Now my intake doesn't fit...

[PurpleBeeper]

Another option - I've run into something similar. Is the intake "anything special"? If not, you may be able to mill the intake manifold to match up to the engine/heads as is.

I've not done this myself, but I read about this somewhere and bought some PRECISION machined washers and some plastiguage I think (?) to figure this out. Basically, you set the intake up on top of the precision washers and squeeze plastiguage top/bottom at all corner ports. The plastiguage has to be thicker than the precision washers. Subtract the thickness of the washers and you know the gap (top & bottom of the ports) at each corner. That should be enough for a good machinist to mill the intake BUT, I would suggest you find a good machinist and explain the situation. He might want something different to help him mill your intake correctly.

 

[furious70]

It's my efi converted rpm perf, I don't want to modify it to only fit this.

 

[68Dart470]

Time for some nice alum heads then.

 

[dvw]

When the intake is too wide you never know exactly how it sets. That's why the suggestion to see how it sets with no gasket. You may be surprised.
Doug

 

[furious70]

I'll definitely try that before I rip the heads off - but if the intake fits with no pan what do I do then? The RPM Perf doesn't clear an aftermarket valley cover I don't think?

 

[dvw]

If the intake fits nice with no pan, it needs the thickness of the pan removed by milling.
Doug

 

[PRHeads]

You can mill quite a bit off factory heads....... so, it should be fixable.

This is one of those situations where if the place that’s trying to correct the issue doesn’t have the whole motor, then the person making the call on how much off of what will get milled...... they better know what they’re doing when they’re measuring.

If it’s as much of a mess as it sounds(screwed up angles)....... I’d want it all here before I tackled it if I were doing it........ or....... I’m just cutting what someone else tells me to.

I’d suggest if you have access to another untouched manifold, to test fit that as well.

I’d have the valve covers off for the test fitting/measuring.

 

[furious70]

Ya I agree Dwayne, I know I am not set up with the tools or skills to measure precisely enough, I'd need someone to have the whole thing.
An awesome member here is sending me an intake that has been previously cut to see it if fits better as an additional guidepost, and I do have other intakes I can try to compare. (I have to use my EFI intake however)
Off the cuff - how much $ would I be looking at if you had this engine in your shop and had to measure, cut the heads, and ensure it was fitted/sealing properly?
Thanks!

 

[PRHeads]

Ya I agree Dwayne, I know I am not set up with the tools or skills to measure precisely enough, I'd need someone to have the whole thing.
An awesome member here is sending me an intake that has been previously cut to see it if fits better as an additional guidepost, and I do have other intakes I can try to compare. (I have to use my EFI intake however)
Off the cuff - how much $ would I be looking at if you had this engine in your shop and had to measure, cut the heads, and ensure it was fitted/sealing properly?
Thanks!

(probably)More than that intake is worth!!

Figure out what has to be done, then remove and disassemble heads, mill as req’d(maybe both surfaces on each head), clean everything, and reassemble.......all @$75/hr

If another normal intake still has the same problem with the angle being wrong(and a big gap on the top...... to verify the problem isn’t just a screwed up manifold), by far the easiest fix will be to correct/adjust the manifold as necessary so it will properly fit the motor.

I had someone send me a manifold to correct for a similar situation.
I trusted that he measured it right, and knew what needed to be done.
I put a set of aftermarket heads on a stock uncut block here, test fitted his intake on that combo, and came up with very similar results/measurements as he did.
I corrected the manifold so it fit the block & heads here, and it ended up working out for him on his end.

His was nowhere near .050 off though.
It was like .009 on one side and .013 on the other.

In that case, his manifold was the problem.
A few intakes I had here fit the block/head combo I used as a template just fine.

 

[PRHeads]

Looking at the pics a little more...... it appears like maybe there was some aggressive cookie dusting happening on the intake side of the head, near the top of the ports.

I’d use a small straight edge(like a 6” ruler) to try and verify that surface is flat from the bottom to the top.

If that surface isn’t flat and straight(like more was removed from the area near the top of the ports), then the heads would need to come off to be corrected.

 

[furious70]

They are definitely not cut the same way, whether the one has more taken off at the right angle or was cut at the wrong angle. And then maybe not flat either.
The intake was fine with the previous heads and short block I was using. Since it's MPI efi converted I do have hundreds into it above the purchase price

 

[PRHeads]

It’s easy to say from this side of the screen....... but if the motor isn’t in the car yet....... it’s not that big of a deal to pull it apart and have the heads corrected.

Obviously....... much less fun if it’s in the car already.

 

[33 IMP]

If this were mine.... and i had a different intake (stock original) other than the high-dollar conversion....
I would take the other intake, remove the valley cover, and bolt the stock intake to each head , one head at a time, and see what angle the intake is at. If the intake face angle is wrong on the heads, it will be apparent. You will either have a gap at the bottom of the head face, or the intake will be hanging in the air. That should tell you where, and how bad the problem is. Then you can decide what you want to do to fix it.

 

[furious70]

Yes that test makes sense.
And yes it's still out of the car, I'm glad I decided to throw the intake on first and work the chains around the efi.
First world problem for sure. Was excited to bump the long block performance up a bit underneath the turbos so now I'm bummed is all. Also trying to get the fury back together for a June show.

 

[furious70]

@Xp29h is the man! He sent me an eddy performer that he had cut in the past and it bolts up!
Doesn't fix my problem for this efi engine but at least the heads are usable on a 383 with that intake.
Given that I'm unlikely going to spend the hundreds to have anything done to these heads but look for something else for the efi engine. Only other heads I have right now ate some stock 452's that I measured @ 92cc today, not what I want here.