I have a truck hemi with truck heads that I purchsed as a basket a few years back. I picked up an edmunds intake with the stat in the manifold to use with the motor. My problem like others I read here was the gap between the intake manifold and head gasket surface. I note the holes when looking thru the manifold at the intake bolts were off by half a hole. I looked it up here and found after some reading that the options are: machine intake to match motor add gasket material (stack or machine a shim with 2 gaskets) I was opting for stacking some gaskets. From shimming the maifold I figured I would need about 1/4 to 5/16 of gasket at the intake flange. I got lucky when I went to see a fellow hemi buddy with a stash for a cast iron timing cover. I wanted a truck one if he had it or a car one that I knew he had. While I was talking to him I asked if he had some shims and it looks like I may have found the missing link. a gasket designed for the truck and industrial motors to take up the gap.
Here are the pictures Intake installed with gap showing What appears to be a NOS gasket set made for this motor Installed and bolts line up Perfect match
Wow...sure could have used those a couple months back. You probably found my thread in your search. Is that a thicker gasket, or a spacer that you use with a regular gasket? If it's a regular gasket, any idea on the part number? I wound up using 2 gaskets and it seems to be working out for now. I also have a file that I can give to a buddy that owns a machine shop. We talked about using that file to make a thicker gasket out of a soft copper of the right thickness (and using a water jet to cut them out).
I am guessing that the heads and block are early and late, as in 392 block, 354 heads ? There are comercially available spacers for this, about 1/2 inch. Art
Tad the motor and block are 1956 truck - Block is stamped VT549 Heads are 1733463. I purchased it dissassembled but as one lot. It is all 1956 354 hemi and now bored +.030 Base on some of the threads I read here. others ran into this issue on industrial or truck motors. Reference was made to questions about what to do with the intake shims found on them. The ones I found and have pictured appear to be stock for the truck motor as you can see by the intake water port. I have my heads with port brazed closed in the picture. The shim is 4 separate shims that are stacked and riveted together in 3 places to form 1 intake gasket for each side. The 2 inner shims are .125 steel flat stock. The 2 outer shims resemble the valley pan gasket from a BB mopar. Thin steel with a raised sealing crush surface built in. If you double click the picture and look close you can make this out. The shim set I say maybe a stock item. This one appears to be NOS with a stamped part number 3895 on both sides with a separate M stamped as well. When I was shimming my manifold to verify the gap for the gasket I was coming up with 5/16 to 1/4 to line my bolts and ports up. This gasket total thickness without the raised - the crushed surface is 1/4. Not sure I will be using them yet. Might get a solid aluminum or steel shim to help my small port intake seal now that I opened it up a bit more to match the heads. Also considering some non-metal materials like the fiberboard used between carbs and intakes as a shim material that may provide less heat transfer. If someone else runs into the problem I would recommend an 1/8 to 3/16 shim with 2 gaskets in this particular situation. You would need to verify the exact thickness by shiming the intake using the same size drills or small flat stock on the intake flange surface in 2 locations on each and set the manifold on the shims. Then you can eyeball or screw in the bolts to confirm the hole is centered. Once I had these shims inplace I used masking tape over the shim port holes and dykem to confirm the ports were alligned.
Hmmm... Interesting. That manifold is pretty bitchin'. I wish there were more of those floating around. What did each side measure out to, in thickness when you were done? I think I have the CAD files for intake flanges. Maybe it's time I start having some laser cut at certain thicknesses for situations like this. What did you do to fill that center heat riser port in each head? I could't quite make it out in your pictures?
i don't get it. why do you need spacers? i had both a weiand blower intake and 2x4 intake bolted to a truck 354 and didn't need spacers. did that edmunds you have there shrink?
I have to agree with Rick on this. I can see no reason why Chrysler would go to the extra design and tooling expense to do this. The extra large heat risers in the heads for trucks, I can see. But this? I think I'll go to my shop and compare the measurements on the '54 New Yorker 331 and my '56 truck 331. Hopefully, a steel rule will be able to tell me something.
that's what i was thinking, because milling the deck or heads would make the intake too wide. the intake looks too narrow in the pics.
is it possible that being a truck engine that the deck is taller making the heads further apart. so instead of a making a different intake they just used a thick gasket as a shim. I know gm made tall block big blocks for big trucks. I could be totally off base with this I dont know much about hemis. by the way thats a kick ass intake
If I may call your attention to the last page of seven in dannbb's thread. It kind of sums it up. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=570929&page=7
Scooter: The shim stack of 4 measures .200 at the flat of the shim and at the raised crush surfaces(1 to the intake and 1 to the head flange)is .235 inches Not sure how much these will crush when bolted down. This is a perfect fit for what the manifold\head cobination required. I cut some sheet metal oversize for the waterports to allow me to put them in the port sideways and pull them forward with a telescoping magnet to get them inplace. then I dogpointed a screw and used it in the hole for the valve cover directly above the water port to secure the piece in place. The hole goes into the waterjacket and does this nicely. Then braze it from the outside and dress it. For everyone that commented on the manifold. It allows you to use the truck heads since they don't have the front flange for the water-crossover. They are cool but have the small ports and I opened these up close to match the big port truck heads. I fiound out the runners are a good bit larger on these so you only need to open and smooth the intake flange area. This manifold takes the old wcfb carbs. Anyone know what CFM these were and if they are worth running 2 of them or I could adapt some large 2 barrels if someone has had a good experience? Rick & Tub: I am guessing right now but my explaination would be as follows: I have 4 manifolds here and as I have heard they are all the same if you keep the head\block combination together (392\392 or 354\354). the head height is different so when you change the combo and use a 392 head on a 354 block you will have manifold issues. I am assuming the truck head due to the taller water port in the center may also be a combination with the block to get the total hieght required for that truck manifold. When I changed the manifold to a car type I now need the shim? If I had a truck manifold I am guessing it would fit either with no shim which would mean the shim may be to adapt the car intake to this head\block combination or with the shim as stock for a truck. As I mentioned I have 4 intakes here and all fit the same. Tried a 56 passenger car 4brl intake, 57 imperial 4brl intake, and a "Why And" which for anyone who would like to use the truck head without closing the water port this one covers it nicely. Noland: The intake looks small in the picture because the 4 bolts in it are holding it up in the air not allowing it to set on the flange but it is the same as the other 3 intakes mentioned above. If someone has a truck manifold and a matched block\head cobination for 392, 354 or 331 they could put the truck intake on it and my guess is it would be to tall to fit.
As I have posted before in different threads, these thick spacer/gaskets appear every now and then....and always on truck engines. I dont know if they were a factory fix for over-machined blocks, over-machined intakes, or what. But they are factory....and do seem to appear every so often.
The Jalopy Journal
