MTFCA Forum

I just had a cracked cast aluminum intake manifold from a 1910 Buick welded, tedious job finding a person who was willing to do it but it was done and done well. My 1909 Buick also has a cast aluminum intake manifold, as do both my 1912 Model T's. Anybody know why cast aluminum intakes were used on early cars? Both the Buicks also have cast aluminum engine mount/oil pans, at which point I can see trying to keep down weight, and a 1924 Fordor I once owned had sheet aluminum upper body panels, also a weight issue I suspect. But why intake manifolds? just wondering.

Tom Loftfield
Brevard, NC

Only a guess but lower temperatures involved in the casting process.
I read somewhere that ford stopped using aluminum because of material costs.

Between 1900 and 1942 aluminum fell in cost every year, with the exception of 1916-17 , plus it is fully recyclable. In general, aluminum ceased being used in automobiles primarily due to the war effort in WWI which demanded more production than could be supplied even with recycling. Again by 1919 it was plentiful enough to be in regular use, even as currency, in Germany.

Could it also have been partly that aluminum was the new wonder material as was the motor car and airplane, so the two went hand in hand.