly to line up with my existing exhaust pipes. My currently installed manifolds I just clamped the exhaust pipes onto the exit tubes.

This time I am going to use dougnuts for a better seal.

I welded the tubes into the main section from the inside and outside of the C channel. I am sure that many of you can come up with prettier welds than I. I tried installing rams horns 30 years ago but the bends getting past the stock steering were to much without the original Studebaker casting. By my exhaust going through the fenderwells my pipes do not have any funky bends.

Thanks DEEPNHOCK for posting the photos.

[studebakerkid]

Good grief I had those manifolds welded up for a year before I got them in the car. I just got back from the muffler shop tuesday and what a difference. I put the exit ports centered on the third cylinder each side. I anyone else doe this 7you have to pay sepcial attention to the location of the sparkplugs. I was tyring to fit them onto the block and oops I made them to wide and they would not clear the sparkplugs so I had to cut 3/4 inch of the bottoms and weld in a new plate. I also had to make up four heatshields to run the sparkplug wires through.

Now I wish I had the right rear wheels so I could put JC Whitney fender flares on and paint the car and the new exhaust pipes in hight temp black.

[StudeRich]

Stock Ramhorns are available everywhere, also Canadian Stude. originals, I don't get why you would want to go to that much trouble. They fit fine in all Larks when using the '65-'66 Front Engine mounts.

[Warren Webb]

My 66 Cruiser has the stock rams horn manifolds & the 66 Daytona has Hedman Block-Huggers. No clearance problems with either one.

[studebakerkid]

I did it that way for two reasons. I could not find the casting for the left side and starting Pinkie requires an expensive high torque starter that I do not want to heat up. At one time I was running supercharged with a compression ratio of 11.25:1. I pulled the supercharger and the camel hump heads BUT my compression ratio now still is 10.25:1 I had to move the battery because it gets to warm in the engine compartment which is no problem in Pinkie because I installed a plywood cover instead of the cardboard behind the back seat so I mounted the battery in a battery box next to the start of the right rear wheel well so yes Pinkie does not have a back seat but after two deckades I got tired of just listening to the pipes so she has a 200 watt sound system mounted in the rear deck board.

I had to make my own battery cables I used 000.

[sweetolbob]

Just a thought on not finding the left side exhaust manifold. Buy two right side manifolds and grind off the alternator mount on the casting. SBC manifolds (ram horn - straight dump) will fit either side with the mount removed. That's how I found a pair of new 2 1/2" manifolds for my 383. Nothing wrong with fabing new manifolds, just leaving this for posterity if the thread opens again.

Bob

[bezhawk]

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Search?query=rams%20horn%20manifolds

Fifty nine bucks is too expensive?

[wittsend]

I've made up some pretty strange things in my life so, I'll just say I can appreciate your ingenuity. As others have already said the ram horns are readily available. Perhaps you were looking for 65-66 Studebaker part numbers?

One thing I like about the ram horns is that each cylinder blends "into" the path of the other. It would seem to create a scavenging effect. With a log type manifold (homemade or factory cast) the flow often crosses at a 90 degree-ish angle and has to be "bent" into the main log. Even center dump manifolds that don't have the gentle blending of the ram horn seem to allow the flow of two cylinders to collide into the flow of the other two before finding an exit (path of least resistance) at the center dump. It may all not amount to anything in the end, but my logical mind just sees a reasonable common sense to the ram horn I don't see in some of the other exhaust manifolds. While not center dump, Mopar A-body drivers side manifolds also have a nice flowing curve up and over the steering box. These don't make the abrupt 90 degree bend out of the port (Like even the ram horns do) and while rear exiting all the channels curve and blend into each other similar to the ram horn.

How much boost did you run with the supercharger? 11.25 to 1 seems incredibly high. Maybe that was the "equivalent" CR at boost?

Posting pictures here isn't very hard. Just "Go Advanced" and select "Attachments." The rest is intuitive but I believe there is a "how to" here to help along the way. Whenever something is unique we all love to see pictures.