Saw a set of ( possibly) orig Longbranches at a swap meet a couple of weeks ago. Guy was asking $600. Might have been able to talk him down a bit. They looked good. Not broken anywhere I could see. What sounds like a decent price on a set of these? I was thinking 600 was a bit high but then I'm generally cheap.
I've been looking for an original set, too. However, what I've seen on the market appears to be a risky purchase based on the little I know. A set without extreme wear or cracks may be worth $$$$ to the right person. I'm not that guy. On ePay some are priced at close to $2,000 and they show signs of potential issues. The ones at Ram Air Restoration are enticing to me even though I'm trying hard to go original stock on my 68 400 H.O. restoration. If the quality is there on the ones you found, then maybe $400 to $600 is a good deal? This is hovering right around the reproductions ones. I'm trying to balance the risk vs. reward on these... Good luck if you go with them! This may not help ...sorry!
1968 Pontiac Firebird 400 Convertible - April Gold/Deluxe Black Automatic 1968 Pontiac Firebird 400 Coupe - Aegena Blue/Standard Teal 4 speed 1968 Pontiac Firebird 400 H.O. Convertible - Alpine Blue/Deluxe Teal Automatic 1968 Pontiac Firebird 400 Coupe - Autumn Bronze/Deluxe White 4 speed
OH I didn't buy them. I was just kind of curious what everyone thought about the price point of what he was asking. I don't have a car that I would put them on and that's too much for me to invest just to put them away in the unlikely event that were to happen.
A brand new set from Ramair cost about $600 so... go from there I guess. Of course there is always something to be said for originality. And there is something to be said for something that looks original and is better than original with less risk. Personal preference I guess. Just FYI I saw a guy selling just one side at a swap. And it needed repair of some kind. He wanted $200.
Pretty sure the flapper valve was a piece all by itself that was sandwiched in between the manifold and the down pipe if there was one at all on these applications.
Do the originals have the flapper valves or is that a 70’s thing?
Do you mean the heat riser in the right manifold?
My '68 still has one in the original right longbranch. The valve floats on a rod that passes through. On one end of the rod there is a thermostat that looks like a wound spring and the other side a weight. When I last checked, the repro manufacturer was not including the valve. I had thought they were eliminated from production in April '68 but now I'm not too sure. The Dealer Service Bulletin 68-I-56 excludes the long branch equipped engines.
Hmm. Makes me think that either the ones I saw for sale were either aftermarket or a later made pair that the valve had been deleted from. I didn't turn them over t see if they were Dport or round. Guess I should have. I could probably have made some money on them if they had been RPs. Seems like Rare has been promising to make some for about 5 years now with no love so far. I must've been thinking of some Chevy application I took apart at some point in the past.