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HP Exhaust Manifolds: Acceptable Date Range?

rumcustom

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Hello Everyone,

I am going to be on the hunt for some high performance exhaust manifolds for my 69 charger with 383. I’m looking for high-performance manifolds, part numbers 2806900 and 2843992, and I was wondering how far back the date range would be to be correct for a numbers matching car. This car was really untouched as far as most original parts go except for the exhaust manifolds which are now headers. If I’m going to invest in correct manifolds I want to get the right date range. I realize that the data stamped on the front of the engine near the distributor will tell me when the engine was assembled, but how many weeks back would be acceptable for parts like manifolds? Obviously for my search the bigger the window of time the better, but I don’t want to have manifolds with dates that are to early. I expect that parts could have been cast two or three weeks before the engine was built, but I don’t know how far back to be open to buying. Does anyone have information on this?
Thanks
 
My Bee manifolds were cast 2 days AFTER the engine was built, which was 2 days after the SPD ! You will also find in most cases that only the drivers side manifold has a casting date on it, so makes life a little easier finding a good pair.
 
Hello Everyone,

I am going to be on the hunt for some high performance exhaust manifolds for my 69 charger with 383. I’m looking for high-performance manifolds, part numbers 2806900 and 2843992, and I was wondering how far back the date range would be to be correct for a numbers matching car. This car was really untouched as far as most original parts go except for the exhaust manifolds which are now headers. If I’m going to invest in correct manifolds I want to get the right date range. I realize that the data stamped on the front of the engine near the distributor will tell me when the engine was assembled, but how many weeks back would be acceptable for parts like manifolds? Obviously for my search the bigger the window of time the better, but I don’t want to have manifolds with dates that are to early. I expect that parts could have been cast two or three weeks before the engine was built, but I don’t know how far back to be open to buying. Does anyone have information on this?
Thanks

Some thoughts...

There is no such thing as HP manifolds for a B body 383. There are four bbl and two bbl manifolds but there is not a specific "HP" manifold. Meaning...don't get taken in by seller hype ads and pay more for the idea the manifolds are different in some way. The same manifolds were used on 440s also so ANY B body 383-440 4bbl manifold will be fine whether they come off a Road Runner, Coronet R/T, or Satellite.

Regarding dates..I won't get into the 'why' you want them but check other parts on the assembly such as intake manifold, heads, carb, distributor, etc to get a general feel for the date range and judge accordingly for the manifolds. Shoot for a time frame contemporary with other parts and it will be hard to argue whether they are 'correct' or not.
 
Some thoughts...

There is no such thing as HP manifolds for a B body 383. There are four bbl and two bbl manifolds but there is not a specific "HP" manifold. Meaning...don't get taken in by seller hype ads and pay more for the idea the manifolds are different in some way. The same manifolds were used on 440s also so ANY B body 383-440 4bbl manifold will be fine whether they come off a Road Runner, Coronet R/T, or Satellite.

Regarding dates..I won't get into the 'why' you want them but check other parts on the assembly such as intake manifold, heads, carb, distributor, etc to get a general feel for the date range and judge accordingly for the manifolds. Shoot for a time frame contemporary with other parts and it will be hard to argue whether they are 'correct' or not.

Well, “why” I want date code correct HP exhaust manifolds should be obvious from my comments. But having said that I don’t need a reason why, do I? Why I refer to them as HP manifolds is that so many sources and members here refer to them that way and the reference is understood by so many that I thought I would try to be specific to capture a conversation around my original question, and possibly gain useful knowledge from someone who might be using the site’s search engine looking at references to the HP manifolds that I need for my car. I get it about comparing date codes on other components to my engine. I’ve already looked at that and thought I would post here to see if anyone knew from experience how far back the dates could vary from the engine build date for mopars of this era. For example I know of a certain window of time for casting dates on Corvettes that NCRS judges rely upon (as a restoration shop owner I’ve run into this as a requirement on cars a time or two) but I don’t have similar information for late 60’s mopars.
 
Well, “why” I want date code correct HP exhaust manifolds should be obvious from my comments. But having said that I don’t need a reason why, do I? Why I refer to them as HP manifolds is that so many sources and members here refer to them that way and the reference is understood by so many that I thought I would try to be specific to capture a conversation around my original question, and possibly gain useful knowledge from someone who might be using the site’s search engine looking at references to the HP manifolds that I need for my car. I get it about comparing date codes on other components to my engine. I’ve already looked at that and thought I would post here to see if anyone knew from experience how far back the dates could vary from the engine build date for mopars of this era. For example I know of a certain window of time for casting dates on Corvettes that NCRS judges rely upon (as a restoration shop owner I’ve run into this as a requirement on cars a time or two) but I don’t have similar information for late 60’s mopars.

You just received good advise from one of the more knowledgeable "Numbers" guys... I'll leave it at that...
 
Hello Everyone,

I am going to be on the hunt for some high performance exhaust manifolds for my 69 charger with 383. I’m looking for high-performance manifolds, part numbers 2806900 and 2843992, and I was wondering how far back the date range would be to be correct for a numbers matching car. This car was really untouched as far as most original parts go except for the exhaust manifolds which are now headers. If I’m going to invest in correct manifolds I want to get the right date range. I realize that the data stamped on the front of the engine near the distributor will tell me when the engine was assembled, but how many weeks back would be acceptable for parts like manifolds? Obviously for my search the bigger the window of time the better, but I don’t want to have manifolds with dates that are to early. I expect that parts could have been cast two or three weeks before the engine was built, but I don’t know how far back to be open to buying. Does anyone have information on this?
Thanks

What month and year (if 68 made) was your car made?
 
Some of the guys on here that worked the "lines" should chime in here. Parts dating seems to be highly variable on lots of items. I can imagine an engine combination that could parts a fairly wide range of dates, when you consider the variety of suppliers and inventory control in those days. Didn't realize exhaust manifolds were date coded.
 
Thank you to those who contributed to responses on this topic about HP manifold date codes. Those comments, combined with the PMs that I received so far, lead me to understand that 1 to 2 weeks before the assembly date of the engine (at most) would be acceptable.
 
An exhaust manifold that was cast 1-2 weeks before the engine was assembled. I had no idea they had such a good "just in time" inventory system going back then. But getting from the foundry thru inventory, into the line bin for assembly in that time frame is really impressive.
 
1 to 2 weeks before EAD seems too tight. We know there are anomalies (Dads Bee above), but this is not the norm. Research on this topic is not definitive by any means but at Lynch Road during the A12 production 30 - 60 day plus is more common. Other plants may have had a better supply chain, but we are talking 1969 standards....just in time delivery was not a priority.

I would be looking for mid November to mid December 1968 manifolds based on your EAD of 1/15/69. Just my thoughts on the topic as there may not be a correct answer.

D
 
I have a set, selling them at Carlisle in July, no shipping.
 
This is an older post but I found more information that might be helpful to others. The casting date on my intake manifold is January 13th, just TWO DAYS before the engine was assembled. Intake was cast on 1/13/69, engine assembled 1/15/69, SPD 1/20/69.

I should also add that as I read back through my reply to 69coronetrt I see that the way I explained myself was a bit harsh.... sorry about that and thank you for trying to help.
 
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