1990 - Volume #14, Issue #6, Page #24
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Home Built Header Pipes For IH Tractors
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"The tractor is now much quieter and runs 10? cooler. There also seems to be more horsepower," says Klemm, noting that dimensions of the manifolds he made should work on all IH 460, 560 and 660 models as well as 706 to 806 models, and any other machine with a 263-301 IHC engine.
"I used 3/4-in. flat plate steel to make manifold flanges to bolt to the head. To these I welded 6 1/2 in. long, 2-in. dia. steam pipe on a sharp angle upward. I then welded a length of 12-in. long, 4-in. dia. heavy pipe - capped at either end - to the 2-in. steam pipes to act as an expansion chamber. From each expansion chamber, a 3-in. pipe 20 in long runs straight up through the hood, giving the 6-cyl. tractor dual exhaust with three cylinders per muffler.
"I bought the steam pipe from a local salvage yard that happened to have a scrapped steam-fired tar truck. The pipe worked well because of it's thicker walls. LP gas pipe would also work.
"The expansion chambers, which have no baffles in them, serve two purposes. First, they create a harmonic pulsation between the three cylinders on each header pipe, much the way race car headers do. This pulsation effect helps pull exhaust from each port as the exhaust valves open. Secondly, automotive research has shown that when exhaust is routed into succeedingly larger pipes, noise is reduced. Thus, the larger expansion chambers reduce noise without back-pressure.
"I calculated the lengths of pipe exactly based on engine cubic inches and working rpm's. Basically, the longer the header pipe the more low rpm torque will be produced. The shorter the pipe, the more higher rpm torque. I sized the pipes to achieve a maxi-mum torque reading at about 2,100 rpm's.
"I would be glad to help anyone with advice on putting together their own custom manifolds," says Klemm.
Contact FARM SHOW Followup, Bruce Klemm, 9008 Meier Rd., Whitelaw, Wis. 54247 (ph 414 732-4592).
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