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This
picture shows what frequently happens to Model T exhaust manifolds after many
years of heating and cooling. The holes do not line up so the exhaust
rings and glands cannot be used. Several years ago while on tour, Fred was
discussing this problem with Elmer Layne of Kansas City. Elmer said he had
a fixture he used routinely to straightening manifolds. Fred was
skeptical, but the following week the fixture shown here arrived by UPS.
As you can see, the fixture is made from an I-beam, but there are various areas
cut out to allow the manifold to be heated. Also, the flange is tapped for
a large coarse thread bolt, which bears on a saddle that rests against the back
of the manifold. A wrench is placed on the bolt, so that the weight of the
wrench will cause the saddle to push very lightly on the manifold. Once
the manifold is positioned in the fixture and the wrench is in place, you begin
to heat the manifold with a rosebud tip in an acetylene torch. As you can
see in the pictures, you must heat the manifold until it is read hot. When
it gets hot enough, the weight of the wrench will push the manifold slightly and
the wrench will fall. Reposition the wrench and continue heating. DO
NOT PUSH ON THE WRENCH! If you do, you could break the manifold.
Instead, let the weight of the wrench do the pushing. Periodically, stop
to check your progress with a straight edge. Determine where additional
heat is needed to continue the straightening process. If you are patient,
after about 30 minutes you will have a perfectly straight manifold, so that you
can install it with the proper rings and glands. This fixture has been
used to straighten a large percentage of the exhaust manifolds in our
club. Every local chapter should have one. Making the fixture would
be a good club winter project.
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