Intake and carb swap, How much work?
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,056
Likes: 8
From: Redruth Cornwall
Intake and carb swap, How much work?
Well have been told by friend in Customs that my Edelbrock Performer manifold is en route! I want to fit it with my newly rebuilt Q jet.
At the moment I have the stock intake with a Holley carb.
How much work is involved in the swap and what additional parts will I need to complete it?
I have my Q jet with a new base gasket, the intake has some gaskets with it I think.
Can I reuse my existing manifold bolts and carb studs? Do I need any kind of sealant? I see alot of posts talking about RTV sealant.
What about the linkages etc, will they need to be modified in any way?
How long should it take to complete? Any other bits need to be removed for the swap? I know I have to drain coolant.
Lots of questions but getting excited about the swap now!!
At the moment I have the stock intake with a Holley carb.
How much work is involved in the swap and what additional parts will I need to complete it?
I have my Q jet with a new base gasket, the intake has some gaskets with it I think.
Can I reuse my existing manifold bolts and carb studs? Do I need any kind of sealant? I see alot of posts talking about RTV sealant.
What about the linkages etc, will they need to be modified in any way?
How long should it take to complete? Any other bits need to be removed for the swap? I know I have to drain coolant.
Lots of questions but getting excited about the swap now!!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 7,106
Likes: 38
From: Newark DE
it's not a hard project.
It will probably take you longer to take stuff apart and put it back together afterwards than the actual intake swap because I see from your avatar you have a rubber bumper car and therefore have a lot of extra stuff to remove off from all the vacuum lines and emissions equipment crap.
basically here is the processa fter you have drained the coolant out of the system:
1. remove air cleaner and all the vacuum hoses, fuel line, linkage connections, etc from off carb. Besure to mark every single line and hose to identify it so it can get reinstalled correctly afterwards.
2. drain and carefully remove carb from intake - when lifting it off, I like to immediatly place it in something like a foil bake pan or similar so any gas that leaks out doesn't drip onto anything
3. remove PCV valve from valve cover and breather tube from other cover and remove valve covers.
4. disconnect ignition wires from distributor cap and mark each one so they can later be correctly reinstalled. remove distributor cap and mark orientation of distributor and rotor position with a marker, a piece of tape, or something so that later it can get reinstalled back into the correct position. I mark the rotor position on the distributor itself by a mark on both the rotor and the distributor housing plus a mark on the firewall to indicate where the rotor is pointing.. Now remove the distributor.
5. remove any vacuum connections from the intak itself and again mark them to identify them for correct reinstall later on.
6. if you have A/C and/or if your emission A.I.R is still installed these may need to be unbolted and moved aside to allow the intake the come off.
6a. remove the upper rad hose and t-stat housing.
7. once everything is removed off the intake the intake can be removed. Remove all the intake bolts. The gaskets and old RTV sealant will keep the intake attached still and the easist way to break it free is to take a thick wooden rod or the handle of a broom, etc and place it into the distributor hole and carefulley rocking back and forth the break the intake free. Once it breaks free of the gaskets and sealant you can left the intake off.
8. IMMEDIATLY place rags into the lefter valley to keep debris from falling inside.
9. the head surface where the intake gaskets were are going to need cleaning along with the front and rear block rails and also the top of the heads where the valve covers came off as these areas will now have remains of the old gaskets and sealants. I use a razor blade to make sure all remains of the old gaskets and sealants are gone on all surfaces than clean the surfaces thoroughly but carefully with lacquer thinner.
10. once all surfaces are scrapped cleand and wiped clean CAREFULLY lift out the rags from the lifter valley - there will be plenty of small pieces of debris from the scrapping and cleaning and you want to make sure ALL of them come up in the rags without faling into the valley. Some will still sneak down and fall in though so using your fingers and maybe even tweezers, etc make sure every little particle of crap that fell into the valley gets removed.
If you aren't installing the new manifold immediately at this point put a new clean rag or towel into the lifter vally to keep anything else from falling inside it - just don't forget to remove the towel before you install the new intake!
