Oct 64 down draft tube or pcv question

I'm thinking that earlyk will know the right answer to your question.

I've got a friend with an early 65 k code, I believe with an October build date. It has the road draft tube on it. I also know of another early k fastback with the same arrangment. The tube comes out of the valve cover as shown in Bob Mannel's excellent book page 5-31.

I thought New York was the same as California, no draft tubes, but I'm not sure what date the law went into effect. Do you have the original intake manifold? That would answer your question. Tom

The down draft tube systems used in the Fall of '64 were typically the style with the tube attaching to the rocker cover where the PCV valve normally would be. I don't recall there being any differences with the intake manifolds when this configuration was in place.

Also, for whatever it's worth, I used to own a Dearborn C code convertible that had an Oct 31, 1964 scheduled build date. It had a NY DSO (13) and was equipped with a down draft tube that attached to the rocker cover.

here's a response I received from bob mannel last march when I asked a similar question about down draft tubes ( I have an Oct 64 Kar with a down draft tube my dso is philly) :

On page 5-31, I show a Ford illustration of the 1965 HiPo road draft tube. See page J-55 for road draft tube application.

Ford had largely abandoned the road draft tube at the end of 1963 production for all applications. So, every early 1964 289 had a PCV valve. It was about May 1964 that Ford brought back the road draft tube except for California and New York. Ford was having a lot of clogging problems with its orifice-type PCV valve, so reverting to the road draft tube decreased this problem (which was probably a warranty issue). At the time, Ford had not developed tubes to attach to the valve cover, so reverted to the 1962-63 system. By 1965 production, new tubes were ready. However, I am sure there was a state or two upset about Ford's use of polluting road draft tubes, so they were phased out during March 1965 and early April. PCV valves with a juggle-pin design were now readily available. These valves were self-cleaning and greatly reduced clogging problems.

So, if I was a guessing man, I think the road draft tubes were a quick temporary stop gap solution until better PCV valves were more readily available. If you have ever run a road draft tube engine, you know just how bad they were. I do. With just a little piston ring blow-by pressurizing the crankcase, fumes came out the tube and oil filler cap when you were not moving forward and the smell was not pleasant, not to mention the mess. With a PCV valve, there was always an inflow through the breather and the fumes were being burned in the engine. If there was a lot of blow-by, the draft tube would nearly choke you until you were driving down the road at high speed. Then you just left an obnoxious trail. With a PCV valve, it would not be able to keep up and fumes would come out the breather. But, for just a little blow-by, the jiggle-pin PCV valve was the best system.