"Smoljan" Intake

[3x2stude]

I have a Smoljan reproduction 3x2 intake manifold that I am putting on my 61 Hawk. Can anyone out there give me some history on the company? I would love to see some vintage adds or catalog pages.

Jon Kammer

[r1lark]

Check with Jeff Rice (deepnhock on this forum)......he is one of our foremost experts on vintage Studebaker intakes.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Easy there with the expert part...
I just mess around with 'em a bit...
Here's the little I know about the Smoljan intake..

Smoljan manufactured performance parts in California a long time ago.
Then he stopped.

(fast forward 40 years)

Stude V8 powerplants gain with the popularity of Studebakers as a nostalgia craze sweeps the nation due to a good economy.
(opinion)

Dave Thibeault buys the molds and re-starts re-popping the same intake.

Dave Thibeault 13 Nick Lane, Maynard, MA 01754 (978) 897-3158

That's about it...

As far as nostalgia?
It (the Smoljan intake) has that in spades.
As far as performance?
It is a big open box, what with no intake runners or plenum dividers.
Marginal performance at best... But a cool lookin' piece.

Here's some pic's of a couple that were cleaned up and tweaked a bit...
Jeff

http://http://rides.webshots.com/album/548895236zFOUvu

Check with Jeff Rice (deepnhock on this forum)......he is one of our foremost experts on vintage Studebaker intakes.

[Mike Van Veghten]

3x2 -

As Jeff says, it will look good, but most likely not run as good as a small stock 4 barrel on a stock iron intake.
The plenum divider is no big deal normally except for the size of this "box".
The lack of runner dividers is a big deal performance wise.

The low speed power will suffer greatly, but the freeway power might be somewhat, sorta ok. Milage.....????? Depends on a lot of factors

I've thought of modifying one and installing port/runner dividers in one. It'd be a lota work for little gain, but as noted, a nice clean 3x2 setup would look good...

Mike

[PackardV8]

What that intake would be good for is an all-out supercharged and fuel injected build. For mild street use with carbs, we await user feedback.

jack vines

[Mike Van Veghten]

Hey Jack -

Yea...I though about that some time ago, but Jeff said he thought the casting was too thin.
I haven't seen one in person, so I really can't say. I guess one could just weld a coupla dozen ribs in to solidify/stiffen it...!?

Mike

[PackardV8]

I was thinking of having Jeff mill the top flat, weld a 3/8" plate to it and then cut the hole for the blower inlet.

FWIW, Smoljan is a town/dam site in Bulgaria, as well as a medical procedure.

jack vines

[kurtruk]

My non-Stude friend and I were equally shocked when we approached T-Bow's table at the Lancaster Int'l meet, picked up this manifold and turned it over. The casting said "Orange Cove." ORANGE COVE???? This was made in Orange Cove? Orange Cove is a little poor farm community buried in the orange groves of Fresno County. My friend grew up just miles down the road. And I travelled to Penn. to find this? No one seems to have any details on the company. Maybe Smoljan had worked for Ed Iskenderian previously? "Isky" also came from the same farming area. [As did Billy Vukovich and Blackie Gegian--not bad for a bunch of farmer's kids, eh?] Anyway, maybe Anne Goodman can find some old school hot rodders from this area and see if any of them know the background of this company.

[3x2stude]

Hi Jeff,

I was trying to get a little history on the company. I have not installed the Smoljan I have installed yet but it is all set. It should be installed dome time this fall. I'll do some emailing to the local California governments and see what I find out.

Jon Kammer

[DEEPNHOCK]

Take lot's of pic's Jon....
We love this stuff
Jeff

Hi Jeff,
I was trying to get a little history on the company. I have not installed the Smoljan I have installed yet but it is all set. It should be installed dome time this fall. I'll do some emailing to the local California governments and see what I find out.
Jon Kammer

[Mike Van Veghten]

Jack -

BDS has "adapter" plates ready made just for such a venture. I believe it's a half inch thick but has cut out sections to lighten it up. These cut out sections also might make adding support ribs and their subsequent welding easier.

It might work ok if it could be made to handle the load. Or just don't overdrive the hell out of the blower...!

Mike