1959 Speed Shop Part 1: Manifolds!

Imagine if you could get any eclectic speed part you wanted for your old car without hitting a swap or searching the internet? Speedway Motors, Mooneyes, Edelbrock, H & H, and many more have re-popped some of the popular rare bits, especially for Flatheads, Cad, Olds, and Nailhead. But what about the other old motors? In most cases, there’s just not enough demand to justify remanufacturing some of the great parts of 50 years ago.

I started thumbing through my trusty 1959 Almquist Engineering Co. catalog and was blown away at how many weird performance manifolds you could get: Studebaker Champ, Nash Rambler, early Dodge & Plymouth V8,  and more. You want 2×2, 3×2, 2×4, 4×2? No problem! Almquist even had their own “house” brand of intakes that don’t look too shabby. If you look at the bottom of page 13 you’ll see a complete GMC 671 blower for $125. What a rip off!

And now, kick back, take a gander, and see if they made a cool intake for your “odd rod” motor: