Hey all, today I put manifolds back on my slant six with the help of a friend. We spent two hours trying to get this one washer on the stud below the chokestove. This wire tool here was our solution, and amazingly enough, it worked perfectly the first time.
Basically, you set the triangle washer in the U-shaped grooves at the end, and push it through the hole between the manifolds from right below the carb. Once the washer is on the stud, drop the wire out from underneath it. To make the tool, you just need some utility wire - I got a decent sized roll at O'reilly's for five bucks. Cut a two-foot length of wire off the roll, bend it in half, and twist it until the handle is formed parallel to the two wire ends. Then, you bend both ends into the shape shown above - sort of a "W" - and separate them a bit. There's your tool! May it save you many hours of swearing at inanimate objects!
Edit: The picture is upside-down and I don't know how to fix that.
