Air cleaner question

[cork426]

My '74 Pig has the stock Air Cleaner and Carb setup. It looks like there is a flapper assembly on the front of the Cleaner but it is missing. Any idea what this is for? Also, when starting in cold weather, it runs horrible until it gets up to operating temp. The choke helps, but its a beast to drive for the first 10 minutes. The water temp barely gets above minimum even after an hour of driving. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Ming89FJ62]

Your missing "flap" redirected warm air from the exhaust manifold into the air cleaner for cold starts. There's a wax element in the actuator that when warmed closed the port so that cold air would enter the air cleaner. There was a heat shield on top of the exhaust manifold that ducted the "warmed air" off the exhaust manifold into the air cleaner through a small paper/foil duct between the air cleaner and the exhaust manifold. The warm air made for quicker cold weather starts.

As for the warming up/heat issue replace the thermostat (you'll need both the gasket for the thermostat housing and the O-ring that seals the top of the thermostat to the upper thermostat housing). Be careful removing/installing the bolts as the thermostat housing is cast aluminum and can easily strip. More than likely the O-ring between the thermostat and the upper thermostat housing has disentegrated and coolant is flowing past the thermostat.

Hope this helps.

 

[cork426]

Thanks for the info. I did get a replacement thermostat but the gaskets were wrong so I did not get a chance to tear into it yet. You may be right about the gasket. The pig sat for 15 years on a ranch so most everything soft is now toast. I will have to find parts to make the air cleaner complete and help with the cold mornings in the high desert. Sounds like another run to Specter$$$$$.

 

[Pighead]

I put a big piece of cardboard in front of the radiator when it gets cold here...remember to take it out in the spring.