WR Brass Manifold Dating

[46WL]

Thanks Chris. While I'm still confused about the brass on my two '40s, this does lend credence to the existence of pre-war brass manifolds. If I decide to have these bikes judged, then what? By the way, can you tell me anything about the brass WR manifold I have been asking about? Thanks to all.

I think the brass 428-402 was used on the 41WR. No true documents to back that up though.

[T. Cotten]

If brass was introduced in '41, Folks,...

...And it immediately became problematic as Palmer's second edition describes, the mysteries remain:

Why do so many post-War machines have them? Would the Factory have re-issued old stock, even as doomed replacements?
Why on earth would an expensive strategic material be used for an inappropriate application, when cast iron or steel is so much cheaper, and war-time scrap drives were inevitable?
Why are they prone to nasty porosities (unless gunpowder contaminated), and why not bronze in the first place?
And why does Duffey's post-War example exist at all? Brass had to be really cheap! (Especially since some the enormous volume of War-time production in cast steel is still available as NOS even today.)

Mr. Palmer must have a Shop Dope or some other documentation?
Otherwise, we risk succumbing to hearsay.

Respectfully,

....Cotten

[duffeycycles]

There was also brass spotlamps..prewar?war?postwar?

[T. Cotten]

They make more sense to use brass, no matter what the vintage, Duffey!

Brass presses and spins quite easily.
Spotlamps would be impractical to cast, until the modern "billet" era, anyway.

Manifolds and carbs are all that I study, but carb bodies and cast hardware such as throttle levers, needle lifts, and the like, were traditionally all bronze, or perhaps "red" brass at best. So were some manifolds such as Indian's PowerPlus. (Potmetal was another animal altogether.)

Back to History, the Factory made the leap in '48 to a fabricated steel manifold assembly, even though the steel Knuck manifold pattern could have been easily cut to size. (Perhaps they were out of production in favor of brass!). The silver-soldered design was fraught with problems as well. By mid or late '49, they came back to their senses with cast steel manifolds. Indian switched from cast iron to aluminum around '48, as aluminum technology and costs allowed. They sucked too, by the way.

....Cotten

[RCamp]

motorhead1,
I've had 2 or 3 brass WR manifolds over the years, but I don't know how you would date them.

I've never seen one on a bike, even so how would you know when it was installed.

It's not something you would want to use, but makes a nice conversation piece.

[T. Cotten]

.....
It's not something you would want to use, but makes a nice conversation piece.

Why not, RCamp?

If you bubbletest it thoroughly on the bench, silver-solder any porosities, grind the flange flat, swage the distorted spigots back out and re-cut them true, custom-fit PEEK seals, and make it appear "cad", then its as good as any other!

....Cotten

[motorhead1]

Yesterday Dale Walksler told me that my brass WR manifold is likely from a 1940 WLDR. All of the steel ones on later WLDR and the WR bear the same casting number. (428-402) As for dating the brass Big Twin manifolds, he said he has no information that would be definitive. Thanks RCamp. Good to hear from a Carolina boy!