Re: 2017 Winter Upgrade/Update thread |
Subject: Re: 2017 Winter Upgrade/Update thread by rklessdriver on 2017/2/21 20:25:55 I spent this weekend working on my intake manifold. For some reason I figured I'd just take the intake back home with me and convert the carb flange from 4150 to 4500 by hand..... Kind of a bad idea as I have my trusty Milwaukee grinder, some burrs and cartridge rolls/mandrels but I seriously lack any type of porting bench. I used the utility rack on my 4 wheeler in the backyard for a porting bench. I took this pic when I was about halfway done roughing the shape in. [URL=http://s50.photobucket.com/user/rklessdriver/media/IMG_20170218_175314149_zpsrd0ru4jt.jpg.html][/URL] You can see from the previous work I did to the plenum (I opened the plenum up .400" from as cast with my dads Bridgeport and then fixed the runner entry's) I still had to remove about 1/4" from the sides and 1/2" from the corners to convert it to get it big enough for the Dominator (Holley 4500).... then fix the runner entry's without hitting air. Pushing the upper runner entry's back as far as I can into a nice radius. You can see I got the collet of the grinder into the flange a bit there.... non critical area so no biggie. I think I had everything roughed in at this point and was about to start my "finish work".... [URL=http://s50.photobucket.com/user/rklessdriver/media/IMG_20170219_161748083_HDR_zpsg4a76asz.jpg.html][/URL] It's hard to see but I also reworked the runner divider that extends into the plenum. Once I got the plenum corners cut back far enough it was looking to me like a hindrance to the inner (4) runners as far as line of sight, so I cut it down and changed the shape a little to uncover the inner runner more. I could still do more in this regard but I don't want to stray too far from the factory design as it's made good power so far. I didn't take too many pics of this work because it's really tedious work and hard to stop and take pics of different steps but I took this shot of the completed project with the finish work completed and a small 1/2" spacer pinned in place on top of the plenum. [URL=http://s50.photobucket.com/user/rklessdriver/media/IMG_20170219_172618031_zps8acpmiyl.jpg.html][/URL] I still might go back and try to put a steeper radius on the upper runner entry's but the intake is getting pretty thin in a few places and I don't want to have to weld it up. Now last year I ran a 2" tapered spacer when I switched from a 4150 to 4500 Dominator carb but it placed the carb too close to the bottom of the hood for my linking. I already have a 6" cowl scoop on the hood, so it's not like I can add anything else without it being taller than the roof. Converting the intake manifold flange to the Holley 4500 pattern seemed like the best solution so that's what I did. With just the 1/2" spacer on top it'll be back to the same hood clearance I had with the 4150 carb. We'll see how it works out on the dyno and on the track in a few months. Will |