Both my exhaust manifolds on the W30 I'm doing have a crack in the center divider between the two center ports. It is not running into any sealing or exterior surface. Can these be left alone, or do they need to be welded? I'd really like to save them if possible due to they being the original to the car, date code correct manifolds, but all four head pipe bolts broke off in the flange, and one of the manifold to head pipe sealing surfaces had some erosion. Better to get another set or fix these?

 

The cracks won't hurt anything. The holes can be ground, drilled, + tapped. Date codes are neither here nor there, they don't check them in judging. I guess it depends on how pitted they are, and how much time and money you have to spend. Pitted manifolds are ugly. Didn't I just see someone here talking about new, stock manifolds that are ported? Maybe the way to go....

 

I don't know about ported, but Thorton
reproduces the W-Z's.

 

These cracks are normal. Every set I ever seen had these. Some are worse than others but all of them had them that I seen. I had mine surfaced a very small amount and the exhaust side of the heads surfaced a very small amount. This way I don't have to use gaskets and keep it more like factory.

 

I have not used their oldsmobile manifolds but Ram air resterations has some nice pontiac stuff I did use them on my Lemans and was happy with them went with the large outlet coated ones.


http://www.ramairrestoration.com/rom...y-headers.html

 

That's the place I was thinking of.......

 

again Pontiac but made real nice.