Intake

[dkoch]

Has anyone ever tried to fab there own intake manifold for the 500?
The engine will eventually make its way into my 1965 Galaxie. I would like to run a single carb with mild port work and a MT15 cam. Thanks for all the info on this site.

[fast large one]

Yes, some folks have done so. Look at the post about Hilborn injection under the Racing forum for some examples. Any particular reason why you'd rather fab your own instead of just buying the Edelbrock piece?

[dkoch]

Cost. I live in the great white north and it will cost about $500 CAN. I thought that I could fab one for under a $100. However, I would like the engine to still be driveable. I saw the post on the injectors and it made me think that it might be possible.

[~JM~]

Some guys report very good results with the stock manifold by cutting out the center and the plenum divider.

~JM~

[pageboy]

What JM said. A stock intake with the center cut out to make it essentially a single plane piece flows the same as the Edelbrock unit all the way up until the highest rpms, where it falls off a little. It's good enough for most street engines, and would take a lot less time than making your own.

[dkoch]

Thanks for the info. However, I was looking at the stock intake and there sure seems to be alot of angles and sharp corners. Are you guys sure it flows the same until high rpms? Does anybody have any pictures of the stock intake modifcation.

[pageboy]

I'm in the middle of completely carving out the center of one. I'm not finished with it, and have gotten sidetracked this summer on other projects. It may not get done this summer. Here are pictures of one I did a couple years ago. I wanted to keep this one a full dual plane and left the center in it. I cut out the web inbetween the primary and secondary barrels, and rounded off the sharp corner at the bottome of the plenum where it turns in to the runners. A completely centered out one would be similar to this, but have the plenum divider also cut out. First time posting pictures on this new board; we'll see how this goes.

[pageboy]

Why do I get these things where one has to download the picture instead of the picture showing up in the post?

[dkoch]

The pictures look great. Thanks for posting them. I was thinking of doing the same thing along with port matching with the heads. And I think that I would remove some of the centre and leave about 1/2 inch from the floor of the intake. I would try to match the way the eldebrock is built. Looks like I have some grinding and cutting to do. I will post pictures during the process. Thanks again.

[pageboy]

Carving the center of the plenum out takes a LOT of time. That is one thick, solid chunk of cast iron. This really is a very good way to go, and especially so if you're on a budget. A one inch or so spacer would help too without costing much. If you're doing one like I have here, a four hole spacer would be best. But if you're going to carve out the whole center of the plenum an open spacer would be more appropriate. Have fun.