1500 exhaust gasket

[cleverusername]

After i removed the carbs on the 1500 I found soot around the downpipe to the manifold gasket. So it needs changing.

Will a spitfire gasket fit?

Are the refurbished manifolds of decent quality? Would it be worth changing the manifold as well?

[Toledo Man]

This is a common problem with the 1500 manifold. Before reassembly, the mating surfaces need to be flat to ensure a good seal. Also, there should be a bracket between the gearbox and downpipe/centre section joint which will prevent the downpipe from moving which is the usual cause of the manifold/downpipe joint blowing. The Spitfire 1500 exhaust gasket for the manifold/downpipe joint is the same. The part number is GEG739.

[cliftyhanger]

spit gasket is the same.
Refurbished manifolds have nothing really done except new studs and hopefully the gasket face machined (that may be hopeful!)
I solved the issue by removing the old studs (welded a nut over first to get them nice and hot, they came out OK then but often shear)I then drilled and re-tapped to 10mm, which meant I used some cap-head bolts, these can be tightened up much more than the old studs. I also filed the faces of the manifold and downpipe flat. They were very lumpy. Took about an hour once the manifold was off.

[Richard the old one]

I have not changed to bolts yet but I do use brass nuts as these do not seize on the studs and are easy to remove when you have to replace the gasket next time.

[cleverusername]

Thanks for the replies. I did an upgrade to overdrive and didn't have the bracket. You could here the exhaust hitting the underside, so that may have done the damage. In the end I modified the non-OD bracket to do the job.