53 plymouth exhaust leak at manifolds

i have a flat 6 in my 53
it has a exhaust leak between the intake and exhaust heat riser
what is the correct fix
anybody have pics of the manifolds separated so i know what to do
to fix the problem.

i am told to machine the manifolds to remove any warp
will the the bolt holes on the manifolds need to be elongated for change?

should i consider headers at this point vs machining?
if so who sells tube headers vs cast headers
i cannot afford the cast headers ,at this time
and this is my only driver

i cannot afford the down time for machining
and would put tube headers on for temp fix while machining is done

 

Or look for another manifold.

 

Could be that the 58 year old gasket gave up.

 

You need to remove the completer manifold from the car, remove the carburettor and then you should see 4 bolts holding the intake to the exhaust 2 facing up and two facing down. Remove these - be careful as these are going to be weak and may break off - remember thay have had many hot/cold cycles and will be in a poor state. If they are studs with nuts its a lot easier.
Split the manifokds apart and you will see the gasket sealing the two of them. If that has failed and the surfaces are still reasonable its an easy fix. If the surfaces are pitted or corroded then they need to be resurfaced. I have seen manifolds like this corrode and colapse in this area due to old age condensation and heat cycles. If this occurs you have three choices - find another one, weld and repair the one you have (read expensive if you can't do it your self) or make up a set of extractors and use the intake on its own. I was faced with no 3 on my Mopar and did not regret the effort however my exhaust manifold fell apart into a hundred pieces so had no choice other than to get out the welder and some tubing

 

ordered gasket set and might as well rebuild carb on the flat 6, it is leaking a bit.
can anybody pm me on carb rebuild and jetting tips?
or steer me to right link

 

remove the manifolds as a unit. there are THIRTEEN fasteners holding the manifolds on, make sure you find them all, and 4 holding them together. I would plan on figuring you will break at least 3 of them trying to remove them and split the manifolds. You might actually be further ahead to grind off the heads, split the manifolds, then you will have access to using penetrating oil and heat to remove the rest of these bolts.

Are you sure that it is the gasket and not the pivot for the heat riser??? they are also a source of leaks in that vicinity.

when you reassemble, fix them loosley together, thn mount them as a unit. then shug the 13 fasteners, then tighten the four that hold them together. they should all be snug and not overtightened. these things move a lot as they go through their heat cycles. overtightened fasteners will cause problems. I go snug then another 1/4 turn. then check again after a couple of run cylces. again do not over tighten.

If you want to do it 100% go to Vintage Power Wagons and order new brass nuts and teh conical washers.

 

there is signs of blackened blow by on the passenger side of manifold junction with the intake.
will i have to move heater box to get at things?
i think i have to start with oil bath air filter
then carb
come from under neath and break exhaust pipe and lower fasteners
then come back to top to pull rest of fasteners and extract from top?