Rare Magnesium Hemi Intake Repaired and Put Back in Service with unusual Donor Parts

Once in a while, a twisted tale pops up that really shows the true nature of some of the characters that represent the car hobby. Classic car aficionado Scott Jay Smith found that out firsthand when dealing with a good friend, who is none other than rad-racer and well-known Mopar guru Steve Attwell.

Recently, Scott was lucky to have an original ’68 B029 Race Hemi Barracuda in his shop. “The car has had a long line of notable owners, Judy Lilly, Dave Wren, DeFrank & Cohn, and the list goes on. One of the more recent owners was Steve. So, three owners later it ended up in my shop and was for sale once again. So, Steve decided to buy it a second time,“ states Scott.

These original magnesium factory 2x4bbl crossram Hemi intakes are high price pieces that Mopar collectors snatch up whenever one comes up for sale. They are still being used today on high power 426 Hemi builds, and especially on the ’68 factory Hemi Darts and Barracudas that made them famous.

Well, that’s nothing out of the ordinary, as many times a past owner will go through some stages of seller’s remorse and repurchase a car (if the opportunity arises) that was sadly cast-off previously. This could have been done due to one of a myriad of possible reasons. Sometimes, it’s just a change of heart that finds the seller hunting down a previously owned vehicle, to once purchase again and bring back to his home garage.

So, once the car was back at Steve’s, the new owner filled Scott in on his plans for the Barracuda, which included building an all new powered-up Hemi for the car. Those intentions also incorporated a transmission swap and other required changes to make the Barracuda a more “streetable” ride. “Since Steve no longer needed the Hemi in the car (which was not original to this particular ride) he then offered it to me. Of course, I bought it without a second thought. The engine was built loosely around the original ’68 factory Race Hemi specifications, but with slightly lower compression and a modern roller cam,” states Scott.

It didn’t take Scott long to notice this particular repair on the underside of the magnesium intake. In a repaired spot, the words “Place-Foot-Here-When-Starting” were visible on the surface. Scott soon realized that the repair was done with a section of a ‘50’s magnesium deck Lawn Boy lawnmower. Steve Atwell did the repair and left the phrase for the next owner.

So once the deal was set, Scott waited in anticipation for his new powerplant to be delivered. “It showed up one day neatly crated and safe from any damage. But once it was here, I decided to give it a quick inspection to make sure there were no issues.” Scott looked it over and soon noted that the big crossram intake was an original magnesium piece that appeared to be completely stock from the factory. “Then I decided to take the Hemi apart. During the process of removing the intake manifold bolt access plugs, I noticed that one plug was a different size than the rest, which were subtle signs of a repair in that location. As I studied that area, I realized that a feature that was supposed to be there was missing, notably, a large core plug at the rear of the intake. It was now completely gone and smoothed over. Hmmm? Weird,” thought Scott.

Scott Jay Smith purchased a Super Stock prepared 426 Hemi engine out of an original ’68 B029 Barracuda. On teardown he noticed some repairs on the intake which made him look even closer to its condition.

The factory magnesium intake in question is not something that is easy to locate, and are considered a rarity, fetching $3-6K when they come up for sale. These intakes were used on the 1968 factory built B029 Plymouth Barracudas and L023 Dodge Darts that dominated the tracks and ruled Super Stock in the late ‘60s and ‘70s. Though they are considered vintage pieces, they are known to be excellent choices for Hemi owners and are still used today.

Upon further inspection of the intake, Scott soon found something unique about his new purchase.  “So, I continued with the removal and after getting it off noticed an oddity in the casting, as there were words cast in the surface that said; “Place-Foot-Here-When-Starting”. This was on the underside of the plenum against the valve cover and not visible when the intake was installed.” Scott was more than a little confused. He pondered; “Why was this here? And why did it look so familiar?”

Though initially he had no idea, it didn’t take long for Scott to put the pieces together. “Then it hit me! I flashed back fifty years to my childhood chore of mowing my grandfather’s lawn. He had an old Lawn Boy magnesium-deck lawn mower that I used which had the exact same wording cast into it. A quick Google search confirmed it, a perfect match!”

Someone’s sense of humor played out that day by doing a very creative job of fixing the intake, and by doing it with something that was available, and probably free for the taking. “Someone patched up the intake with the old lawn mower deck, using it for a needed patch, which of course was genius of him. Of course, it would have been easy to grind off the lettering after the repair, but he left it that way, which is hilarious. It was old school innovation at its best!”

After a few phone calls, Scott ended up finding out who did this awesome repair job on the intake. “I found out that the culprit was none other than my friend Steve Attwell. He is well known for repairing and modifying magnesium intake manifolds, and it was in fact his work. Mystery solved!”

So, what has become of the repaired Hemi intake? We are happy to report Scott has gone on to send the intake it back to the man who did the repairs. “Steve needed it for another engine he’s building so I felt he should have it. I have other plans for my engine, and I have another intake to use, so I was more than thrilled to give it back to the guy who did the repair work. I’m happy he’s got it back.”