SBC 283 Heat Riser - Studebaker

Got a simple question regarding SBC Heat Risers. Is it necessary? and if not, what size spacer should I be looking for? It is the stock 283 in my 65 Studebaker Commander. The PO installed a manual choke, which from what I have read, negates the need for the heat riser. I could be wrong about that though. Thoughts?

hopefully this isn't too dumb of a question

 

The heat riser helped the engine warm up faster but usually they rusted into useless in a year or so. As far as a spacer, just knock out the innards of the riser and use it. The chokes on carbs of the early Chevies used a heat tube to transfer the heat from the manifold up to the choke element. Electric chokes made the other stuff unnecessary.

 

Heat riser will help your carburetor warm up faster, and vaporize the gas better. This makes the car run better, keeps raw gas from contaminating the oil and washing down the rings, and saves gas. Without it your engine will still run but not quite as well not quite as long and not quite as economical.

In a hot climate it may not make much difference but in freezing weather a heat riser is definitely an advantage.

The choke has nothing to do with the heat riser. You should still be able to buy a new heat riser valve or rebuild kit from your local parts house. Tell them it's a 283 from a 65 Chevelle.

Incidentally it will likely run a lot better if you buy a rebuilt carb with the stock automatic choke and choke pulloff. If the breather has a heat valve, fix that too.

I did all this on an old Dodge pickup once and was absolutely dazzled. With everything to factory specs it started, ran and drove like a brand new fuel injection car, no kidding. All the hard starting and balkiness we associate with carburetors completely disappeared after restoring the heat riser, carb, choke, and heat stove.

Picked up a couple of extra miles per gallon too.

 

They were still available in the aftermarket several years ago. I bought a new one when I was building my 32.

They last longer than a year but for most of us 3 season cruisers, we just eliminate the butterfly and run the body only as a spacer. If you drive in 20 degree weather then it will help the engine get up to temp sooner but I don't drive my hotrod that often in that weather to worry about it. I did it on my 32 just to spark some conversation.



It is probably readily available from a Chevelle parts house.

 

we took everything off on my wife's O.T. Camaro... she only drives it in the summer... if you plan on cold weather driving, maybe look for some replacement parts.... as mentioned, even with the manual choke, it would still warm up the carb & make cold weather running more efficent

 

You may want to remove the carb and clean out the most likely carbon packed passages in the intake manifold. These heated the primary side of the cast iron base carbs to prevent carb icing.
If you can hold your fingers on the heat crossover passage on the intake manifold after the engine has run for two minutes you should pull the intake and clean out the crossover also. The heat riser can be eliminated on a summer cruiser, but the heat should be allowed to reach the carb base on a non competition vehicle to prevent stalling due to icing.
Icing may occur up to 60 F especially in humid conditions due to the venturi effect.

 

Thanks for all the info everyone. Im leaning more and more towards picking up a new riser. Found a few on Amazon and I have a bunch of gift cards. So much for a wolf whistle lol