GLM manifolds

[woobs]

Have you had success with the GLM manifolds?

I would love to hear some "good" reports after all the "Good Luck Marine" stories I've heard in my research. Or, have I just uncovered the "vocal few" that make this product look suspect.

Truly I would like to buy these as they look good and the pricing is great...but I'm not looking to do this twice (or more). I have heard about poor mating surfaces, cracks from poor casting, poor repairs made on new manifolds from the factory, non uniformity, and porosity issues in general.

Their Customer service dept. seems to be top notch in solving these isues....but there seems to be too many issues to solve in the first place.

I would appreciate hearing any experiences with the GLM manifolds/risers.

FYI - my application is a 4.3 V6 with diverters (there ain't much on the market to choose from)

[gcarter]

1) They're lighter than cast iron.

2) ................

3) I can't think of any more.

[f_inscreenname]

GLM's are great for the money. They have internal runners like the Merc 496 manifolds do and they are about 30lbs lighter each. I've used them for about 6 years now.

If you only need them for BBC I could set your world up.
http://www.supernova19.com/resurrectionmarine/parts_for_sale.htm

[Tidbart]

Bought a set of aluminum GLMs for my 502 several years ago. I have had no issues whatsoever. They were light, as stated, had good workmanship, saved me a ton of dough, and continue to do the job. Oh, they don't rust.
I replaced the anodes this year. They were about 1/3 gone, easy replacement.

I would definitely buy them again.

Bob

[Ranman]

I switched to GLM's this season. I only have a couple of hours on them, but I'll echo what everyone else has said. They seem pretty nice to me compared to the stock cast iron Merc units I removed.

[biggiefl]

On my 3rd set on different boats over the last 15 years and never had a problem. I would not buy anything else.

[Greg]

I've had a set on my 21' sbc Scarab for 7 years now and never had a issue.

[VetteLT193]

woobs... most of the comments so far are in regards to the Aluminum GLM's. I know they make cast iron too. Keep that in mind.

I want to get a set of aluminum ones for my ZXO but I can't figure out if you can get the taller set in aluminum.

[woobs]

I'm definately looking at the aluminum ones.
I'm glad so many here have had good experiences with the GLM.

My local guy has the aluminum GLM at $1250 CAD plus tax.
The Hi Tek (very cool Stainless Steel) are $ 2000 to my door.
http://www.cpperformance.com/c-1457-v6-chevy.aspx


Decisions, decisions.

[woobs]

[ QUOTE=$originalposter]{$pagetext}[/QUOTE]

I want to get a set of aluminum ones for my ZXO but I can't figure out if you can get the taller set in aluminum

I just got off the phone with Dennis Moore...apparently the taller ones come in cast iron only. :(

[Tidbart]

$1200 cdn for al glms? I paid half that

B

[woobs]

Now that's good information!

I saw them for about 1/2 and then called the local dealer...
After he told me the price I assumed I had made a mistake and the price I saw must have been for each unit....with the total cost so close to the Hi Tek, it opened up the decision again.

At half the price it's a no brainer. I'll call again tomorrow and see who made the mistake. Me or Him.

Thanks,
Sean

[Tidbart]

Didn't mean to mislead, but my application was for a V8-502. I just saw that yours was for the V6. I would find the manufacturer's model number for your app, then scour the internet for price.

Good luck,
Bob

[woobs]

still, shouln't be double...
probably less. At any rate, we'll find out today.

S.

[CHACHI]

Woobs, FYI, I am heading to Toronto in early December if you need anything brought.

Ken

[woobs]

Thanks Ken, That's a great offer!
I'll PM you.

The local guy still wants $1200! on these GLMs even when I pointed out the market level in the USA.

[harbormaster]

GLM manifolds are crap. We have had lots of problems with their quality. They do not last.

[Craig S]

Anyone have recent experience with GLMs? Im not trusting my collection of Holman Moody logs. 2 engines, so lack coin for HiTeks, unfortunately.

Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.com/itm/311675704368

Input?
Craig

[f_inscreenname]

Like I said way back I had good luck with the aluminum version. :biggrin.:

[Craig S]

I wish that they offered aluminum for Fords
:-(

[Craig S]

GLM no longer offers aluminum for any engine. Fwiw
I called them today.
Craig

[f_inscreenname]

Sad. I guess I will have to keep an eye out for Merc 496 manifolds to put on the shelf. No GLM's will make them real popular again.

[Craig S]

I ordered 2 sets of HiTeks from Allen yesterday. Debtor's prison here i come.

