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I see it.
QC just isn't there, aand unfortunately I think I'm going to have to put Holley under the same heading as Prestolite.
"Once iconic American brands, that are ruined by offshoring to squeeze another penny"
Now you see why I feel the way I do about Procrap heads and such.
The flange over the thermostat hole is another story.
I can see an American patternmaker messing with the company who just sent his job (and the jobs of his fellow foundrymen) overseas..
They could have 3D scanned an existing manifold without problems.
Instead, they used a new pattern.
I guess it is cheaper that sending existing 'known good' cores across the Pacific.
Flashing is one thing.
The flange over the thermostat housing, I wouldn't doubt is an American pattern maker messing with the company who just sent his job and the jobs of hundreds of foundry men
Now you know why whenever I see a good american made Ford starter relay in a junkyard I snag it. I do not like anything automotive made in China. I even told someone recently I would rather get a serviceable set of rotors used and turn them than trust new Chinese made ones.
I hadn't thought about a pattern maker doing that to them. Interesting thought. If Edelbrock can make money and still make theirs in the US then Holley can as well. Which means they are in the category of Prestolite. But, don't forget Mr. Gasket.
That 400 Edelbrock manifold carb mount is odd. All the other Edelbrock manifolds I've seen (460, 351, etc) have a much more beefy carb mount base that more resembles the Weiand.
One thing that isn't really on topic, but on my Edelbrock manifold I was really surprised at how soft the aluminum was. Probably all aluminum is about the same. On the 460 the thermostat housing bolts to the manifold and my machinist had stripped both bolt holes. I heli-coiled them and went ahead and heli-coiled several others as preventative maintenance. It seemed almost impossible not to strip them.
Bill - I'll start watching for good starter relays as well. Hope to go to the salvage this Saturday if I can find Bruno. But he's disappeared and isn't answering text messages either. Anyway, I want to look for the 460 serpentine brackets.
Jim - I'd forgotten that Mr. Gasket is a Prestolite brand. Yuk! There ought to be a special place in Hades for people who ruin companies that way. And all of this endears Edelbrock to my heart even more. I'll still go with a Wieand intake if Tim can find a US-made one, but I don't want one of those made in China. Yes, I could mill that flange off, but I wouldn't have that intake on my engine if they gave it to me.
Luke - I will watch for that, but on the several Eddy intakes I've had I haven't had any problems with the threads. As for the carb flange, this one is identical to the one on Rusty and I haven't had any vacuum leaks with it.
Well, Edelbrock provides a special plate that is basically the carb flange. You lay that on the intake, and then screw the studs through that. Of course it's one more leak point, but I just used the supplied gasket in between the intake and the base plate. Not sure if that's what it's meant for, but the carburetor usually comes with one too, so I'm not short a gasket.
Interesting, Shaun. Neither intake I have, both of which I bought used, came with that plate. But the Edelbrock web site confirms what you said - flange plate #2732 comes with the intakes.
Hmm, that's interesting. Mine didn't come with the original box, but he did send the plate, gasket, and a vacuum tee that were all vaccum sealed against a piece of cardboard.
Here's a picture of the plate for future reference:
That 400 Edelbrock manifold carb mount is odd. All the other Edelbrock manifolds I've seen (460, 351, etc) have a much more beefy carb mount base that more resembles the Weiand.
One thing that isn't really on topic, but on my Edelbrock manifold I was really surprised at how soft the aluminum was. Probably all aluminum is about the same. On the 460 the thermostat housing bolts to the manifold and my machinist had stripped both bolt holes. I heli-coiled them and went ahead and heli-coiled several others as preventative maintenance. It seemed almost impossible not to strip them.
Just one more thing to watch out for.
Luke, Gary, Jim that was what I mentioned earlier regarding Chinese metal. There are lots of aluminum alloys, some soft as butter, others pretty strong. The OEM EFI manifolds on the 460s are aluminum, but seen to be a pretty good alloy.
The mention of aluminum alloys reminds me of some Dad and I found when I was a kid. We were in what was called the Powder Plant near Pryor, OK, which was a facility run by DuPont during the war to make munitions but by that time had been turned into an industrial park. We found an old pile of scrap metal and took a small piece of aluminum home for some project we were working on. But when we tried to drill it the bit just spun and refused to bite. We ruined a couple of bits pretty quickly, and I can still remember the look of disbelief on Dad's face.
Yes, there are lots of aluminum alloys. Which is yet-another reason I'm not interested in the Chinese-made Weiand intake. I've heard too many stories of how poor their metals are so don't want to chance having problems.
Their metallurgy isn't bad.
It's the 'making something to a price' that is...
Without materials acceptance testing and good process control buttery soft aluminum is going to be the result of recycling beer cans intended for draw forming rather than using a proper sand casting alloy.
The mention of aluminum alloys reminds me of some Dad and I found when I was a kid. We were in what was called the Powder Plant near Pryor, OK, which was a facility run by DuPont during the war to make munitions but by that time had been turned into an industrial park. We found an old pile of scrap metal and took a small piece of aluminum home for some project we were working on. But when we tried to drill it the bit just spun and refused to bite. We ruined a couple of bits pretty quickly, and I can still remember the look of disbelief on Dad's face.
Yes, there are lots of aluminum alloys. Which is yet-another reason I'm not interested in the Chinese-made Weiand intake. I've heard too many stories of how poor their metals are so don't want to chance having problems.
Sounds like you found some old armor plate. A lot of stuff uses an aluminum alloy armor. The mix allows for weight savings, meaning more armor for the same weight as a steel alloy or other, proprietary armor alloys.
Jim - I think you are saying they have the capability to make things using good materials, but when there isn't any acceptance-testing on the part of the primary company they don't bother to do so. Makes sense to me. And clearly there wasn't much QC done on this manifold.
To set the record straight, I'm not against Chinese-made things. I sure have a lot of them in my shop. But where I can I try to buy American-made things as I believe the quality is typically better. Having said that, I'm typing this on an iPad, much of which was made in China. In fact, I don't think you can buy a smart phone or tablet which doesn't have at least some of it components from China.
Anyway, we will see what Tim comes up with in manifolds, which will determine what brand gets used on my engine. But we are certainly seeing the continuing degradation of American companies, and the list of those I will buy parts from is shrinking rapidly.
Anyway, I want to look for the 460 serpentine brackets. 
