LoL...Yeah probably, maybe, who knows? I haven't seen you in a while with all this virus thing and NO car shows going on in the valley, so I had to bust your ***** a little.

 

UPDATE: I picked up the Renegade tooling today from the pattern maker. It all looks nice and just like brand new again and ready for pouring. On to the next step...

 

I have been following this thread for sometime and am interested in the manifold, my 82, stock as far as i know, seems to gasp for strength 75-80. Would this manifold have a positive impact on a stock setup. I am not looking to blow the doors of anybody, i just want to have a little fun on country road cruising.

I gather that the forum does not permit you to advertise your website. Pease pm your website, at your leisure, i have not been able to locate it.

 

PM sent.

 

UPDATE: I will be going to the foundry in the morning with the tooling to see if I can get them to do some pours at a reasonable price. Figures are crossed.

 

UPDATE: I talked with the foundry today and they looked over the tooling. At least they were receptive to doing the test pour, but at what price? I dropped the tooling off with them and agreed to do three test pours with a follow on of 10 units if everything like the machining to include the price was good. So, I will have three units for sale if the pours go OK, but that would still be at least three to four weeks out. The foundry is supposed to call me tomorrow with a quote and hoping that they don't get stupid on the pricing. More as this evolves, but at least it so far it looks promising and going in the right direction.

Called my machinist today as well and had a chat about a game plan for the machining and some changes I wanted to make to the manifold. He said when the pours are ready we can discuss what changes he thinks need to be made as well to produce a quality unit. He did laugh a little and said... "this isn't Eddy Motorsports and I don't let junk go out the door"! So, everyone that is interested, hang on a bit more and we'll see how this pans out. I'm going as fast as possible and want everything right the first time on this project.

 

UPDATE: Got a quote from the foundry yesterday and drove over to the foundry this morning to have a meeting with the plant manager. The quote was way too high and I do mean high. I did try and negotiate a better price, but they didn't want to budge on cost per unit except if it took less time and the cost then would come down. However, it would have to decrease in time a fair amount to really dent the finished price. I still have to have them machined. So, unless everyone is OK with a price tag over $900 shipped, the cost is much too high and it really sucks since I wanted to keep the entire production in AZ. I know the cost will go up a tad, but not that high.

So, moving forward, I do have a few people to talk with that can put me in touch with other foundries that can do a pour and I'm waiting on a call back from one right now. I also talked with the owner here in Phx at TA Performance yesterday since they have casting poured at the same foundry here. The conversion was interesting to say the least and he dd provide me with some good info on foundries and a few other things. This project almost feels like it did back 10 years ago which was a huge PITA to get things rolling. So, give me some more time and I'll see what I can work out. Push come shove, I take my brand new tooling and throw it in storage never to see the light of day again unless someone wants to purchase it. More to come...

 

UPDATE: I talked with another foundry owner this morning and he seemed hopeful, but we shall see. I sent him tons of pics of all the tooling to get an idea what to expect and go from there. Unfortunately for me, this foundry is out of state which means a road trip, but it isn't too terribly bad. Also, thanks for all the honest comments. My goal is not to gouge anyone with this new project, but it is what it is on cost. Anyone that knows about manufacturing can relate to this and it just happens to be a somewhat complicated pour. If I can not do this within reason, I will shelve the tooling.

 

Tom; I know how hard you're working on this. I for one, am in this to win this. there is no 'time'. The 82 CE is not leaving my hands, so IF and When...I'll be in line.

Based on the old Version can you estimate the increase in TORQUE. The CE WAS 200hp and 285 lbs ft of torque. So I'll be approaching or exceeding 230hp and XXX torque.

" you DRIVE torque, you SPEED hp".

Thanks for this AGAIN!

Unkahal

 

Hal, on a stock motor you should see at least another 20-25lbft and 30+hp at the rear wheels.

 

UPDATE: I have contacted three more foundry's including Edelbrock. I just got off the phone with the Edelbrock plant manager and had a long conversion with him about the manifold. I just sent him all the pictures of the manifold to look over and give a quote. He was very interested in what I have and was looking forward to seeing it. This is not the same guy I talked with years ago at Edelbeock, so I will see what happens. The other two foundry's called me back and waiting to hear about the quotes from them. I guess this is all a positive thing, but we shall see. The Edelbrock guy did mention that some more foundry's are closing due to the virus pandemic and their phone has been ringing off the hook. Not sure if that will be a good thing or not? If nothing else, if Edelbrock does do the pour and the machining, I feel real confident that it will be correct the first time. As always, more as it unfolds guys, stay tuned.

 

Their foundry is right down the st, know someone over there if you arent gaining ground

 

This is GOOD to know, thank you. I talked with the Edelbrock VP of sales yesterday and he is passing everything onto engineering, so we shall see what happens.

 

UPDATE: I'm going to go on a road trip to a foundry in a couple weeks so they can see about doing the pour...that is all.

 

OK, the saga continues... I've been gone a week, I went to Colorado with the tooling and saw two foundry's. The first one couldn't do it since he did not have a big enough cast and would have to purchase another one for around $7,800-8K which the cost gets passed to me. Yeah, a NO! The second one said he needed to purchase a larger cast as well which I pay for and becomes mine. Yeah, a NO!

The big difference between them is the second foundry was getting closer to the price point I wanted to be at and that's it. The second one also gave me the name of another guy in Denver, but I was running out of time and had to leave and I just returned home last night. So, what do we have left that I'm willing to do on this? I'm still waiting to hear back from Edelbrook which I prefer and I need to call the Denver foundry and have a talk with them and see what they can do.

 

UPDATE: Just to let people know, I talked with Edelbrock last Friday and they should be getting back to me this week with some info. Also, waiting to hear back from another foundry this week. So it could be a good week, we shall see.

 

I sure hope they bite.......they cast some odd stuff, and all of the engineering is done.....seems it would be a money maker for them. I estimate around 100,000 CFI cars built total between 82-84.......may be half of those are left......so I think there are still a few manifolds to sell.....

Jebby

 

Actually Jebby, when we did the market analysis over a decade ago there was 200,000+ CFI cars made from 82-84 which also includes the F-body thirdgen cars Camaro, Firebird and Trans Am with CFI. These cars are coming back as a resto on a lot of these years, so the demand is there for sure, just need a foundry to pour them at a reasonable price per unit. I would love to have Edelbrock pour the casting since they do SBC manifolds everyday and know what they are doing. I would also love to have them machine the units, again, they know what they are doing.

 

Well if your solicting performance manifold manufactures why not give Offenhouser a try or ask for foundry referrals? Offenhouser still lingers on after their heaydays in the 60's. Or maybe even approach Holley.

I'm sure you have considered these companies and don't want to irritate you Buc. Just hope you can keep that manifold alive.

 

Oh I hear ya and I have been beatin' the bushes a bit. It's almost like when I wanted to cut my own aluminum wheels specifically for the C3 and called most everyone including Foose. The price was through the roof for one offs and even when more would be ordered. I STILL would love to do it and would be awesome for C3 owners who want to move to a high speed tire in larger sizes, but retain the slotted mag stock look. The manifold seems like the same thing, even with more foundries closing, they all want top dollar per unit, very frustrating to say the least.