The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Fenton headers

Got one more question on my Fenton headers. I've read that heating the intake manifold is a must, most have run water lines while other have used exhaust. Where can I get a plate to fit the bottom of my manifold where the orignail exhaust manifold was? I guess I can just make one. What do you use to seal it?
Thanks again

You can make easy enough with aluminum plate and not more than 1/4" thick. Any more and the rear Fenton will interfear with the plate. You will have to notch out slightly anyway. Use thin gasget material to make gasget and use high temp orange silicone for sealer and let sit over nite before putting antifreeze and heat to it. Use stainless fastners. Also I see Langon has these for sale about 25.00 without gasget material.

Borla headders for a six cylinder has an finned aluminum plate that bolts to the bottom of the intake.It acts as a heat-sink.A person could even use a piece of heat-riser tube attached to that and attached to a headder tube .I am referring to the soft aluminum tube that is used for the heat riser on the end of a stock air cleaner snorkle from a mid 70`s and up vehicle.

Both good ideas. Getting water to it looks difficult since there are not inlet/outlet in the water pump or the thermostate housing for it. I heard the two plugs in the fentons are for this. Take em out, put in brass fittings, run copper to brass fittings to the manifold. How would that work?
Thanks

Wilib--

I have two trucks, a 235 and a 250 both with original equipment heat risers. The 250 has a tin claptrap affair which is suppose to collect heat from around the exhaust manifold and funnel to the bottom of the intake and carb (crummy and perpetually broken). 250 is very hard starting and rough running with cold weather. When the engine compartment heats up it runs fine but takes about 10 minutes in winter (note I'm in Texas). Conversely, the 235 with original heat riser starts and warms up immediately in all conditions. If I were putting on the new fentons I would be sure to use a heat plate. Importantly the original fentons of 50s vintage had a heat riser and plate built in. Have a friend with new fentons who uses water via heater hoses although he complains of hard starting in winter. I would think that exhaust heat would be quicker on the warmup. Used to be a guy who manufactures heat plates for fentons for either exhaust or water on ebay --might want to check.

Here are two old discussions that touched on this topic. You might want to search this forum for all discussions on "fenton". Such a search does not take very long on the new server.

http://66.221.101.248/bboard/cgi-bin//ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=003101#000000

http://66.221.101.248/bboard/cgi-bin//ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=003003#000000

Water heating is my preference, if you are using an intake manifold with passage(s) for water (like an Offenhauser or Clifford intake). However, if you are using the stock intake manifold, a connection from the Fenton headers is fine.

If you heat with water, you should use a thermostat and take the water from below the thermostat (the engine side, obviously, heats up faster - actually quite quickly). You could use the thermostat housing plate from Tom Langdon (mentioned above) for the supply of water and put a T in the water heater hose that enters the return side of the water pump. You could also take the water supply from a T in the heater hose connected to the lower thermostat housing.

Tom Langdon also sells a plate and fittings for the bottom of the intake (at a much lower price than the ones sold on eBay a few months ago).

My 1960 261 engine has extra ports for supply and return of water (both on the "wrong" side of the engine but they can be made to work). Another option for supply of water is to use a GMC truck's thermostat housing (I understand it has a port on the intake side of the lower part of the housing).

Good luck.

Tim

I am about to install the fentons on my 235 with dual carb intake.
I believe hot water surrounding the intake pipes will heat them better than hot air. So I will leave the Fentons plugged.
I am thinking of removing the water drain cock from the engine (next to the throttle linkage) and run a hose to the bottom plate on the intake.
Then another hose connects from the plate to the water pump/heater return.
I wonder if anybody has tried that?

What type of metal pipes shall I use?
What diameter, thickness and length is recommended?
Can somebody describe the difference in performance and 'tonality' of both Mellow Tone and Smithys mufflers?
Is there a good muffler shop in the Los Angeles area, thats recommended.

Thanks for all the good info and the links. Looks like I will be doing water instead of exhaust, seems to be the overwhelming way to go. Where can I get the Langdon adaptors? I've searched several places with no luck. I currently have an offy 3 one barrel monifold but am affraid its not going to fit my engine compartment. From the way it looks right now the back carb is going to hit the firewall. I'm going to give it a test fit before I pull the engine but I think I'll have to switch to a 2 one barrel setup. Dang it, I think the 3 would look way cool.
Thanks
willib's 52AD

It is my uneducated understanding that you can fit no more than 2-carb Offenhauser on a stock-sized engine in a Chevy truck 47nd-55st engine compartment. Supposedly, 3 or more carb intakes can fit into a GMC.

Here is Tom Langdon's website (it is slow to load in some browsers):

http://www.stoveboltengineco.com/index2.htm

Tim