P Horn Manifolds and 3 Piece P5 Manifolds

One long standing idea I've had for a video is to go over the different types of P horn manifolds. A large portion of this video is devoted to talking about the low profile 3 piece P5 manifold. Due to the rarity and desirability of these manifolds they re very expensive, and as a result there are occasionally reproductions out there, so buyer beware and don't over pay for a replica!

[@djstupido]

One thing to note with the new cast gullwing manifolds- the latest versions have threaded holes in them, so you don't have to use one long bolt and nuts to keep the bells on, similar to the low profile 5 chime manifold. The test port always goes in the rear so you can easily access it for manifold base air pressure measurements.
Also, there are two types of single chime P manifolds. One has a square mounting pad and the other has a round one- like all the manifolds in your video. I think they changed to the round mounting pads in late 1954.
There is also a two chime manifold and AFAIK it's had the same style since the beginning.

[@mafarnz]

I’ll be honest, I had completely forgotten about those threaded manifolds on the very latest run of them. I haven’t seen any come through my hands yet, seems like a weird concept, but I guess it works?

[@AirchimeLTDproductions174]

Great break down Maddie! Ive been wondering the history on the production of these for quite sometime now.

[@midwestmodelrailroadworkshop]

Really great info Maddie! Loved the video!

[@cawalshx2]

Great info Maddie. My extentions are repro. There stamped E A Belknap. That makes them special.

[@mafarnz]

Definitely, anything from Belknap certainly is!

[@eltonjohnfan100]

Great info! Thanks for sharing.

[@TheRailfan360]

I think this is a good video to have out there for P horn enthusiasts trying to build custom P horns. If you don't mind me asking, does the bigger hole in the reproduction brackets change the pitch, or the dB output of bells attached to it? Or does it sound the same as the original?

[@mafarnz]

Manifolds do not create or change the sound. There is no difference between the small and large air passageways, all sound/pitch variation comes from the bells used.