The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop stovebolt headers

[img]http://www.stoveboltengineco.com/acartpro/images/products/manifold2.jpg[/img]

My 250 inline 6 DOES NOT have an INTEGRAL head. However the intake and exhaust do bolt together by way of four studs and nuts. Those ehaders won't do that. Is it necessary that they be bolted together or can I just block that hole to the intake with a plate or something? What's it for?

Thanks all!
-Dan

It's the heat riser.

You could leave the intake alone in California, or plumb it for water heating if you want faster warmups and somewhat better milage.

Hmmm... ok. How would I go about plumbing it? Is it worth the work?

I'm not sure anyone has plumbed a stock intake, usually they do it on after market aluminum intakes. I think Clifford may have a kit, someone here should know.

I did it and I'm not a mechanic. My neighbor showed me the way and the idea came from 4onthefloor, a member here. I used a 4" x 5" piece of 5/16" flatbar. Measured and marked with a chalk pencil, cut it with a hack saw, and grinded the corners with my bench grinder to match the curves of the stock intake. Tapped and drilled for fittings, and plumbed with brake line. Here's the part tha came from 4onthefloor - I'm utilizing a water pump and bypass thermostat housing from a 261 to route the water through the intake. Here are pics. http://community.webshots.com/photo/360111285/1360112009071636143ahASoZ As you can see, I also had to grind the bottom of the plate to allow for header clearance. All of this and I'm not sure what your options are for a 250. I'm sure others will chime in. BTW Most of the year here in the NW - we need the intake heat!

Where can I get the special outlet housing for those lines to lead in to?

It rarely snows around here in California, do ya think I'd need the heated intake? Is it possible for itto become too hot in the summer?

(Let's face it, global warming is finally taking it's toll, at least in my neck of the USA. Might as well be prepared.)

You can buy all the hardware form Tom Langdon @ Stovebolt supply.

Utilizing an old, stock intake with a water setup for heating might be inviting trouble.

The mating surface between the stock exhaust and intake is usually pretty eroded and uneven from years of minor leaks and etching.

This old, stock surface could be a beast to seal if using water instead of exhaust gas.

This wouldn't be an issue with a new intake manifold.

Stuart

I would try with out for a while and get a feel for how it opertates. In your climate you may not even need it.
The heat helps the fuel vaporize better, it has nothing to do with warming up the engine. In cold climates, the exhaust heat warms the intake quickly to keep the fuel from pooling in the intake runners. Water heat will not help till the engine is up to thermostat temperature.
Your intake will get hot from the headers just from being close to them. Once all the cast iron is hot, you will be good to go! Joe

It was a small problem on mine. The coolant weeped in a couple of spots where the heat plate met the intake. I tightened it gradually and it stopped after about a month. I used black rtv as a sealant. If I had to do it again I would have the intake resurfaced at that junction.

Maybe I'll just seal it off with some sheet metal. Like Joe H said, the headers will keep the intake warm. And this engine does NOT have a problem with running warm Actually it is the problem... but I've been able to keep it safe from he big bad "red zone" since the thermostat change. Thanks all for your suggestions. I check back so feel free to post more.

theres not really any reason you need to seal off your intake manifold. it's just a spot that exhaust gas heated under the carb to help the fuel vaporize.

i've been running a stock intake and headers for the better part of 6 months around the house, screwing around and what not with the 292. it starts up everytime...and thats with the automatic heat coil operated choke unhooked. cold starts really aren't a problem...there was snow on the ground here in Wis. when i did...with temperatures in the 30's and 40's...she still started and ran.

so, thats my 2 cents. wait and see how it runs. don't worry about it until after that.

.later days.
.sam.

Samwise, I'll take your word for it then. See what happens in the winter time, and then make my ultimate decision. Thankyou.

In Texas, I ran Fentons with stock intake, no heat to intake and had no problems into the 20-30 temps during winter for years on several different cars.
I had another with tube headers with exhaust heat and did not see any difference here.

As said you do not need to seal bottom of intake.

Walt, I think you are right. The heat from the headers will heat that intake quicker without the plate. I also don't believe that you need the heat in Texas. "Water heat will not help till the engine is up to thermostat temperature." If you have a by-pass thermostat -it heats up faster.