Just found something interesting I wanted to share and warn you guys about. It seems that someone has started reproducing Tattersfield air cleaners and intakes for flatheads. I don't mind that they are being reproduced as long as they are being marketed as reproductions. I have found this on an online auction after I noticed 2 people from California seem to have a good supply of these items. One lists the air cleaners as used (several over the last month) but the other shows the intakes as new. New Tattersfield intakes were painted blue when they were shipped. If you are paying big money for these you want to make sure they real and not copies. These are the real ones from a borrowed pic.
There was a booth at LARS showing the manifolds and air cleaners. Hexagon tool company was another brand I remember seeing a booth for.
I have also noticed the Thickstun 235 chevy dog bone intake and a couple tattersfield model a/b intakes are being listed as new on the auction site. I have tried to find a source for these but have come up with nothing.
Tony Baron is producing from the original molds the PM-7 intake, the 4-carb flathead intake and the air cleaner shown above. I spoke with him a few weeks ago and he told me that he has a partner that lists them on e-bay. That was Tony at the LARS. I don't believe he is painting he intakes or air cleaner blue. I'm saving for a set of heads. Geoffrey
I wonder who is doing it. Does anyone know if Tony B. is offering the high rise version of his pop's 4X2 intake? Thanks.
Just to a bit anal, but no sand casting is ever made from "original molds". When sand casting, the mold is destroyed after every pour. New molds are required for each casting. The patterns and core boxes (the molds from which sand cores are formed) may be original but since they were made of wood, they might well have needed reproduced after all these years.
to me this is like those guys that list a 4door car for sale and never mention in the ad that is a moredoor, then they show all kinds of pictures of the car except the ones clearly showing that its a 4door. we learned as children that withholding information for the sake of deception is lying too...
Ditto, Dale,.... I do know that most really good, production grade patterns were made from very tight grained hardwoods,....... I have a couple of wheel patterns from a railroad foundary, and for all the use they got, are in remarkably excellent conditiion. 4TTRUK
Wooden patterns can survive if they were limited use (less than say, a million pours)and well taken care of. They should still be refered to as reproductions though because they are not being made by the original company. When a company makes a product, they build a reputation with each part. Specs, service, and quality are all assumed to be good because it's a "such-n-such" product. When someone makes a reproduction, all that goes out the window. Even if they do a real jam-tastic job, it's still a case of "buy our COPY of "such-n-such". Otherwise they wouldn't be selling a copy, they'd be building their own reputation but building their own product.
While the wood patterns can last along time if properly cared for, drill jigs are subject to a lot more wear and tear and need to be refurbished from time to time. I see no reason to refer to these as "reproductions" if the original patterns are used.
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