hi, i'm cheap and rebuilding a nailhead.

so i didn't buy a service manual. this is out of a 64 riviera, what's running through my header?


thanks in advance. the site's been amazingly helpful.

 

look inside is there a flap in it? it's a heat damper, for proper warm up of the engine. you can turn it so its open or cut it out. that shaft is hard! now that its out you need to plug the holes, look for some small freeze plugs and tap them in....

 

flap's gone, but that makes sense, thank you very much!

 

ugh.. one more question, if I'm driving this in the winter time would it make sense to replace the flap... and is that possible?

 

That is a tube that supplies hot air up to the choke thermostat on the carburetor. A '64 Riviera nailhead has the heat riser in a separate assembly between the manifold and the exhaust pipe. Frank

 

I didn't think "cheap" and "nailhead" fit in the same sentance! Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

 

mine was like yours and it never bothered me but winters here arnt that cold.

 

If you're cheap sell yr nailhead & buy a chevy! Or didn't you mean that kind of cheap?

 

that's what I'm finding... everytime I have the cash together to buy the service manual I can always think off one thing that I can get to get closer to driving, but I'm gonna have to break down and get one soon.

thanks for the help everyone, - buford wins this round of 'name that part'.

 

There is nothing wrong with being cheap !!!! LOL Tom (Tired Old Man)

 

what's running through my header?

Cold air in, hot air out, and up to the heat stove on the choke which makes the choke flapper open up as the engine warms up. Most cars of the 50's and 60's had this.

 

and if yer really cheap sell the nailhead & buy a dodge.
"AND THE BOWTIE ROLLS ON"

 

Cheap sounds so desparaging, I prefer ........................thrifty

 

That service manual could end up saving you some money...

 

I’m showing my age here, the shaft is what's left of the “exhaust gas crossover valve.” What’s missing besides the flap is a bimetallic coil spring similar to a choke spring and a weight, both mounted on the outside of the shaft. On a cold engine the weight closed the flap, which forced the exhaust from this bank thru separate passages in the head and intake manifold under the carb (take a look at yours) and out the other bank, which had no flap. This warmed the intake manifold. The spring opened the flap as the engine warmed up, similar to a choke spring. Our friends in warmer states don’t need these, in the days of carburetion they were pretty helpful here in the Midwest.

You can get by without it, many here rusted tight after a while, rusted open was a longer warmup, rusted shut was an exhaust restriction and hot manifold in the summer. maybe someone in a warmer state has parts they are throwing away.

Better yet, I will trade you a sbc for that icky old engine. sbcs are great, all the guys are running them.....