[YVEYANT]

I opened up the holes on the aluminum pieces, as I was able to do that being that they had thick walls. The cast iron flanges are already bored out from 2 1/4" to 2 1/2" compromising there strength as it is. Now the stud walls are paper thin on one hole of both flanges (another issue). When I mentioned this to PY I was told they have sold them like that for years with no problems, not good enough for me, if that is the case why did PY change a supposed good thing then? Why did they go to aluminum?
In any event there is not enough stud wall to bore out anymore, that is why I ordered new flanges from Ram Air Restorations.
I asked for a full refund and Stacey was not sure if PY would honor it and the person who makes those decisions will be out of town until Monday. With that said I elected to try the flanges from RARE.

[YVEYANT]

The aluminum flanges also did not fit my original, factory 67 R/A manifolds.

[YVEYANT]

Stacey has been working with me all day and I have said that. She has been very good. She went to get me another set of manifolds to send out and could only find one single manifold not a set.

[Ccass]

Originally Posted by YVEYANT

why did PY change a supposed good thing then? Why did they go to aluminum?
In any event there is not enough stud wall to bore out anymore, that is why I ordered new flanges from Ram Air Restorations.
I asked for a full refund and Stacey was not sure if PY would honor it and the person who makes those decisions will be out of town until Monday. With that said I elected to try the flanges from RARE.

The decision to make aluminum flanges was to give customers another option. They are light and cost less. They have been used successfully for almost a year and the cast iron flanges are also still available for those that want them. We let the customer decide what they want. Again, the flanges are not the issue here although the flanges may solve your problem if their holes are bigger.

As far as a refund, that's not a problem. If the manifolds are defective, a refund for the part and shipping will be issued.

[YVEYANT]

When i first asked PY for cast iron flanges they told me they do not sell them anymore. They had to search the warehouse for the set I currently have..

[sport coupe]

Been reading your thread, probably a dumb question, are these exhaust manifolds for a 67 Lemans/GTO and can you advise what block you are using. It should not matter since the it seems the problem is in mounting of the pipes. I have an original set without the parts to make it fit and was wondering about the flanges this thread is all about.

[YVEYANT]

My engine is a 71 455 with 76 6X heads out of a 400 all goin in a 67 Tempest.
I believe the flanges to be the problem. I have an original set of R/A maniflolds from a 67 and the flanges did not fit them either.
There are no dumb questions, only dumb answers..

[pittgto]

read through this and thought I'd better check mine, I got the same setup. I ordered them a year ago but haven't put the new engine in yet (out of town for work full time). I got the cast iron flanges and everything lined up perfect.

[YVEYANT]

My machine shop says that over time any dye which makes metal parts can start to have a build up of material in it which would cause something like this to happen. I think this might be the case. They did not fit my PY R/A manifolds nor did they fit my original 67 R/A manilfolds.
Check the inner stud walls on one of each of you flanges, they are paper thin. Even if they did line up I would never trust them, I don't care who has used them or for how long. My machine shop laughed at them. The ones I just got from RARE today fit like a glove and have thick inner stud walls and have nice beveled inner edges where the pipes mount up to for a much better seal. Much better quality, on a completely different level. I would highly recommend you look at them before you mount those pieces into your car to avoid an exhaust leak.

[YVEYANT]

On another note, I have a new high torque mini starter which the PY flange was right up against, with the new one's from R.A.R.E. I have plenty of room now with no interference. Better all the way around.

[Ccass]

That's bad news for us but great news for you! Send both sets of those flanges back and we'll get you a credit for them and the shipping costs.

Now to figure out why, after all these years, they now don't fit. :(

Would you mind taking a picture of all three flanges side by side and posting it?

[YVEYANT]

Sure, I will take a photo tomorrow. I usually have trouble posting photos on here, keeps saying something about exceeding the size limit. How would I go about fixing that?

[Ccass]

There is a limitation on image sizes. If you have photoshop or something similar, you can reduce the picture size so it doesn't take members forever to load it. If you can't do that, e-mail it to me and I'll post it. ccass@performanceyears.com

[YVEYANT]

I have sent the photos, please post them here on the site.

[Lemans1]

Photos??

[Ccass]

sorry, the way they were sent I can only post a link to the pics. Y can do that also.

[Lemans1]

Here ya go.

[Lemans1]

The RARE flange is on the far left.

[YVEYANT]

Thanks Rich,
Yes the RARE flanges are on the far left, they are smaller which makes them easier to install and a big plus, no starter interference. The other one's from PY were right up against my high torque mini starter, I could not imagine how they would fit with an OEM starter. Plus the RARE flanges are thicker all the way around so they are stronger. PY should use these for there new molds.

[YVEYANT]

The pics in order are:
RARE flange, PY cast iron flange, PY aluminum flange