38 Pontiac flathead 6 Manifolds

Hey guys, well after searching for a split exhaust manifold for my 38 Pontiac without any joy as they are as rare as rocking horse shit, i decided to have a go at making my own. Now bear in mind, ive never tried this before and i have no special tooling, apart from the laser cut flanges this was all done using steam tubing and bends, hole saws, drill press, mig welder, 4" angle grinder, spirit level and some eye-chrometering to get it looking sweet. After making the exhaust manifold, i realised that the original intake would not fit, so a new intake was made also. Turned out pretty sweet for an ammatures first attempt, hope you enjoy the pics

This is the original setup on the car at the moment.

I borrowed a block and manifolds from an old digger who has a fully restored 38 and previously owned mine.


I made cardboard templates for the flanges to be cut out of 10mm mild steel plate


The assembly begins



After the 1st half i got carried away and completed the whole manifold except the outlet flange and forgot to take progress pics



I then started the intake........


....and went with tripples!!!

 

Now i just have to set up the carbs, linkages etc. im going to be running Carter W-1 carbs all going to plan. Still a way to go but am stoked with how its turned out so far

 

Very nice. Are you going to relieve the block? Looks like it could use it.

 

That is SWEET! I am impressed ! Good job, keep the pics coming.

 

sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! looks pretty cool... Makes me wish I had kept my old flat head poncho...

 

Cheers guys. I wont be doing any block work any time soon, The car is a good runner/driver and will just keep it going until its time to give it a tickle up, its no rocket ship by any means, at this stage looks will be good enough for me. The original plan was only to make the split exhaust manifold to gimme that sweet sound out the back, plans changed a bit, for the better i reckon.

 

Well, if you're going to double the exhaust it's only fair that you triple the intake, I always say.

 

that pair of manifolds turned out really nice , ive had the same thoughts about schedule 80 steam fittings when i see the fabricators bin of fittings when they do repairs at the steam plant ,

 

Very nice work. I'm sure that you've got some hours in them but, if you were so inclined to make some duplicate sets, you could be a modern day Eddie Edmunds and corner the market on speed equipment that no one else offers.

 

That's just beautiful!

I'll bet it really wakes the motor up too, when it's done. Does that spare motor have a head he will trade you? If so, maybe you could have it milled, and swap it on when you switch the manifolds. That would set the nail!

I hope to see it when it's all back together. Please keep us posted.

 

That is F$%^$n awesome. I've got a 239 in my 51 as well. I got several spare manifolds and was wondering how I could split them, but your setup beats that hand down. Would love to see how your final setup work out !!!

 

Yeh the old guy has a heap of parts, he's already offered up enough to build another car if i wanted to, i cant wait to get them on and see what happens, just in the process of sorting carbs now, will put pics up as i go.
Have though about making some more later on, as these are the prtotypes so to speak, there are a few little things id change. Cheers for the compliments guys.

 

Just finished cleaning and assembling the carbs, gotta sort out how to link them together now. Still missing the lid off one of the carbs (any spare carbs or parts are welcome) but gives the general idea.

 

that is very good work. it is way better then trying to cut and weld old cast iron.
i plan on doing something like that for my 250 chevy.

 

Thanks, i was thinking the same thing, cut and weld the original but for the little bit of extra time taken, this was far easier, Chris.

 

Look's like something you'd find under the hood of a Duesenberg, or Delahaye.

 

Got the carbs fully assembled today and painted the manifolds for the time being, im too broke to get em chromed and there isnt any other shiny stuff on the motor anyways.
Was speaking to a buddy who owns a traditional hot rod shop in town and told him what ive been up to lately, he directed my attention to an old manifold sitting on his window sill..... for the price he was asking, i just had to buy it, check the pics
Im still going to run my triple manifold, the twin will be nice wall art for the time being.

 

If you want to sell the Edmunds could I get the first shot at it!

 

Nice work Chris.
I'm about to do something similar.
But with a 270 GMC and triple 2" SU carbs.

 

Duck's Goat, sorry pal but that sweety aint for sale, it could be the only 1 in the country down here! Although i did see 1 minus carbs on Ebay just a couple days ago if thats any help.
LIFESTYLZ, chuck up a new thread if you do, im always keen to see cool stuff such as that!

 

Thanks for sharing with us. When I was younger both the Olds and Pontiac flat head sixes were popular. They were a great performer and also very strong, simply constructed motors. The work you are doing and sharing with us in photo's is really appreciated by me. I did build a side draft triple carburetor intake manifold fpr a Chevy 261 and I'm using Weber carburetors I got through Clifford in Wildomar, CA and it is a daily driver. With time, ideas, the right tools and a lot of input from members of this website you could build almost anything. Ask and this bunch will be there with tons of ideas and suggestions.
Normbc9

 

You are right about the Pontiac being a strong motor.
I drove my '35 Pontiac coupe hard for years and it never gave up.
Blew the ass out of the gearbox though ...

 

Your visor is the same as what is on my '37 Chev. I've never seen another, and I reckon it is an Aussie or British make. Does it have any writing on it?

 

I am knocked out with this outstanding crafstmanship. I am really impressed as well at how those old Pontiac mills hang together, our moniter on here, Rocky, had a killer 41 Pontiac coupe that he drove all over the planet with great results. I have always been a fan of the gorgeous Pontiac styling and trim packages. How about showing us some pictures of the great car, checked your profile and none there. Thanx for sharing this tech piece with us, Congrats on a great result. The Edmunds piece is sweet. ~sololobo~

 

Thanks heaps guys, your comments are much appreciated. There is so much knowledge on this site its awesome.
36roadster, there are no markings on the visor, i know about as much as you, aftermarket, no name & unsure where they were made, i do have a fulton for the car but i like how the centre strip kinda matches the bonnet strip so im going to leave it on. There a a few of these over here that ive seen.
Ill get some pics of the car up shortly.
Thanks, Chris.

 

Beautiful work. Wish I had a setup like that for my Plymouth.
Oh yeah, just about any flathead 6 is bulletproof. Mines been going strong since I bought it back in 1976.

 

The car as i got it, and with a couple different wheel choices, other than that its bone stock pretty much.

 

I like the original wheels/whitewalls best by far ...

 

Yeh they are sweet but drove like crap, im running the 15" steels with the cross bars and radials now, still got the original 16"s but the old cross ply's are stuffed and they expensive little buggers to replace.

 

Beautiful car!

I like the 16's too, but how about some '50 Pontiac caps on the 15's, for a nice sombrero look?