I am trying to use ram horns on my SBC. No one here has a copy of the old rusty setup that was used on the originals. Hell I'm not even sure what the original looked like. I have a set of 2 1/4 ram horns. What would be the most secure way (no leak) and cleanest way to tie the manifolds into the exhaust system? Pics, links, part numbers, etc all welcome.
Most ram horns used a flat gasket on one side and a flapper valve, and the other side used a doughnut. I change out the long studs and eliminate the valve and cut a taper on both sides and run doughnuts on both.
No pics right now, but for the ones on my hot rod I made some 1/4" flanges and welded the pipes to em. I never put any gaskets in, but if I had they would have been leakproof.
I just use the exhaust gasket with a bit of copper RTV on it between the manifold and 1/4" flange with the pipe welded to it.
Apparently doughnuts are extinct here. There is one gal at a Napa here that will help find anything but where should a fella start? Should I just get someone here to cut some flanges?
Most any muffler shop has the floating flange plate and will flair the pipe for you. After the pipe is flared put a short stub of pipe inside as a sleeve to install the doughnut over and down to the flair. Doughnuts are available in any gasket set or separate from any gasket Co. the muffler shops usually have a large selection of both the fiber & iron type.
What you need to ask for are exhaust pipe gaskets. That seems to be how NAPA lists them. This example is 2-1/32 id but they should have the size you need. https://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?R=ATM18119067822_0290956632# The right side usually uses gaskets similar to this https://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/...030+4012044+5999999+25006&Ar=AND(P_RecType:A) above and below the heat riser. You have to again find the size to fit your application as these are just examples and not the correct ones for the 2-1/4 outlets. I've gotten lazy in my old age and just take it to my muffler guy and he does it all from where it bolts to the manifold on back.
2 1/4"???????? All they made was 2" and 2 1/2" gm ram horns. I use a dounut round gasket and a pipe 3 bolt flange. I have alot of this stuff n.o.s. If you get in a pinch. Bob
As said above they came in 2" and the HP Corvette's are 2 1/2" All of them used a fiber donut gasket. The flared pipe that hooks up to it needs an internal piece of pipe to keep the exhaust gasses from burning out the donut from the inside. This is what the connection should look like with the big bevel for the donut. The ones that don't have the bevel are from the pass side that uses a heat riser for quick winter warm ups. This is an eliminator with out the baffle. They now make cast iron donut rings that will work with a simple flare on the end of the pipe but a fiber one will quickly burn out with out a liner pipe. You can buy universal flat steel universal 3 bolt flanges and use the flat gasket that goes between the manifold and the heat riser for a seal. I never liked the 1/4" flat flanges because they tend to bend at the ears. They will work in this instance but are not usually stocked in your average parts store. A muffler shop that does a lot of custom work may have the special tool to make the flare like GM did. It actually folds the pipe to get the liner and flare all at the same time. For years we would take 1 7/8 and expand it inside the 2" pipe after it was flared. That works well.
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