What is this?

[Leon M.]

I posted for the first time a week ago, but was unable to get my pictures uploaded. Long story short, I own a '56 that I am restoring. I have had it in storage for many years now, but now that I am retired I'll have the time to do it right. At any rate, the exhaust manifolds for my car have what I can only describe as a "bugle" attached to them. I was told by the PO that they were original to the car, and that he didn't know what purpose they served. They appear to serve some sort of pressure relief purpose, to either let air into the exhaust manifild, or let gases out of the manifold. It is too well manufactured for it to be some home made modification, and I don't believe that it is an aftermarket add-on.

Has anyone seen these before? If so, what are they for? Is it possible they're an experiment by Chevrolet or something like that? Would they enhance the value of my Vette? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ski

[Wayne W.]

Re: What is this?

I think you can safely throw them away without fear of destroying some vestige of Corvette history.

[Joel A.]

Re: What is this?

That's the weirdest thing I've ever seen...a blow horn on a ram's horn...
My first thought was it was an early version of a speed warning device...when you get to a certain rpm, it will whistle at you...
I know that's not what it is, but...it sure would be funny if it was!

[Stuart F.]

Re: What is this?

Very interesting. I would't throw them away just yet w/o some good explanation. They are 3 stud downspouts so they aren't the first rams horn manifolds ever made (first had 2 studs). Almost looks like some first attempt at pollution equipment, i.e. air injection or EGR, or maybe just a fancy meat thermometer, or how about an audible tach?

Stu Fox

[John W.]

Re: What is this?

I am glad you were able to figure out how to upload your pictures. Pretty interesting history here.

Come on Roy Braatz, this is your area of expertise.

[Leon M.]

Re: What is this?

Thanks to everyone for the responses thus far. I haven't ever heard them send any sort of audible sound, so I don't think they're intended as some sort of warning indicator. I am hoping one of the NCRS gurus on this forum can help me figure this out. Would it be worth my time to send the photos to the Corvette museum? Perhaps they have a curator of some sort that might have seen / heard of them? I don't plan on throwing them out, because I have been told that they were original to the car, but who knows whether that's remotely true or not.

Once again, thanks for your responses thus far, I just want to solve ths riddle, it's really starting to bug me.

Ski

[Gary C.]

Re: What is this?

Ski, expect most Members are away for the holiday weekend. If you don't get any responses by Tues make another post to your thread and that will bring it back to the top of the list. I don't have a clue as to what they would be for. Interesting. Gary....

[John H.]

Re: What is this?

I'd expect that the box they originally came in said J.C. Whitney or Warshawsky & Co. on it.

[Jean C.]

Re: What is this?

I'm with John although you may want to try and determine if a musician was a previous owner of the car.
Best regards,

[Roy B.]

Re: What is this?

If you do ever find it was a GM accessory and will fit a 55 I have to have one

[Leon M.]

Re: What is this?

At the suggestion from some of the members that replied to my earlier post, I am trying to continue this string in the hope that some of the members that were away over the Labor Day weekend may have returned and could contribute to the discussion.

I think I can safely rule out that it is some sort of an audible warning device

Neither of the two previous owners were musicians to my knowledge.

The exhaust manifolds themselves are clearly GM products and don't appear to have been drilled and tapped to accomodate this device. The "Bugle" or whatever it is doesn't appear to be some sort of homemade contraption, although I haven't found any sort of manufacturers ID or serial numbers on them.

Any ideas out there? Any suggestions as to other resources I should turn to for identifying what the heck this thing is, and what purpose it serves? The Corvette museum perhaps? Chevrolet itself? Jay Leno's Garage???

Thanks,

Ski

[Martin N.]

Re: What is this?

LEON-
Can you remove one of the "horns" from one manifold and apply compressed air to the inlet? You state that you see no threads, are they welded in place? Or just pressed in place? It would be interesting to see if they hold preasure.

Marty

[Jean C.]

Re: What is this?

Ski,
Regarding the continuing saga of the "bugles". Did you ever drive the car with the "bugles" attached? If not, will they clear the hood when it is closed? Are the manifolds in fact original GM manifolds with casting numbers and other tell tales? This reminds me of the "Montauk Monster" that was kicked around the 'net recently. Keep on buglin'.
Best regards,

[Joel M.]

Re: What is this?

Ok, here's a real stretch. Maybe used for parades(or spraying mosquitos). Remove the cap and fill trumpet with water(or some liquid/maybe even colored). At increased RPM the Bernoulli effect would draw this substance into the exh manifold and I would assume a cloud of something could be seen and perhaps smelled coming out the rear of the car. Smokey would have loved it!!!!!

[Michael W.]

Re: What is this?

This may confuse more than help but I remember seeing something vaguely similar back in the late 60s/early 70's.

This was on a medium size cabin cruiser powered by twin inboard SBCs. Each of the engines had one manifold equipped with a similar trumpet-looking device, however it was lying flat almost parallel with the manifold. I asked the owner about the function and remember getting a mumbled answer about 'ventilating the engine compartment (of gas fumes)'.

As the engine were operating at the time and in a smallish space I didn't get a chance to explore further.