I just sold my GT-40 intake manifold and will be swapping on a Trick Flow Street Heat intake and 70mm throttlebody. With the money from the GT-40, it paid for everything and left a little for gaskets and fluids. I saw that black intake and thought to myself "HEY !!! THAT would look awesome smoothed and polished with my FPV emblem on the side". So.......I've got some work to do.
I just thought I'd share with the class.
You have a real sickness Vinnie my man.
Where are the pics?!?! lol...
It has most everything I need, and like I said, with the extra from the GT-40, I'll buy the other little things I need, and not be out a single cent. When I get it, I'll smooth the top (the raised areas only), and polish the whole thing and get it to look like the vision in my head (The vision the voices keep telling me to look at). The lower will be Ford Blue to match the block and heads. Here it is....
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270751793802&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT
PLUS, Jerry gets the intake spacer he needed and the Sport gets some love. Everyone is happy.....for free !!!
Awesome... I could use more space
I also love space.....afterall, it IS the final frontier.
Just snagged a new set of Summit 24# injectors for next to nothing. Nothing wrong with mine, but the new ones are going on and mine are going to a new home......somewhere....eventually.
Can't wait for the new intake to get here and I can start smoothing that thing down. I'm having polishing withdrawals.
I have this mental picture of the intake when I'm done with it. This is the last intake for the Sport for a very long time.
Uh huh, whatever you say.
I really think this is the one.
A co-worker wanted a tune up on her Chevy Cobalt. That was easy (just did it). I took the funds from that and ordered a new gasket and bolt kit for the intake. So far so good. Still in it for free. Now, to get the parts here and get busy.
O.K........I have the intake and associated parts (except lower intake gaskets, vacuum tubing) and I spent about 90 minutes smoothing the upper by removing the Trick Flow lettering and the 8 raised ridges on the top. Hopefully I can get it polished tomorrow. We'll see. I still have some more smoothing to do, and I'm unsure right now if I want to do a polish and paint, or just polish it. I'm having the idea of polishing the top and driver side (the "Tank" end) and painting the sides Ford Blue to match the lower intake and engine itself. It looks good in my mind anyway. I'll post a couple of pics in the morning. I have a pic of the "Before" and "during" so far.I still have some more thinking to do. Trust me on this, guys.
I can't find any 70mm t-body gaskets in town, so, I'll buy a sheet of black gasket material and make my own. No big deal, and probably a lot cheaper anyway.
I'll run down in the morning and grab some polish, gasket material, and other supplies and try to have the intake on by Sunday afternoon. Maybe. I'm taking it one step at a time.
This intake will probably be the last one for a long time (No wagering please). As I stated before, I just like the look of a "solid" intake better than the tubular. The GT-40 turned out just how I thought it would, but overall, it couldn't replace my Explorer intake. I miss that piece. This one will fill the empty spot very well. I still have to come up with the appropriate FPV finishing touch for it. I have what I need, it's just a matter of how I'll install it and where.
Here's the upper as I got it.....
(http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/Vinnietbird/DSCF8918.jpg)
And here it is right now (until I get out there to get it finished.....
Here's the upper as it sits waiting for me to finish it.........
(http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/Vinnietbird/DSCF8919.jpg)
Hopefully I'll have it done today. Pics as progress happens.
don't worry, I'll take very good care of your explorer intake. It's still in the family so to speak
Looking good Vinnie, I like the smooth intake better, really cleaned it up. :)
Jerry, I know you'll take good care of it. A week after installing the GT-40, I was REALLY missing it though.
Hopefully it'll polish out really nice today. That'll make me happy.
man, you ground the name right off that thing..... lol
It will definitely be a one of a kind intake when you are done with it......nice work so far!
Yes I did. I had no intentions of keeping the Trick Flow name on it.. I'm about 95% done at this point. The little man (Grandbaby) came over for us to watch, so I had to quit and shower so I could hold him. I'll finish the polishing later tonight. Maybe install it tomorrow...I hope. If not tomorrow, soon. I gotta run down and grab some lower gaskets and Permatex as well. After that, I'm ready. Pics later this evening as well.
Thanks a lot. I am trying to make it mildly unique.
As much as you're doing to it, that's an understatement :evilgrin: lol
I have to say, it felt GREAT to break out the drill and sanding discs yesterday evening and get busy. I also repainted the strut tower brace black. The lower intake will be Ford Blue to match the engine block and heads. I was going to do some painting on the upper, but I'm running 50/50 on that right now. I'll polish some more then take another look. I also have to test fit some different FPV badges. We'll see about those. I can't wait to get it on the Sport. I will have to alter a couple of vacuum lines. This is set up a little different. No big deal. Pics tonight.
Alright....first, the disclaimer....
I only used a drill as the only power tool for this project. I used a 5 inch sanding disc with 5 inch peel-n-stick snad paper of 100 and 150 grit. After that, I wet sanded using 220,360,400,600,800,1000,1200,1500,and 2000 grit sandpaper followed by hand polishing with Mother's Billet Polish,and Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish followed by Surf City Garage Killer Chrome polish using two old white cotton t-shirts. I have zero dollars in this project including the intake, polishing, gasket and bolt set, and fuel injectors. Tomorrow I'll get the lower gaskets.
Here's the intake as it is now.....
(http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/Vinnietbird/DSCF8920.jpg)
Wow , looks fantastic man .
That looks like it belongs in a display case in a museum, nice work
Thanks a lot. I ended up with about 6 hours of labor into it. Good enough for me. Now to find a couple of hours to swap it onto the Sport.
I will be impatiently awaiting pics...
ooooh, shiney!! Great work Vinnie.:bowdown:
Look at that baby shine!! You'll need your sun glasses on when you open the hood outside!
I'm running to the "Zone" to get some gaskets and anti-freeze shortly when they open, then, time to replace parts that aren't broken.
nice.....
That looks awesome. I like it a lot better without the "Trick Flow" script.
Me too. Plus, I've seen a LOT of Stangs with Trick Flow intakes, and I didn't want mine to be "One of very many". It's installed and running. The t-body is whistling. I have to figure out how to stop that. I think a small hole in the blade is the trick, but I'll gather info first. I also had the mildly modify the coupler that connects and seals the pipe to the throttle body for the CAI. The 70mm t-body is larger..........apparently, . I may test it with the 65 and see if I like it better. If so, I'll swap back to the 65mm t-body and let it be. Pics and news later.