Hi

I've 'won' some 5mm ali plate to use for the backplate of my DIY bike carb inlet manifold.

Is it useable or will it distort too much when tigged?

Cheers
Gary

[Edited on 20/1/08 by GaryM]

My bogg bros manifold has a 5mm flange.

If you have a spare head when you come to weld your tubes on ,be a good idea to bolt your plate to it to reduce the chance of distortion .

I used some 12mm plate because thats what I had. When welded there was some distortion which I managed to correct by bolting up to a spare head with a piece of wood in the "low " section and then using a surface plate.. Possibly had the plate been bolted to my spare head when welded it would have reduced distotion? but at least with 12mm there was enough metal to straighten

If you dont have a spare head use the one you have but insert a protective plate between the 5mm plate and the head.

Before tightening the 5mm plate up insert a 5mm spacer down between ports 2 and 3.Do the nuts up so you introduce a bend in the plate.

After welding allow to cool completly. The distortion you have will be so minimal you can pull it out when bolting to the head.

Hope that makes sense.
Nige