VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 31 Manifold Alignment Sleeves

I'm assuming that the 31's intake and exhaust manifold had alignment sleeves. I called the Filling Station and these are not currently being reproduced.

Does any one have in their secret hidden museum stash any of these alignment sleeves and would be willing to measure the dimensions for me in case I can either cross reference or have them made. I know they're not 'required' cause they're not there now but would like to have them to help. Thanks guys! jp

There are three sleeves used on the intake passages. The car and truck are different. None used on the exhaust. I might have an extra set but will not be able to look for a few weeks.

measure the ID of the head and manifold then get a short piece of stainless tubing with an OD just a tad less than the ID of the parts that'll be receiving the sleeves. seem to recall the sleeves are about 3/4" in length. camfer the ends of the sleeves for ease of installation. if ya can't find stainless tubing, mild steel tubing will do. good luck, mike

Actually...the intake manifold sleeves are about 3 3/8" long.

Wow! I musta have put the wrong ones in the 235.OK, I understand, a different motor different year. I don't think they were over 3/8" long or tall whichever for a 235. The also were brass and had a small expansion gap in them. many mechanics were good enough at lineing them up that they never reinstalled them. You can buy new ones from Probably The Fillin Station, Chevys of the Fortys or Obsolete Chevrolet. 216 or 235. I have mashed a couple of them flat myself, when they fell out during installation

Hey Macky Wacky! You really need to pay attention to the program. We are talking about 1931 intake manifold sleeves for a 194 cubic inch engine, not a 235 engine.

He! He! What were you doing Doggie Doodle just laying and waiting to jump on pore old MrMack? You gotta wait a little longer next time I wuzn't thru a'editin'

I have 1 of the sleeves.

Macky Wacky Doodle: You edited your posting after I made my posting calling your attention to the fact that we were talking about 1931 manifold sleeves.

By the way, the passenger car manifold sleeves for 1929 and 1932 are different than the sleeves used in 1930 and 1931. The sleeves for 1930 and 1931 are the same.

Doggie doodle I guess you don't know how to read time, but that is ok, whatever..........

If I ever get one of those cars I have a couple or three 235s I could put in since I already have the alignment sleeves for the 235.

Uh Oh. My '29 is supposed to have alignment sleeves?

Is there a detailed book about rebuilding a '29? I have all the reproduced books but they assume you know what you're doing.

I had a book in 1970, 'How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive' that gave step by step instructions for the removal, repair, and replacement of just about every part on a VW. I could sure use such a book for my Chevy, and the guys I wish would write it have already posted on this thread. What better way to encourage preservation and restoration?

Sorry Mackus Wackus.......that excuse ain't a gonna fly. Ya just weren't paying attention to the topic and ya got caught.

eldredjames: Yep, 1929 used the intake manifold sleeves as well, and they were a one year only application. There isn't a detailed restoration book on how to restore a 1929 Chevrolet, however, you can purchase the 1929-32 Chevrolet parts book from the Filling Station and, with that reference, you can see what parts your 1929 requires. You can also purchase the complete set (12 issues) of the 1929 Chevrolet Service News. Those issues contain a world of information about your 1929 that you will need to know when restoring your car.

Hey Dog...I'm assuming you're talking about the circumference of the sleeve length not the depth. I can do the measuring of the ID, etc. but not sure how to know how wide they should be. Thanks to everyone for the ideas. Will also try to reach out to a couple of you. jp

Dog. Yep, I've got the parts book, 2 repair manuals, and the service news. Lots o' info, but not complete.

31chevy: Nope. The dimension posted above is for the overall length (depth) of the sleeve, not the circumference of the sleeve.

eldredjames: Sounds like you have a good handle on the 1929 literature. Do you have the 1926-31 Fisher Body Manual as well? Anyway, all of that stuff has lots of info. as you mentioned.

:cool2: :p :)

Does anyone know the difference in how the car will run with or without them?

shouldn't be any discernable difference in performance assuming the intake to head gasket is functioning , mike

I just pulled the manifolds on my '30 and the "alignment sleeves" don't really match the description in this thread. There are three of them and they consist of a spring steel insert ring about 3/8" wide with a notch out of it so it can be compressed into the intake port, and attached to it is a piece of sheet metal (brass?) tubing which fits inside the intake ports and is about 3" long but cut on a bias so it looks a little bit like an old-fashioned fountain pen nib. (To be more clear, the thin-wall tubing is cut square at the end that attaches to the ring, and on a very steep bias at the other end, with the angled cut running most of the length of the 3" tube) Is that what's supposed to be in there? And more to the point, does anybody have any serviceable ones? These are all eaten up from corrosion and erosion. Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide. Or do I just leave them out?

And finally, was the long tube intended to protect the intake ports of the head, or to direct the gases less turbulently, or what? I can't see much purpose for them.

All the Best, Chip

I am not aware of the sleeves as you describe. Correct sleeves are available from several vendors. The sleeves will be round with a cut to allow compression. They are necessary in my opinion.

Those are the correct tubes for the passenger car engines. The rings help position the head and the tube sections help to minimize turbulance as you guessed. Don't know of any source for them. Not to difficult to make replacements from sheet metal. Never tried to run one without them so don't know how much difference they make.

Sounds like your sleeves are for 1929. The sleeves for 1930-31 were not cut on a bias at the end. Don't know of any suppliers for the sleeves.

:) :grin:

in need of an intake sleeve for a 31 chev 194. i got two out of the seized motor but the last one was destroyed taking it out. can anyone help. im in ottawa canada