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Mystery Manifold

joebobb

New member
"I am in dire need of some ass

"I am in dire need of some assistance. I have a 1967, 25' Pacemaker. The original engine was a 250HP Pacer (327 cid Chevy). Currently, it is powered by a 260HP, 350 Chevy, that uses most of the ancillary components from the original engine. My intake manifold and lower thermostat housing are both rotted through with corrosion and need to be replaced. The problem is that these are not standard components. The intake manifold is aluminum (with brass inserts at the water passages) and designed for the Rochester Quadrajet. It is certainly not the original manifold (which was almost certainly cast iron and designed for the old Rochester 4GC). What makes the manifold special is that it is a VERYlow-rise unit, and that the carburetor is actually mounted BACKWARDS. In addition, the manifold used a lower thermostat housing that looks at first glance very much like the equivalent Crusader part. However, it is not the same, as it includes the water passages that are normally part of the intake manifold, and it bolts to the manifold using the manifold-to-head bolts, rather than the water neck flange. The engine does use the normal, Crusader upper thermostat housing. I am sure that the lower and upper thermostat housings are older than the manifold, and are probably from the original, Pacer engine. The aluminum manifold itself is probably quite new. It has the letters "CMC" cast into it.

Can anyone offer me some idea as to where I should look for replacement parts for this? I would be just as happy with the carburetor facing the other direction. The big problem is the height...I really need this, super-low-rise manifold style to clear the engine cover.
I found an old post here by someone who appears to have a set of engines with the same manifolds: http://www.marineengine.com/discus/messages/12489/2952.shtml
Can anyone identify if this is a Crusader manifold? One would think so, given the use of a Crusader upper thermostat housing. I have spoken to a few Crusader parts guys, and they all shake their heads...but none of them have cracked open an old parts book yet!

Regards,

JoeBobb"
 
"Call Crusader directly at 586

"Call Crusader directly at 586 977 0100, talk to Mike Genna. If Crusader ever used such an animal, he would know.

Good luck.
Rick"
 
"Rick,

Thanks a million! I


"Rick,

Thanks a million! I called Mike and he was aware of the existence of this low-rise manifold configuration. Unfortunately, the manifold is NLA, but the lower thermostat housing is still available.

I'm still annoyed by the other parts guys I've spoken too. You would think it wouldn't be that hard to crack open an older parts manual!

I found a website (www.marinepartssource.com) that actually has the Crusader parts manuals on line. There aren't that many, and both the 220HP and 270HP Crusaders could've come with this manifold arrangement."
 
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