WTB - 1954 heat riser valve or blank

[RobertM]

My heat riser valve broke into pieces.  Does anyone know a source for a new one or a blank?
Thanks,  Bob

[D.Yaros]

I suspect the consensus among those who have 'em is that they are more trouble than they are worth.  Unless you are driving the car in cold weather they serve little-to-no function.

[Ken Perry]

I thought there function was to get stuck closed and break exhaust manifolds,heads and crack intakes???   Run a spacer ! If you can't find one then have it made,or bolt the pipe up with out it. Ken Perry

[RobertM]

Mine was frozen shut and I had planned on just putting in a spacer.  I stuck it in a bowl of mystery oil several months ago while I was getting the engine rebuilt.  Lo and behold,  it came free.. amazing what that mystery oil can do.  So, I figured I'd use it anyway. Well on installation it just plain fell apart when I tightened the nuts down.  Now I'm almost done putting everything back together and I'm back to square one on this part. I tried to just bolt it together without the valve but it won't quite come together.  I'll see if the machine shop that did my engine rebuild can fabricate me a spacer.  Shouldn't be complicated, I just don't have the right tools.
Bob

[jeremy9146]

Had mine break on a 60 coupe I once had.  Went to napa and bought two steel flanges then welded them together to get the same thickness as the riser.  Hope this helps.

Jeremy Weiss

[Jeff Maltby 4194]

I believe Art Gardner from the 49er chapter had some laser cut ?

Someone will be back asap.

[Jay Friedman]

As Jeff said, Art Gardner agardner@gardnergroff.com sells spacers for a reasonable cost.

[Caddy Wizard]

I have been selling them for $26 including shipping to the lower 48.  I might have one or two left and will have to decide whether to make more.  The football-shaped ones I have been making and selling are for 49-56 models with two fastener holes.  I think in 57 or thereabouts they came out with a triangular design with three fastener holes.


By the way, the main function of this valve these days is to cause the engine to run hotter than it should and boil the gas out of of the carb and cause vapor lock.  Almost no one drives these old cars in cold weather anymore (I still drive them as daily transport about half the time, including in whatever weather we are having). But most of these cars are relegated to occasional use and the valve never functions to provide the more rapid warm-up in cold weather that it was designed to do.  Nowadays, it is just like an appendix -- totally useless until it fails and then it causes trouble...

[RobertM]

I was able to get the manifold and down-tube to bolt together.  I used a spacer on the bolts to keep the nuts on the threads, but it mated up no problem after all.  Thanks everyone for the help.
Bob

[Caddy Wizard]

If your car is a single exhaust model (49-51), you should look carefully for an exhaust leak now.  Getting the thing to bolt together is not the same as sealing it up.  Without the valve (or a spacer) in place, the flange on the crossover pipe will be at an angle relative to the manifold's flange and won't seal properly.


On the dual exhaust cars (52-56), this is not usually a problem as you can lift the driver side exh pipe some to bolt it together and usually it won't change the angle enough to create sealing problems.