Exhaust: Bending an exhaust pipe

[Henry]

Gang - I received a beautifully made Y pipe from one of our fabulous vendors for my rebuilt 289. However, after finger-tight running the nuts up on both pipes, one of them needs a slight (maybe 3/4") bend to mate with the other.

I saw a few You Boob videos involving sand & heat to bend without a mandrel machine. Not practical, imho. Short of taking it to a muffler shop and slipping the guy a ten spot for putting it on the machine, has anyone successfully found a way to make a slight bend in a 2" 18 gauge pipe?

Thanks!

[PackardV8]

Stainless or mild steel?

jack vines

[Henry]

Mild steel, Jack.👍

[64V-K7]

Are you using the heat riser or discarding it?

[Henry]

Ah! Hadn't thought of it, but that's probably why pipes aren't lining up!

The riser was broken in two so I tossed it.

[BRUCESTUDE]

Make a spacer out of steel the same thickness, takes a hole saw and some cutting to shape.

[Studebakercenteroforegon]

You can buy ready made flanges from exhaust suppliers. Takes a couple stacked with a gasket between them. Myself, I have been known to grab a couple of scrap head pipes, saw the flanges off, and then finish dress with a file to make the surface flush.

[IMJ]

In the past I welded a broken heat riser without the butterfly baffle to use as a spacer. I planned to delete the heat riser anyway. Later on I bought a machined spacer from a Studebaker vendor .

[Dwight FitzSimons]

IIRC Jon & Mike Myer in OH have had some spacers made up to replace the heat riser.
--Dwight

[altair]

I feel the heat riser is a very important component, it manages the automatic choke system by providing the heat to actuate the expansion spring to control the butterfly that also controls the high speed idle and manages the idle until it returns to normal. After the operation is complete the heat riser continues to assist with vaporizing the fuel entering the engine. Without the heat riser the heat actuated choke will not work. The vacuum system that operates the choke is part of the vacuum system that sucks fuel from the fuel bowl and is delivered to the fuel nozzles. All these parts have to work simultaneously.

[Henry]

Update - I bought a heat riser from vendor, StudeRich and it's been so long since I've done this...should I use a gasket between the riser and manifold - or just the manifold & riser?

[r1lark]

Update - I bought a heat riser from vendor, StudeRich and it's been so long since I've done this...should I use a gasket between the riser and manifold - or just the manifold & riser?

Gasket on both sides of the heat riser.

[Henry]

Thanks, Paul!