11. using new intake manifold gaskets and Permatex RTV (I like the Utra Copper) you can install the new intake. Most intake gasket sets also come with rubber front and end gaskets for the front and rear block rails but I don't like them so don't use them.
I first use Permatex High Tack Gasket Sealant to "glue" the intake gaskets onto the top mounting surface of the heads than use the Permatex Ultra Cooper RTV and put a nice continious bead of sealant all along the front and rear rails of the block and be sure to get into the corners very well where the rails meat the heads as these corners are prone to leaks. I also run a bead of rtv around the water jacket ports as an extra precaution.
You can see here some pics as I was about to reinstall the intake on my '78 L82 and see the new gaskets and the beads of RTV just before dropping the intake down. looking at the 2nd thru 6th pics on this page will show you what I mean and if you look closely you can even see larger amounts of RTV in the corners and also how I put a bead around the water jacket ports.
http://69.253.166.197/corvettes/page...2/page152.html
Now drop the new intake into postition. you want to drop it straight down so it pretty much goes immediately into correct position without needing to shift it after dropping it or you will lose your bead of RTV on the end rails and end up with leaks. One suggestion to help with this is to use the same wooden rod or broom handle you used earlier to help break the intake free. Take the rod and put it thru the distributor hole of the intake and than holding the intake above the motor line up and lower the wooden rod so it goes into the distributor hole in the block. that will line up the intake to the black and you can just let the intake slide down the rod until it sits on the motor. This way it slides down nice ands straight and in good position without having to shift it afterwards to line things up.
Now bolt the intake down - proper bolt tightening sequence is in your shop manual. I always put a dab of the permatex RTV on the threads of each intake bolt before purring the bolt in - this keeps oil from wicking up the threads and pooling on top of the intake.
torgue down to proper tightness in the correct order - torgue and sequence are in your shop manual or will come in the instrictions with the intake.
12. you can now reintall the the carb and reconnect everything.
it's always a good idea to use new carb studs with the new intake and be sure to use a new carb gasket.
do not forget to use a new gasket for the distributor - it usually comes included with the intake manifold gasket kit.
install the new gaskets on your valve covers also before reinstalling. I like the basic cork ones and again use the High Tack gasket sealant to "glue" the cork gasket to the covers before placing them on the motor.
don't forget the new gasket for the t-stat housing reinstall and besure the housing is scrapped very clean from remains of the old gasket. I use both the t-stat gasket and a bead of the RTV to ensure no coolant leaks.
this is also a good time to replace your PCV valve with a new one.
Check each and every vacuum hose carefully during reinstall for any cracks or drying out and if in doubt replace it.
It's early inthe morning and I just woke up - this should be pretty complete but if I missed anything I'm sure others will chime in to add anything I may have missed or forgotten.
Have fun.
It will probably take you longer to take stuff apart and put it back together afterwards than the actual intake swap because I see from your avatar you have a rubber bumper car and therefore have a lot of extra stuff to remove off from all the vacuum lines and emissions equipment crap.
basically here is the processa fter you have drained the coolant out of the system:
1. remove air cleaner and all the vacuum hoses, fuel line, linkage connections, etc from off carb. Besure to mark every single line and hose to identify it so it can get reinstalled correctly afterwards.
2. drain and carefully remove carb from intake - when lifting it off, I like to immediatly place it in something like a foil bake pan or similar so any gas that leaks out doesn't drip onto anything
3. remove PCV valve from valve cover and breather tube from other cover and remove valve covers.
4. disconnect ignition wires from distributor cap and mark each one so they can later be correctly reinstalled. remove distributor cap and mark orientation of distributor and rotor position with a marker, a piece of tape, or something so that later it can get reinstalled back into the correct position. I mark the rotor position on the distributor itself by a mark on both the rotor and the distributor housing plus a mark on the firewall to indicate where the rotor is pointing.. Now remove the distributor.
5. remove any vacuum connections from the intak itself and again mark them to identify them for correct reinstall later on.
6. if you have A/C and/or if your emission A.I.R is still installed these may need to be unbolted and moved aside to allow the intake the come off.
6a. remove the upper rad hose and t-stat housing.
