Gauging any interest? in 350 laser-cut exhaust flanges

[Gasoline]

Hi Guys,

I am talking to 2 custom exhaust houses about making a run of Buick 350 exhaust flanges. They will be CAD designed and laser cut. They sell other flanges in 1/2 inch steel and that is what I am asking for. At the very least 3/8's? thick?. I bought these Buick 350 flanges in the picture years ago and will send to the fabricator with a 350 head to pattern off of. If you see any changes needed, please let me know. I would prefer them for 1 3/4 tubes, but that is me.

The bigger the run the lower the cost. I know there are 1/4" and 5/16" flanges already out there for a 350, Stan's ($126.00 a pair), Headers by Ed ($146.95 a pair), others, etc. I am hoping to have some thicker ones, and be in the price range of an affordable $50.00 a pair. We will see. Thanks T.

[carmantx]

I'm in for a set. What is your time frame?

[BillMah52]

At the minimum 3/8" thick. 1/2" even nicer!
I'll go for two sets or more if your price comes in under $100 per set.
Thanks for looking into this Tom.

[alan]

At $50 a pair I'd be interested in a set.

[Tyler Northcutt]

Originally Posted by carmantx

I'm in for a set. What is your time frame?

Probably more than one set dad! If its $50 for a set, then probably 2 sets at least.

[Gasoline]

Originally Posted by carmantx

I'm in for a set. What is your time frame?

ASAP!

[ubushaus]

Originally Posted by alan

At $50 a pair I'd be interested in a set.

Me too.

[Gasoline]

Smallblockheads,

Ok things are rolling. I have picked one very interested supplier to try. I am going to send him the two flanges and band saw off 1 inch of the exhaust side of a spare 350 head. I don't want us dealing with any fitment/redo issues. Craig said that 3/8" looks cleaner, but he sounds like he is not opposed to cutting them out of 1/2 inch. If anyone wants 3/8 instead? let me know. I asked for a picture to compare the cleanliness of 3/8" to 1/2". I am pushing for fit and function over beauty. Here is what he shows for 1/2 inch thick SBC flanges he sells on EBay:



If ours are this nice? Makes me wonder what else we need laser cut.....

His first quote was $60 a pair without knowing how many pair I would be ordering. I have asked for a price break at 10 pair to start with. I will push for $50 a pair. We will see what he says. I will cover the production deposit and all misc. costs. There is no markup. Questions? Let me know. Thanks.

T

[carmantx]

Any update?

[Gasoline]

Update on what has happened:

I sent the flanges to Craig. Also, I also sawed off a 1" flange section of a 1972 350 head so the bolt hole line up perfectly to his CAD drawing. (Yes it was difficult, and no I do not recommend it). Here is Craig’s reply this morning Friday the 29th:

Tom,
I got pricing back to run them in 1/2" and they were more expensive so with a 20 set price break they will still be $58.50 a set. So let me know what you want to do. If you want I can invoice you through PayPal for half the total to get things going. Just let me know. I have the drawing done and ready to go. I will still need to check with the shop for their lead time. Talk to you soon.

Thank you,

Craig

I hope the $8.50 a set more is not a deal breaker. If it is, let me know. I am going to pay the half and get the 20 sets made. I will have them shipped to me and I can ship them out to you. They are thick and heavy, so there will be some minimal shipping charges. I am looking into the flat rate boxes and if they will fit in any. Right now we have 6 sets in plus me. It won't hurt my feelings if we could get a few more guys (or Business?) in on this. Heck, sell them on Ebay! I don't need 14 sets.

This is an interesting deal. I learned that Craig works for a well known header company in California. If anyone wants to talk to Craig I can email you his numbers and email addy. We may be able to get boxes of mandrel bends cheap. He also asked, "Do we want Buick 350 shorty headers?" or??? I am thinking about next exploring the possibility of having a laser-cut 3/4 inch thick, girdle fabricated for the bottom end of a Buick 350?

When the Grand national V6 guys reach the limits of a V6, maybe the Buick 350 could be viewed as the next step up? HP goals could be set higher. I'm shooting to start at the magic number. I will try to draw up the Girdle on some free CAD program (Easy CAD?) or if anyone wants to help? I am laying it out on Plexiglas like Sonny did below.


Anyway let’s get to building headers. I have bought mandrel bend seconds off EBay. Interlocking flex joints. Weld on collectors, V-band flanges and V-bands. I have hundreds of example pictures if anyone needs ideas.

