I recently pulled the intake on a 276" Flathead, and found some leakage at the heat riser area. In the past, I have installed a penny on both sides, in the block prior to installing the intake. Any opinions, as far as doing this.
Back in the day some guys did this to increase the harshness of the sound. Some liked the loud rap it gave the tailpipes and some didn't. Warm up time for your engine is definitely increased and there is no performance advantage to it. I heard that some guys lost the pennys and never found them. Another guy told me that he just pushed a real thin piece of shimstock over the holes and it worked.
They probably used REAL copper pennies, unlike the copper-coated zinc we have now, so heat could be a problem as far as longevity is concerned. Why it was done, I haven't a clue.... but as you know, Henry saved every penny he could, so...... maybe it was SUPPOSED to be there!
I usually use a small freeze plug and drill a 3/16 hole in the cupped freeze plug. It is semi blocked and in s.Texas don’t ever use a choke so it works as planned.
I plug them with a soft plug. I only drive my car in the warm summer and don't need the extra heat on the carb. Just my opinion.
blocked mine with some thin light gauge steel that i dimpled simmilar to the ones you find in a sb chev intake gasket kit. really dropped the carb temp , i set em on the block side with a lil super copper , worked great , im in sw florida and its 85-95 deg 7-8 months of the year easily .. warm up is not a problem Fabricator John miss you dad
fenton2x2bottom by 1pickup posted Mar 27, 2017 at 6:41 PM fenton2x2penny by 1pickup posted Mar 27, 2017 at 6:42 PM
I thought you needed to use a 1953 penny? Pretty sure the last time I did it I used a regular freeze plug.
Thanks for the replies, maybe some hi-temp silicone, around that area would seal it up. This is for my late friend's 34 pickup, just helping out the new owner.
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