7. once everything is removed off the intake the intake can be removed. Remove all the intake bolts. The gaskets and old RTV sealant will keep the intake attached still and the easist way to break it free is to take a thick wooden rod or the handle of a broom, etc and place it into the distributor hole and carefulley rocking back and forth the break the intake free. Once it breaks free of the gaskets and sealant you can left the intake off.
8. IMMEDIATLY place rags into the lefter valley to keep debris from falling inside.
9. the head surface where the intake gaskets were are going to need cleaning along with the front and rear block rails and also the top of the heads where the valve covers came off as these areas will now have remains of the old gaskets and sealants. I use a razor blade to make sure all remains of the old gaskets and sealants are gone on all surfaces than clean the surfaces thoroughly but carefully with lacquer thinner.
10. once all surfaces are scrapped cleand and wiped clean CAREFULLY lift out the rags from the lifter valley - there will be plenty of small pieces of debris from the scrapping and cleaning and you want to make sure ALL of them come up in the rags without faling into the valley. Some will still sneak down and fall in though so using your fingers and maybe even tweezers, etc make sure every little particle of crap that fell into the valley gets removed.
If you aren't installing the new manifold immediately at this point put a new clean rag or towel into the lifter vally to keep anything else from falling inside it - just don't forget to remove the towel before you install the new intake!
11. using new intake manifold gaskets and Permatex RTV (I like the Utra Copper) you can install the new intake. Most intake gasket sets also come with rubber front and end gaskets for the front and rear block rails but I don't like them so don't use them.
I first use Permatex High Tack Gasket Sealant to "glue" the intake gaskets onto the top mounting surface of the heads than use the Permatex Ultra Cooper RTV and put a nice continious bead of sealant all along the front and rear rails of the block and be sure to get into the corners very well where the rails meat the heads as these corners are prone to leaks. I also run a bead of rtv around the water jacket ports as an extra precaution.
You can see here some pics as I was about to reinstall the intake on my '78 L82 and see the new gaskets and the beads of RTV just before dropping the intake down. looking at the 2nd thru 6th pics on this page will show you what I mean and if you look closely you can even see larger amounts of RTV in the corners and also how I put a bead around the water jacket ports.
http://69.253.166.197/corvettes/page...2/page152.html
Now drop the new intake into postition. you want to drop it straight down so it pretty much goes immediately into correct position without needing to shift it after dropping it or you will lose your bead of RTV on the end rails and end up with leaks. One suggestion to help with this is to use the same wooden rod or broom handle you used earlier to help break the intake free. Take the rod and put it thru the distributor hole of the intake and than holding the intake above the motor line up and lower the wooden rod so it goes into the distributor hole in the block. that will line up the intake to the black and you can just let the intake slide down the rod until it sits on the motor. This way it slides down nice ands straight and in good position without having to shift it afterwards to line things up.
Now bolt the intake down - proper bolt tightening sequence is in your shop manual. I always put a dab of the permatex RTV on the threads of each intake bolt before purring the bolt in - this keeps oil from wicking up the threads and pooling on top of the intake.
torgue down to proper tightness in the correct order - torgue and sequence are in your shop manual or will come in the instrictions with the intake.
12. you can now reintall the the carb and reconnect everything.
it's always a good idea to use new carb studs with the new intake and be sure to use a new carb gasket.
do not forget to use a new gasket for the distributor - it usually comes included with the intake manifold gasket kit.
install the new gaskets on your valve covers also before reinstalling. I like the basic cork ones and again use the High Tack gasket sealant to "glue" the cork gasket to the covers before placing them on the motor.
don't forget the new gasket for the t-stat housing reinstall and besure the housing is scrapped very clean from remains of the old gasket. I use both the t-stat gasket and a bead of the RTV to ensure no coolant leaks.
this is also a good time to replace your PCV valve with a new one.
Check each and every vacuum hose carefully during reinstall for any cracks or drying out and if in doubt replace it.
It's early inthe morning and I just woke up - this should be pretty complete but if I missed anything I'm sure others will chime in to add anything I may have missed or forgotten.
Have fun.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 3,342
Likes: 7
From: Connecticut
Originally Posted by jotto
Well have been told by friend in Customs that my Edelbrock Performer manifold is en route! I want to fit it with my newly rebuilt Q jet.
