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I have been out porting and polishing my SR and manifold. I can't believe how much stuff you can take out of these things! I am not going hog wildm but now the runners are done and they are a VERY high polish with a super smooth finish. Then I went and did one of the runners on the manifold. Its a much, much tougher job. Its a circle that trasitions into a rectangle. I used a die grinder for most of the roughing work, then I took 150 sandpaper, and then 400 grit for the final finish. Its not an easy job at all, but its got to make a difference when you compare to undone to done runners.
Well I just wanted to touch base with you all and let you know I am not trapped under the heap of aluminum I am generating :cheers:
Re: Porting SR and Manifold update.... (ski_dwn_it)
Most of the work that can be done on the base is at the roof and floor of the runners. Be careful at the spots where they machined the area for the runner bolts on the outside of the base . The walls get very thin. I've got epoxy in mine in 3 or 4 places.
I used 80 grit cartridge rolls liberally lubricated with transmission fluid to smooth out the carbide cutter "chops". Barrels and cones. Trans fluid / oil on the cutter also helps to keep them clean of aluminum
Re: Porting SR and Manifold update.... (ski_dwn_it)
Been there done that :o( A lot of work indeed.
Here's another suggestion: when you are done, get a bunch of scotch brite pads and cut them into 2-2 1/2in squares, then drill a hole in the center of them. Put about 6-8 together on a threaded rod and run them thru the runners with a drill. It's hard to get them going at first, but they really polish up the runners and base. have fun
Good idea Ralph with the scotchbrite pads on a threaded rod. My biggest problem is having enough batteries for my cordless Dewalt drill. Luckly I have 3 batteries that I can keep switching out. Unlfortuately when I get to the polishing portion. They go pretty quick. Gonna have to get me a electric drill.
Ralph...what kind of gains did you realize? Did you get my email last night?
Re: Porting SR and Manifold update.... (ski_dwn_it)
got the email.
Gains? hard to say. I've gone over it twice and then tried siamesing it. The first time i ported it, i'm pretty sure i got something out of it. My mph went up 1-2 mph. The second time i did it, i did more work on the base and i dont think i got anything. Siamesing was a BIG mistake. Man, i thought for sure i'd see some top end gains. I could feel the lose in lowend torque almost immediately, but was hoping for a payoff at the high end. I lost 3 tenths, down at every increment and lost about 2 mph. had it welded back together and everything was back to normal. I guess they call it a tuned port for a reason. Either that or my tuning needed to be reworked big time. In your case, i think you'll get ore benefit out of porting than i did. your engines air requirements are much greater than mine. good luck and for God's sake get a power drill
Re: Porting SR and Manifold update.... (CORKVETTE1)
No have digi cam! :sad:
Will take some dino pics and have them scanned in eventually.
I got the manifold done last night. Turned out quite well. No expoxy needed. Man is there a lot of material that was removed. I bought an extension that will hold the carbide tips and boy that was the ticket. Allowed me to get all the way through the manold runners with to trouble at all.
My dad stopped by to see how things were going. Mind you he has a tool & die shop that puts out some Super Precision powder metal tools. I figured he would rip in me for the job I was doing, but he was actually quite impressed at how smooth i was able to get them. He was also checking them out, because he has an extrude hone at his place! He said it would cost quite a bit however to make up the adapters to mate the manifold.
If anyone had pics of the way they mate the machine to the runners, perhaps there is an easier way.
Since I was nearly done with the P&P I opted just to finish, rather than have him try to fab something up.
I am pleased with the results. Especially for a novice. :lol:
I will try to get some pics up, but most importantly some super time slips.
Corky yours is next. get that thing pulled off. I charge only one engine build! :jester
Re: Porting SR and Manifold update.... (ski_dwn_it)
Ski, I finished up porting my manifold and SR last night, very time consuming, as you've experienced yourself. I used a die grinder and burr on it to remove the big stuff and get the shape, then used a 80 grit flapper to finish it. If the results are as good as it looks, it'll be worth time spent on it. Tell me what you think. I had a 1 1/2 inch buffing wheel and some buffing compound that I used on one of the runner tubes, it looks like glass. Actually it looks like it's been extrude honed. According to a Dec. '98 Hot Rod mag. extrude honing a accel base was worth 25 cfm. I've seen what Ralph had suggested with the scotch pads. As long as it's just air that is flowing through the S/R and manifold, does a mirror finish help? What do you think?
Seeing it's a packaging excersize....be sure you match the heads to the intake for the most gain(then again you KNEW THAT ;) ) Porting and polishing the Super Ram makes a nice difference. I didn't even own one back when I did the 383 and I had orders to port it :D.
Too bad no pics. If you we're closer I'd have snapped a few for you. I can't wait to see this bad A S S monsta next year :D :yesnod: :smash:
Re: Porting SR and Manifold update.... (JD 90 383)
Uhmm to answer the question about the mirror like finish making a difference. There seems to be two way to look at it. Some say when the charge is carrying fuel that super smooth is not good. It lets the fuel fall out of suspension. But since we all know that the runners and manifold carry just air, smooth should be benifical. I think most of the gains come from increased volume, but also I would imagine that the velocity is greatly increased with the smooth runners.
The stock casting are pretty bad. If I knew that I could do it last year with minimal effort, I would have definately done it then, but oh well.
I think we will both get results out of the P&P. Especially on my 406, its gonna need some serious air. This should help deliver. :thumbs: