Road Draft Tube Installation

[Tom Vogel]

I recently removed my road draft tube on a 1959 fuelie to re attach the plug wire harness clip. I am now having trouble reinstalling the tube as it now interferes with the exhaust line and causes a slight misallignment at the block connection. When I took the tube off it was up against the exhaust line and I am wondering if it might have caused a cold spring on the tube....thus explaining why it will not reinstall easily. I suppose the only solution now is to loosen the exhaust manifold connection bolts to the exhaust line and re-orient the exhaust line to accommodate. Am I on the right track..Any one else seen this problem?

PS..Also I noted that my tube configuration(where it joins the block) is a little different than what is sold today(does not have the mitre rather its a cap with a pipe intersection. Were the fuelie tubes different or did they change design in early 1959? Regards, Tom

[Dale Pearman]

There Were Two Styles

of road draft tubes in the early years. Both of them used mitered patterns to do a 90 degree turn. They were brazed at this point. The earliest style had a very large cylinder with an abruptly formed flat top. The second style was a tad tapered with a somewhat sculptured top. The cylinder part was much smaller. Either style should fit a 59 with no problem.

If you have no mitered and brazed angle then you have a later style replacement road draft tube. They don't fit well unless forced into place.

Dale.