At the moment I have the stock intake with a Holley carb.
How much work is involved in the swap and what additional parts will I need to complete it?
I have my Q jet with a new base gasket, the intake has some gaskets with it I think.
Can I reuse my existing manifold bolts and carb studs? Do I need any kind of sealant? I see alot of posts talking about RTV sealant.
What about the linkages etc, will they need to be modified in any way?
How long should it take to complete? Any other bits need to be removed for the swap? I know I have to drain coolant.
Lots of questions but getting excited about the swap now!!
At the moment I have the stock intake with a Holley carb.
How much work is involved in the swap and what additional parts will I need to complete it?
I have my Q jet with a new base gasket, the intake has some gaskets with it I think.
Can I reuse my existing manifold bolts and carb studs? Do I need any kind of sealant? I see alot of posts talking about RTV sealant.
What about the linkages etc, will they need to be modified in any way?
How long should it take to complete? Any other bits need to be removed for the swap? I know I have to drain coolant.
Lots of questions but getting excited about the swap now!!
The performer requires low crush gaskets which i believe you said were supplied with the intake
You can re-use the manifold bolts but you need to get a 3/8" bottom tap to chase (clean) the bolt holes in the heads as they get filled with crap and will make it difficult to torque the intake properly...should be 25-30 foot pounds. WHEN CLEANING THE THREADS PAY ATTENTION TO THE LOCATION OF THE PUSHRODS ...theres 2 that the bottom tap can come in contact depending on the lenght of the tap
As far as the Carb bolts/studs I dont know what you have
The QJ has 2 short bolts in the rear and 2 very long bolts in the front
You need to drain the block of coolant or you will get coolant in the lifter valley which will wind up in the oil pan
As far as sealant goes go to Edelbrocks web site...they recommend no gasket....just a 1/4 bead of silicone on the front and rear of the block...of course the head surfacaes do take a gasket as I mentioned before
You should also wait a while before you install the intake after you have applied the sealant...I made the mistake of applying the silicone, mounting the manifold and carb then firing it up right away....I had a few leaks and had to do it over again
The only other thing I can think of is the Heat crossover
But I dont remember if you are using a spring choke or an electric choke
Certainly go to Edelbrocks web site and download the installation instructions
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 3,342
Likes: 7
From: Connecticut
Originally Posted by BarryK
it's not a hard project.
You must be a much faster typist than I am
Your post is much more detailed than mine but Ill leave it unless you think it's incorrect...if so, just let me know then I will delete it...I dont want to confuse Jotto.
Originally Posted by guppie
Edlebrock suggests using high temp RTV in the front and back instead of the gaskets approx 1/4" bead
You are correct
Last edited by Bob Onit; Oct 21, 2006 at 06:51 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 7,106
Likes: 38
From: Newark DE
sly
well, the first time i ever removed and reinstalled the intake from one of my cars I had no clue what I was doing at all. Of course the first one I did was my '65 and it was easier without having all the extra vacuum lines and emissions crap in the way so was a good car to learn on.
Since I am WELL aware of doing a new type of project or procedure on cars can be somewhat confusing or intimidating than I figured the more detailed the instructions you have to follow the easier it makes it for the first time doing it.
well, the first time i ever removed and reinstalled the intake from one of my cars I had no clue what I was doing at all. Of course the first one I did was my '65 and it was easier without having all the extra vacuum lines and emissions crap in the way so was a good car to learn on.
Since I am WELL aware of doing a new type of project or procedure on cars can be somewhat confusing or intimidating than I figured the more detailed the instructions you have to follow the easier it makes it for the first time doing it.
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Race Director
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 10,628
Likes: 132
From: Duvall, WA
I did this for the first time in 1982, when I was 16, on my 1977 Trans Am, which had a Pontiac 400. It took me a better part of a day, mostly because I wrote down EVERY step since I didn't have a manual to go by. Last time I did it on the Corvette, it took about three hours. Just be VERY paranoid about dropping anything into the intake. If that happens, you'll be asking how much work it is to remove a head.