[chip w]

I ordered 2 sets of HiTeks from Allen yesterday. Debtor's prison here i come.

Hey, you only live once, get what you want!

[Morgan's Cloud]

I ordered 2 sets of HiTeks from Allen yesterday. Debtor's prison here i come.

Craig , what is the application for your manifolds ? I'm presuming that you've ordered two pairs ?
I'd love to get a set for the new Volvo in the St T seeing the set in the Mag have worked so well but Allen doesn't post prices on his website and I dread to think how much they are now . A few years back he had a distributor in the US who did list prices but I can't recall who they were or if they even still carry them .

The manifolds themselves aren't cheap to begin with but the freight from Oz land makes it even worse !

[Craig S]

Yes...2 pair. Indmar style with long tails. For sbf. He wanted 2200 a set. I saved a small amount for 2 sets. Not sure prices on other engines. He says the long tails discourage reversion due to blending later in pipe. 3 inch as no reason to go bigger.

I'll be putting my checkered collection of 6 + sets of H/M manifolds on ebay. They look good :-(

[turbo2256]

Had a set center rises on my 454 no issues there for sale 400.00 for the pair

[woobs]

I ordered 2 sets of HiTeks from Allen yesterday. Debtor's prison here i come.

Welcome to the family. At the end of the day there's worse places to spend your money!
His prices were to your door, correct?

[Morgan's Cloud]

Welcome to the family. At the end of the day there's worse places to spend your money!
His prices were to your door, correct?

I don't think that Allen can quote a 'to your door price' unless you're ordering and taking delivery in Oz , too many variables that he just doesn't have control over .
When I got our set for the 502 back in 2003 the freight (DHL from Oz to the middle of the Atlantic isn't cheap) and the import tax added at least another $1000 .

[Craig S]

Welcome to the family. At the end of the day there's worse places to spend your money!
His prices were to your door, correct?

Yes...door to door.

[woobs]

Yes...door to door.

Outstanding!
He priced mine to the door too. I highly recommend Hi Tek and Allen is a great guy.

[Morgan's Cloud]

Yes...door to door.


How did he ship them ? UPS , DHL , FEDEX ?

Is it only the cost of the goods and shipping that you have to contend with , no taxes ?

Maybe I should send him an inquiry , it almost sounds like his prices have gone down :boggled:

[woobs]

How did he ship them ? UPS , DHL , FEDEX ? Is it only the cost of the goods and shipping that you have to contend with , no taxes ? Maybe I should send him an inquiry , it almost sounds like his prices have gone down :boggled:

I don't know if his prices have gone down but, they haven't gone up much ... I bought my Hi Teks in 2013. I paid an all in price (which was cheaper than advertised MSRP at N/A dealers/distributors) and Allen prepaid everything to my door. Now, I'm in Canada.... So, when I order anything from the USA I get hit with taxes, shipping and duties as well as brokerage and surcharges sometimes. This pre-paid policy helped me decide to spend the extra on Hi Teks in the first place as the gap wasn't nearly as much as first blush. It made it easy to justify the extra.... not just a superior product.

In the USA you may not have all the extra costs added but, it makes some difference and you still get an excellent product.

[Morgan's Cloud]

I don't know if his prices have gone down but, they haven't gone up much ... I bought my Hi Teks in 2013. I paid an all in price (which was cheaper than advertised MSRP at N/A dealers/distributors) and Allen prepaid everything to my door. Now, I'm in Canada.... So, when I order anything from the USA I get hit with taxes, shipping and duties as well as brokerage and surcharges sometimes. This pre-paid policy helped me decide to spend the extra on Hi Teks in the first place as the gap wasn't nearly as much as first blush. It made it easy to justify the extra.... not just a superior product.

In the USA you may not have all the extra costs added but, it makes some difference and you still get an excellent product.



I'll have to see if I can find my original invoice from the order for the set for the 502 that we got in 2003 for reference.
One of the things that I still find a bit strange is that he does not list any prices on his website . Surely by now he ought to be in a position to know exactly what the prices are for any given set and be able to list them . Same thing for requests like +3'' , +6'' etc height extensions .
As I recall when ours were done he simply said 'Send xxx US $ and I pay for the DHL at my end so the price will include that'
Had he had his prices listed on his site , even if in Oz $s , I could make the conversion myself without any worry that he was just making up a price off the top of his head.
If you see what I mean .

I'm not in the US and everything has a huge import tax . I believe that for these it's 33.5%

[gcarter]

The A$ is down about 30% vs. the US$.
Now is (should) be a good time to buy Australian,
Or visit, for that matter.

