Hi,
Just wondering if anyone has had a pre PI engine, and tried seeing if the bolt down pattern and water jackets were in the same location on a PI intake manifold? I know that the Pre-PI had smaller rounder intake ports and the PI has slightly more rectangular larger intake ports.
Please reply
Thanks
Lowflyingbird

 

its not a very good fit, but it can be done... I wouldn't do it, the flow would be very turbulent...

 

HI!... Don't bother, you won't gain anything. You might even lose performance due to the intake ports are not designed to flow with eachother, even if you do port match. The P.I heads are where the H.P/TQ gains are mostly from, not the intake manifold.

 

Hi,
I know the port matchup is poor. My first concern is bolt hole and water port alignment. I believe the intake bolts down flat (same plane) both sides. This possibly being the case, I could mill a set of 1/2" 6061 Alumium spacers to ease the port shape transition. Probably take me less than a day to make while having a beer or two.... A few more days if I just keep knocking them back and B/S ing with my friends.
I love this icon!!

 

What type of blower are you thinking of putting on there?

 

Hi,
If this goes well, I will use a lightning Eaton M112, which I already have in near mint condition. I want to keep it to 5 psi. (installing a larger SC pulley= lower boost) keeping down the cost of other needed mods if I went higher. Also I'm well aware that my 5.4 was not interned to have a blower. The lightning had a better rotating assembly and lower compression. I did not think, no do I still that I will need the intercooler at my desired boost level. Even the centrifugal Vortec which produces more heat does not require more than a better pump and FMU for its 5 psi kit. I have not looked into the OEM belt routing for the lightning, but I have seen I think a whipple kits routing. I think two extra tensioners on a plate will do. As for upper plenum, I'll just fab. one up to use my OEM T.B.
Thoughts???

 

They look pretty close -

 

but not close enough

 

The Lightning has a separate belt system. You'll need to run 2 belts. Not the same as a Whipple.
I know you said you didn't want to mess with the heads but with a little porting they would match right up to the Lightning manifold.

 

The water jackets , that's what he asked right?

 

yeah, you can weld a little bit on the water jackets and profile them with a dremel and port the heads into the shape of the pi port entry...i've seen it done

 

Yes,
My first concern besides bolt pattern is ofcourse water jacket mating. Intake runner mating is absolutely secondary. YES, they are close.I do see a slight difference in water porting. Thankyou for that photo comparison. I could port the head, but I wouldnt want to if I could simply make a set of adapter plates. It looks like I wouldnt even need them to be 1/2" I could get away with maybe 1/4,if not then 3/8. I could correct any mis alignment between all port, water or air.
I did not know the belt setup on the lightning was a two belt setup.I will have to see that. I believe the crank pulley is a single. Is there a jack shaft like the old Tbird SC?, I had one of those ,great car. If there is a jack shaft, I need to find out its ratio, if there is a reduction on it. I could have sworn it was a single belt setup??? Any way I'll most likely go single belt if possible.
Thankyou all sofar.
Lowflyingbird

 

all that work to just put the PI manifold on isnt worth it, the gain is very low

 

they already make adapters for this problem, check the web, they have been around awhile, but if you have the means, its usually cheaper to do it yourself. but then again, if you can tig weld and run a dremel, no problem, no adapter!

 

Please read all posts. I would not waste my time, If this was just to get a PI intake on the motor. I want to mount a blower on it.A lightning blower to be specific, so a Lightning intake would make this quite easy. I got the truck for $4400. I'm not going to drop $5000. on a blower package. Besides I have made them before myself, at a final cost to me of about $1000. plus my time ofcourse. As for porting and or welding the heads to recontour. I do not want to remove the heads. If I did want to remove the heads I could easily get either a set of the same or PI heads. I do a good amout of business with an exporter who's in automotive, they are dime a dozen. I'd bet he has also dismantled several hunder of my heads for scrap aluminum, and tens of PI heads for the same, not knowing that there is a small market for them.