I recently took my exhaust manifolds (BJ8) to get them ceramic coated. I got a call from the shop and he told me that the front manifold had a crack--in the flat plate on top, where the intake manifold bolts to the exhaust manifold.

I took it to another shop which has the equipment to weld cast iron, and got a call that the material at that location was very thin, and he didn't feel like it could be properly repaired, and suggested that I try to find a used front manifold.

I have googled and found a couple of manifolds in the UK, and one in Canada. The price on the ones in the UK is pretty high, plus I can't guess at what the shipping costs would be. I will call Canada tomorrow to check that one out.

Here are a few questions:
--Does anyone have a suggestion for locating a good used manifold? I have emailed three Healey specialists, in CA, MD and PA, and I am waiting for a reply. Any other suggestions?
--I assume there are no reproductions. Is that a correct assumption?
--I also looked at the headers from Denis Welch, and another vendor in GA as a possible substitute for the manifolds. I wonder if anyone has any thoughts about whether using a set of headers instead of the original manifolds has a negative effect on the value of the car.
--Are there other issues to consider in choosing one system over the other?
Thanks in advance for the help

The rear ones are rarer cause they are the ones that break. Fronts are plentiful. There is a place in the east called British Miles that has tons of unavailable parts. I got a rear one 3 years ago at a fair price. I think it http://www.britishmiles.com/.

digger, i sent you a p.m.,