67 Tripower manifold

[John C.]

Gentlemen,

I'm looking for a tripower 3894382 manifold for my 67. Almost all the original ones that I see have had some sort of repairs done. Thinking about a Coffman reproduction. Is there any way to tell that it's a reproduction when it's bolted on the engine? This question has been asked before years ago but, there is never a definitive answer. Most say to check casting numbers on the bottom and rivets on the oil shield. The manifolds look spot on to me but, I'm no expert. For a few hundred dollars more I think I'd prefer to have a brand new one. Thoughts?

Thanks

[Joe L.]

Re: 67 Tripower manifold

Gentlemen,

I'm looking for a tripower 3894382 manifold for my 67. Almost all the original ones that I see have had some sort of repairs done. Thinking about a Coffman reproduction. Is there any way to tell that it's a reproduction when it's bolted on the engine? This question has been asked before years ago but, there is never a definitive answer. Most say to check casting numbers on the bottom and rivets on the oil shield. The manifolds look spot on to me but, I'm no expert. For a few hundred dollars more I think I'd prefer to have a brand new one. Thoughts?

Thanks

John-------


I don't know if there exist differences that can be detected during judging. Most likely, someone will come up with something. In most cases, I believe that judging penalties for these minor nuances exceed rationality. In any event, if the Coffman reproduction is a high quality part (and, I believe it is), I am in 100% agreement that a new manifold is better than a used example which, as you mention, are often deficient in some way.

By the way, when folks look over a used manifold, they usually look for cracks and are blind to other problems. One common problem is a manifold that's had its gasket surfaces machined by some amount. That can lead to head-to-manifold sealing problems that can be devilishly difficult or impossible to remedy.