Posted By: 64dartsb
So I gotta get this intake cut - 03/28/14 01:38 AM
And the motor is in the car. The heads have been shaved down so I'm pretty sure this intake (air gap) won't just bolt right on... So what do I gotta do? Take the heads off and bring it all to a machine shop? Bring the whole motor? Or can they do it with just the intake? Doubt it... I can call the guy that built the heads and I bet he knows how much he took off em if that would help.....
Posted By: CompWedgeEngines
Re: So I gotta get this intake cut - 03/28/14 01:57 AM
You just need to take the intake off and have it cut. IF the guy knows how much he cut off the heads, that woud be great. How far off are the bolt holes? A quick test is to remove the intake, take the intake gaskets off, then re-fit the manifold and see if it lines up then. If so, both sides of the manifold need to be cut the thickness of the gaskets. A .020-.030 intake surface cut runs from $65-95 ish dollars depending on your area of the country.
Posted By: RapidRobert
Re: So I gotta get this intake cut - 03/28/14 03:04 AM
BB I'm assuming. Put a swath of dykem horizontle across the head intake ports end to end on the top and bottom sides on each side and across the intake manifold ports the same way & go "up" a bit with the dykem on each of the 4 intake corners (2 on each corner, one for the top and one for the bottom of the ports) so from the top you can see where the lines are at. Set the intake/valley pan/paper gaskets (thick or thin ones you if use them & I would) in place. Measure how much above or below the head horizontle lines the lines on the intake are & give that dimention to the machine shop. iirc you said the heads are already installed so major milling on the intake will make it fit that eng only. Best is to mill the head intake surfaces so the intake can be swapped but no big deal & getting up & running as is is way more important than a potential manifold change in the future. wouldn't hurt to do some slight squaring up of the port openings to get em equal before swabbing the dykem for a more blueprinted intact tract. If you dont want to mess with the dykem you can see how far the head intake bolt holes are below the centerline of the manifold bolt holes & measure as best as you can & give that number to the shop. Backing up: if the intake manifold ports are below the head ports you would need to use thick paper gaskets below & more so on top of the valley pan port openings to move the head port interface higher/inward to match the manifold. Mockup as is & see where you are at
Posted By: DaytonaTurbo
Re: So I gotta get this intake cut - 03/28/14 03:08 AM
have you tried test fitting it yet? a small amount of milling is ok and intake will still fit.
Posted By: 64dartsb
Re: So I gotta get this intake cut - 03/28/14 07:02 AM
It's a small block.... I haven't tried fitting it yet I'll get to that in the next couple days.....
We'll at least it's seems easier than I had thought! Sometime things just have a way of being way to difficult in this world but this ain't that bad hahaha
Posted By: 340SHORTY
Re: So I gotta get this intake cut - 03/28/14 07:10 AM
make sure you take the little gasket centering pins out of the top of the block.
Posted By: 80fbody
Re: So I gotta get this intake cut - 03/28/14 01:14 PM
May be able to get away with some thinner gaskets & possibly a minor slot of the bolt holes. I'd check with the member here that makes Superperformance gaskets. I know he carries different thickness BB intakes.
Posted By: 64dartsb
Re: So I gotta get this intake cut - 03/28/14 06:32 PM
It's a small block.. Haha. I haven't test fit the intake yet it's still in the box.. I'm gonna try and test fit it this weekend when I get the car home. Blocks been milled a little and the heads have been shaved down. I've only run 1 intake on this motor so I was just getting some input before I started ripping things apart unknowing. Now I see I just need to pull off the old one and text fit it see how the bolt holes look. I'll take a look this weekend and get back to you guys.... Thanks for the help dudes!!!
Posted By: Sxrxrnr
Re: So I gotta get this intake cut - 03/28/14 09:58 PM
I have no idea on a small block if intake/head mismatch can lead to a gap that allows oil to be sucked in from lifter chamber, but on my 512 bb stroker, I had a horrid plug fouling issue that took quite some time to troubleshoot and resolve. Resolution was replacing existing heads with a pair of edelbrock aluminum. Evidently my iron heads had once been milled and geometry correction to ensure proper intake geometry had not been done. New heads, all is well.
I remember one old time way to check this was to take intake and with no gasket, set it in position on the heads, but first to run string of dental floss front to rear between head and intake. If it can be pulled out with little or no resistance, further research should be done before installation of intake.
I am talking of a fouled out set of ngk plugs in 50 or less miles. Yes fellows, upon analyses by machine shop, valve guides were all fine.
Posted By: pittsburghracer
Re: So I gotta get this intake cut - 03/29/14 01:16 AM
Check your old bill or talk to your machinist, as he may have cut both the head and intake face. That way you don't end up with everything mismatched.
Posted By: Jeremiah
Re: So I gotta get this intake cut - 03/29/14 02:26 AM
I have been through a similar scenario a few time over the years. What I did was removed the intake and cleaned both sealing surfaces. I then lightly (a touch more than hand tight) bolted the intake on and used a feeler gauge to "map" the flanges and figure out where the gap was and how wide it was. I then took the intake to the machine shop and explained to them that (as an example) i had a .005" gap at the bottom of the ports and needed to have it angle milled to correct the gasket mating surfaces. It worked perfect each time. You might call ahead and talk to your machine shop so you have all of the information they need when you show up with the intake. If the bolt holes are off you can always use thicker paper gaskets as long as the angles of the mating surfaces match up. You could also use some blue layout fluid on the intake when you bolt it down to see how everything looks as well as taking some measurements with the feeler gauge.
Posted By: RapidRobert
Re: So I gotta get this intake cut - 03/29/14 06:18 AM
I'd pull the dowels in the front/rear block rails then dry mockup the intake/your choice of side gaskets with no front/rear gaskets & check the bolt holes height on the face slope & go from there
Posted By: babarracuda
Re: So I gotta get this intake cut - 03/29/14 02:15 PM
Many years ago I milled the heads on my 360 and had to take half of the milling amount off the intake. It fit great after I removed the centering pins.