[carmantx]

Me and Tyler need a total of 2 sets. I think that's how you had us set up. Send me your email. I'd like to get some other info.
Mark
carmantx@erfw.net

[Gasoline]

Work is:

twillisford@skcfilms.com

Home is:

mysonsX3@comcast.net

[BillMah52]

Ready when you are Tom! $60 for 1/2" flanges---I'm "tingly"!!!
3 sets for me!

YES!!! A girdle would be a HUGE step forward for the sbb.
Where were you a few years back when I tried to get this done?

[gsjohnny1]

i would also make them for the 340's. 340 flanges and sbf headers will make a few people happy.
the 350 flange and sbc shorties will fit the 67 and older with 350 setups.

[sean Buick 76]

I am in for a girdle, please work on this one! Any chance we can get sonny's template to your machinist and then no guess work!

[cpk 71]

I'm in for a set ,nice work!

[Gasoline]

SBB's,

I paid the $585.00 deposit last Friday and here is today's (5th) update. I hope to ship out to you guys next week.

Hi Tom,
I should see a first article of the flange in a day or two. Then the rest will be cut within a couple of days after that. So probably looking at early next week. Then we can discuss how you want them shipped. Talking with Laser Company, the 3/4" isn't readily available, so maybe 5/8" would work depending on the part.

Talk to you soon.

Craig

Craig is talking about the thickness in regard to cutting girdles. Any thoughts on regard to thickness? Would 5/8ths work? I have doubts, and I don't want to settle. The RJC 3.8l block girdles are 3/4" 1018 steel. Because a 350 would tie into the rail unlike a 455 or SBF or???, or it does more than help with cap walk and side to side load. The thickness and non-flexibility actually supports the caps vertically. I will see if a piece of 3/4" can be ordered....or even thicker.

If 350 girdles could be lasered out like "B", then find a machinist to get them to "A"? Laser cannot cut the indented rail shoulder for the studs and nuts, etc.

BillMah52
Where were you a few years back when I tried to get this done?

I really wanted to be here. I married a hotty allot younger than me that has kept me busy. It isn’t easy being a trophy husband.

Take Care

[Jim Blackwood]

Would that girdle fit a 340 by any chance?

Jim

[BillMah52]

Originally Posted by Jim Blackwood

Would that girdle fit a 340 by any chance?

Jim

Same block isn't it?

[BillMah52]

Tom,
Thank you, Thank you! Amazing how quick this came together.
PM your info when you are ready for payment.

Before you go any further on the girdle. Give T/A a call and confer with Mike T. on the design. I'm sure he would be helpfull with differences between the sbb and bbb.

[Jim Blackwood]

Originally Posted by BillMah52

Same block isn't it?

I wouldn't know. It's been over 30 years since I've had a 350 Buick apart.

Jim

[Tyler Northcutt]

Any idea on the price of the girdle? I also sent you an email.

[71skylark3504v]

Woah!!! AWESOME STUFF HERE!

[ubushaus]

Originally Posted by gsjohnny1

the 350 flange and sbc shorties will fit the 67 and older with 350 setups.

Exactly what I was hoping to do.

Hey Tom - PM me with payment info (shipping to West Palm Beach, FL 33407 - business address).

[Jim Blackwood]

I'm a machinist. At first glance it might look like about the only machine work required there is counterboring the holes but that's not really the case. The holes themselves can be cut with the laser and drilled to final size if a close fit is desired. (Waterjet is another option and probably a better one for thicker plate. I know a guy...) Am I right in thinking those holes at the front and back are for oil drainage? So that area can be opened up with the laser as well.

There are some pretty significant differences between the 340 and 350 block but they may be identical on the bottom end. If so I have an engine for test fitting if I could get some blanks in a reasonably short length of time, however I'm not planning to mill the main caps flush with the pan rails and I'm not sure that's a good idea anyway. The tallest cap looks to be around 3/8" proud of the rails so the the girdle could be recessed for clearance and tapped for 1 or 2 jackscrews to bear on the center of the caps if desired. Those holes could also be laserjet cut and then drilled to size and tapped. The washer face of all the caps is below the rails, the rear ones by probably over 1/4" and the others by less than 1/16" and there's no guarantee the blocks are uniform in that dimension. May not even be close. So you'd be on your own with the needed spacers. Longer main studs could be used, or the holes could be counterbored to use the standard ones with 1/8-3/16" of material at the bottom, except for the two at the rear which will need longer studs regardless. Also, I see that the plate is cut out for the pickup. Since the pan is being dropped shouldn't the pickup be also? That will require a separate spacer block because the mounting boss is cut at an angle. That spacer could be laser cut from one of the drop-outs at the same time the blank for the girdle was cut.

Jim