MTFCA Forum

Is anyone making a header plate or have accurate drawings they would be willing to share? Not a plate to adapt the Model A manifolds to the block but one where I can build a set of headers. There was a PDF posted a while back for one, but there was a conflict in some of the dimensions? If not, I'll have to stop being lazy and make my own, but there are only so many hours in the day. Thanks

I’ve got a 1/2” thick plate laying around for a T flathead. If I remember right, it was bored 1.625” for exhaust tube and 1.500” intake. I will dig it up and post pics later...

henryford2 wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 23, 2022 7:39 pm

Is anyone making a header plate or have accurate drawings they would be willing to share? Not a plate to adapt the Model A manifolds to the block but one where I can build a set of headers. There was a PDF posted a while back for one, but there was a conflict in some of the dimensions? If not, I'll have to stop being lazy and make my own, but there are only so many hours in the day. Thanks

Got one if interested $50 to your door in 48 states
Email
Jalopyt@yahoo.com

Hi Joseph,
I have made my own and bought one from Mark Chaffin. If the one Bob has is or is like the ones Mark makes save yourself some time and buy it. I have found that a good supplier for tubing & bends is to order J tubes for VW's they are the right size and give you a tight 180* bend to work with.
Craig.

Do you know the diameter of the J-tube? I've normally bought my bends from Summit or Jegs. Thanks

Sent you an email Joe

I made a few a while back, and set the tube centers at 7/8” from the top to prevent the plate from sitting on the edge of the head gasket.

Hi Joseph,
J tubes are 1 1/2" and have a reduced end about 2" long that's O.D. fit's the I.D. the bends are about a 2 1/2" radius and the straight part is 11" long.
The last 2 pairs I purchased where very inexpensive but have some die marks in the radius. I cut the tube off at the transition of the two sizes and the reduction makes it easy to weld inside the flange.
Craig.

Found what I needed, thanks for the help

No one has mention tubular donuts. When I built the header for my speedster I made all the bends with donut sections. The length of the bend can be cut wherever the design dictates, and the bend linked with straight sections of exhaust pipes. To help keep things in place, the header plate was drilled so that the pipes could pass through them and the short intrusion acted as the gland ring does in a standard T set-up.

Allan from down under.

The donuts are great as they are typically made in a radius too tight to bend. The advantage to U or J bends is that you have only 1 weld tangent to each bend, effectively half as much welding. J bends provide longer straight sections than U bends on one leg, and can help either reduce the number of welds... or increase the number of short straight scraps

I always bore the header plates to the full tube diameter and all the way thru. Push the tube about 1/8” short of the engine side of the plate, and weld with large hot bead. This bead gets ground flat to the plate, and internal diameter if needed. Opposite side gets a few small 3-4 bead tack welds with the TIG welded to support the tube and prevent welds from cracking. I have also seen silver solder used to braze the tubes after welding for maximum resistance to cracking

I'm actually going with a style that is going to require very few bends. This is the one I did for the Rajo, much more work!