A friend offered me a set of old Ellis GMC 6 manifolds . I have a 55 Chevy with a 235 in it and I think they look extremely nice! I don't want to cut them up, that would be a shame, but maybe they can be made to fit my 235? What do you think?
I was always told the GMC engine was longer than the Chevy. I have no first hand knowledge that info is correct.
The port spacing and size isn't quite the same as the Stovebolt's, but people take the Stovebolt Fenton headers and weld and grind the ports to match the GMC heads, so i'm sure it can work the other way too.
Lucky dog...i hava en ellis 2 carb intake and those manifoldd would look right at home with my Jimmy. I had to split a 235 manifold ro work with mine.
If they are close at hand you might try laying a 235 exhaust/intake gasket over those manifolds to see how far off they are.
If you are interested, just pm me your Email info I can forward it to René and tell him to send you some more details on the manifolds. I have never seen a set of these and i couldn't cut them up modify them anyways...
If you look closely at the pics 1wannaflattie posted you can see the misalignment of the 235 manifold ports to the head ports. Baumi.....you are in Europe (yes, I know you know that) ....surely there are some ex-US Military GMC 2 1/2 tonners in the region......snatch a GMC 302 from one of those puppies and you are Golden! Ray
Those aren't in any Ellis price sheets I've seen. They didn't show up in the Chev/GMC 6 speed equipment thread a few years ago. They might be the only pair in existence .... They'll fit a Chevrolet as far as port spacing, but would likely need the clamp flanges trimmed to fit without leakage.
My friend René who owns these told me that he thinks they might be pretty rare. I would not want to modify them. Ray, 302s are pretty scarce around here, I think most of the Army Equipment is brought back to the US, it sold in big numbers to dismatlers that send all that good steel to China Just guessing. I once came across a GMC v6 302, but that is a whole different story
I hate to differ but I sold a nice 302 to a young man I removed from a large civilian truck. A friend recently sold a military wrecker with a running 302 in it; and, I ran across another a few years back in a nearby state. The idea all old stuff has been scrapped and sent to who knows where was a myth when I was a kid driving a Forty Ford. You have to go out looking past the horizon, and trust me: there are no dragons or beasts, and the earth does not fall away. Learn to be comfortable with people who are working on projects and ask for help. It's what you get charged money to learn, and some call it networking. Past that you need to watch reruns of Rockford Files and study his ability to simply ask questions from people who have worked in the junkyard business, and mechanics. Keep at and pretty soon you'll have more precious junk than room. But, don't take my word for it.
Just turned on a fellow racer to a 302 in SoCal that was good priced and sat on Craigs List for over two months. They do exist, even in SoCal....
Just last year a local junk yard got a 1953 GMC with a 270 in it. I almost bought it, if it had been a 302 I would have.
They are real close to the Nicson GMC's with all those cooling fins and manufacturers info added. Nicsons are/were simpler. All GMC's were poor performers because you see as the exhaust must make an abrupt 90* down as it leaves the head even tho you do get duals. They are worth a lot as I see them as are original Nicsons but these would be way more. I would not modify them in anyway for a Chev.
He's in Germany, you guys. Doubt that old GMC 6 cylinders are plentiful there. As for the manifolds, it'd be a shame to modify them in any way if they're really that rare, maybe they could serve as molds to cast a limited run of repops for the GMC builders. They're in amazing condition! I don't even have a GMC engine but I would grab those in a heartbeat just to have them. Great stuff.
Believe me, not here in the modele of Europe. Our junkyards are full of 80s and 90s Opels, Renaults and other brands nobody likes, haha of course, a 305 v6. I'm sorry. Screwed that one up!
Thanks for all your input, it is always great for me to learn about these things ... I can't tell how often I came on here in the last 16-17 years to ask questions like this , and you answered them almost immediately ! You guys Rock! Thank you!
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