[gcarter]

I'll have to see if I can find my original invoice from the order for the set for the 502 that we got in 2003 for reference.
One of the things that I still find a bit strange is that he does not list any prices on his website . Surely by now he ought to be in a position to know exactly what the prices are for any given set and be able to list them .

The US$ is stronger everyday, (or the A$ is dropping). It may not be easy to price
for export regardless of history, tooling, materials, suppliers, etc.......

[woobs]

...he does not list any prices on his website . Surely by now he ought to be in a position to know exactly what the prices are for any given set and be able to list them

When I first started looking into his products there were North American dealers that had them priced online. I actually had trouble getting them on the phone or having messages returned so, I messaged Australia. Allen phoned me back right away and offered a deal at much less than the cost from either his Canadian Distributor or his American Dealer. IIRC, He told me they were not really representing his products according to his distribution agreement and their sales were virtually none. I think because he offered me direct pricing lower than the distributors price he couldn't put any pricing on his site.... I'm just guessing though.

BTW: Aussie dollar is almost the same as the Canadian dollar right now. But, I'm pretty sure I had to pay in USD at the time.

[Morgan's Cloud]

Woobs , when I first heard about HiTek I don't think there was any US dealers at that point . That came a little later and I also recall a legal wrangle that Allen was involved in where someone had pirated his design and build and was claiming them to be HiTeks .
I also recall at least one 'agency' selling them in the US legitimately as well .
When I found him I would guess that his market was pretty much Australia only (domestic for him) and I thought it strange that there wasn't ( and still is not ) prices listed .

If he lists prices in Aus $s that's fine with me . It takes care of his 'local' customers and anyone else can simply look up the daily conversion rate and figure out the price in a currency that applies to them .

Not accusing him of doing anything wrong , it just seems odd to me that he doesn't post prices for the products on his site .

As for the exchange rate , yeah , I think that when I got our set the rate of exchange was about .85 to the US $ and it slowly went up in time . Certainly if it goes back down to a favorable rate that would be a good time to make the call !

[joseph m. hahnl]

http://www.hgemarine.com/products/manifolds/mercruiser-replacement-hge-7114a.html




http://www.hgemarine.com/products/manifolds/mercruiser-replacement-hge-9746a.html



http://www.hgemarine.com/products/manifolds/mercruiser-replacement-hge-9011a.html

[woobs]

http://www.hgemarine.com/products/manifolds/mercruiser-replacement-hge-7114a.html
http://www.hgemarine.com/products/manifolds/mercruiser-replacement-hge-9746a.html
http://www.hgemarine.com/products/manifolds/mercruiser-replacement-hge-9011a.html

Except none of those fit SBF...

[joseph m. hahnl]

Except none of those fit SBF... Yes only iron ones for the 302/351. http://www.hgemarine.com/products/manifolds/ford-replacement-hge-1-81.html

[mattyboy]

not sure if they are still in production but barr made alum center risers for the 302 352 w

http://www.go2marine.com/product/212606F/barr-aluminum-center-discharge-ford-small-block-v8-manifold.html

[woobs]

not sure if they are still in production but barr made alum center risers for the 302 352 w http://www.go2marine.com/product/212606F/barr-aluminum-center-discharge-ford-small-block-v8-manifold.html

Even if they are still available: Manifolds @ $500 x 2 = $1,000 + Risers at $421 x2 = $842... for a total of $1,842 plus gaskets, taxes and shipping.

I'd go with the lightweight, stainless steel and inclusive Hi Teks for just a wee bit more. (or possibly less depending on shipping of the Barr units)

[Craig S]

Its been 2 and a half weeks. Im very anxious. Allen has gotten details about my exhaust ports a few days ago.

We're waiting to iron out the engines before installing...so we can then repaint the hull and deck. And start the assembly.

Very anxious on exhausts.

Soft goods went to upholstery shop yesterday. I have to figure out size of pleats...1.5 or 2 or 2.5.
Craig

[f_inscreenname]

Its been 2 and a half weeks. Im very anxious. Allen has gotten details about my exhaust ports a few days ago.

We're waiting to iron out the engines before installing...so we can then repaint the hull and deck. And start the assembly.

Very anxious on exhausts.

Soft goods went to upholstery shop yesterday. I have to figure out size of pleats...1.5 or 2 or 2.5.
Craig

Rock and roll brother. :biggrin.:

[woobs]

Keep us posted!:rock:

[bertsboat]

Nice set on the bay now
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-3-V6-Mercruiser-1-Piece-Exhaust-Manifold-Set-W-Bolts-/182407071412?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276