1955 Wasp - Twin-H intake - cracked at heat-riser flange...

Frank_McM

Greetings, HET Folk !

I am trying to help-out a buddy with a nice 1955 Wasp, with 202 six & Twin-H,  that has been having some issues. (Hard Starting, idling too fast, heavy miss on #2, etc.)

After extensive diagnostics involving ignition, compression tests, carb
adjustment, we  discovered that the intake manifold was leaking where
the runners meet the block.

Upon disassembly of the intake /
exhaust manifold assembly, we further discovered that the "ears" of the
heat-riser flange on the intake are both broken-off.
(Probably not the direct source of our issues, but definitely a complicating factor.)

All that said, some questions:

1) Is this a common problem with the Jet / Wasp intake ?

2) What repair solutions are recommended ?

3) How realistic is it to expect to find a good / NOS intake ?

While I have a long history with vintage cars ( mostly MoPar flathead sixes and straight-eights over the last 30 years ),  this is my first in-depth experience with Hudson.

I am grateful for any guidance !

Regards,

Frank McM.
Scranton, PA

46HudsonPU

Welcome aboard! 

Good to have you.  I'm sure our folks will be providing some 'sage' advise shortly.

You may also want to visit the Hudson Essex Terraplane Club website, and consider joining that Club - Members come for the cars, and stick around because of the great folks there!

We hope you enjoy your time here at the Hudson Essex Terraplane 'Open Forum' -

Kdancy

Frank, while I'm certainly no expert, Twin H cracking is pretty common. The last three I've taken apart have had cracks, the exhaust were all cracked in the middle area where both bolt together. One i recently purchased was cracked in the heat riser area as well as the other mentioned. Im experimenting with different methods of cast iron welding to repair them. Check to see if you have a good cast iron welder nearby that will do the repair.

LHudson

There was one on Ebay. It has been on more than once. It has two repairs on it. It is very pricey. From my reading the 202 manifolds are prone to cracks.   LHud

Frank_McM

LHudson -

Would that be the gold one in California, advertised for Jet and Italia ?


Frank

LHudson

Yes that is the one. It has been off and on for some time. I think the high price has kept it from moving. A good cast welder can make repairs on the manifold.  LHud

LHudson

Was looking at Ebay just now. They have lowered the price of the manifold by $100. With the new price and shipping it still is on the high side. LHud

Frank_McM

Was looking at Ebay just now. They have lowered the price of the manifold by $100. With the new price and shipping it still is on the high side. LHud

Thanks for the confirmation on that, LHud... the balance-tube repair would be not be an issue, as this is replaced by a 1/4" blank-off plate in the Nash-bodied '55.  That flange ear repair is still daunting at the price.

I think we will be talking to Perkin's Repair about the one we removed from the car...

Regards,

Frank McM.

KTRON

If you have a good sized MIG welder, you can notch out the manifold and the cracked ear, glass bead blast the welding area, preheat on a BBQ to 500*F, and then use Crown 44-30 (nickle iron manganese) welding wire right in your MIG welder. Its expensive wire ($480 for 10lbs), but seems to work just fine. After welding, have a steel barrel full of lime to submerge the manifold in, that will allow for a prolonged cure time (to prevent cracking). You may find the manifold still hot after a week!  A small granular media will get into all of the complex geometries of a manifold, where a wool blanket would not. Ive had some success welding unobtainable exhaust manifolds for old engines this way. 

Alternatively, you can stick weld the part with Harris NLW59 rod. Vee all edges with a grinder, pre-heat to around 400-500*F, and weld 1/2" at a time, peening with a needle scaler in between passes. When finished, either wrap the welded part in some fiberglass insulation, or submerge in lime so it cools slowly. Sometimes the first pass is quite porous, just grind off the high spots, and the second pass is usually a lot nicer.

Chris

RL Chilton

That's great info, Chris!

For those not into the DIY, Jeff Perkins listed above is the best I have seen at welding Hudson cast iron.  Incidentally, he did a lot of work to my most recent engine and has a nice engine machinist shop.  Don't think he does the real big jobs like line boring, but has most equipment for engine machine work.  

Kdancy

Another intake manifold just in, a Twin H that was sent to me.
Here is one of the common crack areas I've found on most. Being as this engine will have headers installed I don't think the cracks will be an issue being as they are not in the "intake" part but the bolt to exhaust part.

LHudson

There is another twin h manifold on ebay. I is a complete manifold, intake and exhaust. It too has a crack in it. It appears to be in the exhaust. I noticed that it does not have a balance tube like the other one. Does this mean it came off a Wasp and the other was off a Jet?   LHud