Yet another question (aka, name that part)

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Sorry to be so annoying lately folks, but i've got another question thats been bugging me. The following 2 pics contain a pic of a mysterious pipe leading out of my engine. i cant find a picture/name/anything about this thing in any of my manuals or anywhere online. all i know is that its acting as some sort of an exhaust or something, can anyone tell me for sure what this is? or what it does, or anything else about it. the peice i'm questioning is the pipe that starts next to the dizzy and heads down to the bottom of the car between the oil filter and radiator hose. any help on this would be wonderful, thanks in advance (yet again)

fc44b33846.jpg


ba09c2dba1.jpg
 
That's called a draft tube. It's what they had before the PCV system. It ventilates the crankcase gases. From what I've heard you can change this out to a PCV system if you desire.
 
That's called a draft tube. It's what they had before the PCV system. It ventilates the crankcase gases. From what I've heard you can change this out to a PCV system if you desire.
Click to expand...

Also called "Road Tube" . It vents the crankcase to atmosphere. PCV systems return it to the intake for combustion. If your engine has bad rings or valve guides and is allowing oil past as in "Blowby", that tube will puff smoke like a coal furnace.

Another good question is when the last year was for the road/draft tube:

I would guess 1965...

Powerband 8)
 
well that helps, thanks a lot you guys

well this lead me to my followup question, it does smoke, i wouldn't exactly call it a coal furnace, but i do occassionally get some very light foggy smoke out of it, is the emission from this supposed to be clear? and if so what can i do to fix it?
 
I'm not sure when the PCV went into effect. You could get a valve cover that has a hole and rubber grommet near the rear (for the PCV valve to slip into) and run a hose to the vacuum port under where the carb sits. Then you need to remove the tube and block it off. These "smog tube plugs" are available from Falcon Enterprises:

http://www.falconparts.com/1960%2D1970+ ... C%2EI.html
 
It's the rare marine "dual power" version of that motor. When it gets into water that covers the tube end, a vacuum flap in the head closes. This causes small amounts of water to be drawn into the three front cylinders, instead of fuel.

Because the motor is still receiving fuel to the rear three cylinders, and there is heat in the block/head, the front three act as a steam engine, boosting torque significantly. :wink:

In all seriousness, fit a catch can with bottom drain, plumb from the block face to the catch can, and then from the top of the catch can, to the carb base or manifold (former is preferable). You will need to retune slightly.

This will marginally increase fuel economy as it provides combustion of materials otherwise wasted, improves ring sealing and cools the crankcase.

Cheers, Adam.
 
my 61 falcon shop manual has diagrams of both road tube and pcv,so they must have had them back that far at least
 
You can block it with a 1" freeze plug. If you do that, you'll need to swap over to a later valve cover with a PCV fitting and a breather. The PCV will go to engine vacuum.

You should see some vapor or even light smoke coming out of the tube or the breather when the engine is running. That's normal. The PCV is better at keeping your crankcase ventilated, though.
 
yeah, a freeze plug will do it.

What I did was put a cranckcase breather there (available from any parts store) and then ran a PCV up at the valve cover. Thus running the system in reverse. It now sucks it in the breather and blows out the hot fumes throught the PCV into the carb.
Plus, oil is more likely to drop back into thte engine (on the lifters) as it's heavier than air. With the draft tube, it's located at a lower point in the engine and blows a lot more oil out of the engine.

my 2¢ :wink:
 
My '61 Vette has a road draft tube. However, they had an option / RPO for a PCV system for California emission cars. The first year for this requirement on the Corvettes was 1961. I would assume Ford had to follow the the same California requirements which would explain why 61Bluebird's manuals list both configurations.

Besides reducing emissions, PCV systems also reduce oil sludging and degredation. Back in those days, the oils did not have the nice surfactant and corrosion additives that they have now. The PCV system reduced the amount of oxygen, and condensation in the oil system.
Doug
 
The car I learned to drive in had one. It's also refered to as a "crankcase ventilation tube". Funny, I even saw a one listed as NOS one on ebay this morning for a '62. I don't remember seing them after about '64
 
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