GOTHAM VETTE

Man there are some seriously talented people on this forum.

wanabgts

Small update: Got some work done on my intake manifold yesterday. Mostly just on the plenum. I didn't have a good way of using the press to make a half circle shaped peice of aluminum. So I decided to use the band saw and cut slices to make the shape I was looking for. The nice thing about aluminum welding is the peices don't have to be perfect for it to look good, since you have manipulate the metal so much while welding.

should have some welded pics up tonight.....



thanks,
Zack

wanabgts

Here is a pic from the inside, should be nice and smooth after welding.




Zack

wanabgts

Worked continued on the intake manifold last night, I welded a peice of flat aluminum on the side to keep it from rolling will I cut a 3" section off the side. This will be the runner flange, and the air horns will mount on the inside of the flange in the plenum.





Zack

helphos

I'm old enough to rememeber when 4 cylinder Offenhouser engines were winning Indianapolis, so this thread is exciting to me.
But I must say that these pics of your manifold have me scratching my head!! It looks like a Toy Submarine!!
I can't wait to see what it all looks like when it's in the engine bay and the key is in the START position!!
This could be a world class racing machine!

wanabgts

I got some more work done on the intake manifold. Its coming along nicely. I will be running a velocity stack inside the plenum to increase runner length since space was still a bit of an issue. I will post more pics as the work continues.







thanks,
Zack

WesTenRacing

Nice build. How did you come up with the runner length and plenum volume(size)?

Black89Z51

It looks like the plenum is close to the master cylinder, so I would assume that is where the length came into play. Not to mention it's going to be turbo'd. I would assume the plenum volume would have been calculated by 4 cyls. at X amount of RPM will need this much air, and then a boost calculation. Or I could be totally wrong and he just picked up a 4" piece of aluminum and said "Yup, this'll work".



on the build man, very nice work.

wanabgts

Yes some of my runner length was determined by space constrictions, I would have rather had a six inch runner and not install velocity stacks inside the manifold as they cause some wierd terbulence at times. The plenum volume is roughly 1.5 times the engine displacement per cycle, I have found this is a good ratio as it increases throttle response due to having enough stored air.

One thing often overlooked when designing a manifold based off numbers is what actually happens when you close the throttle body. I have tuned more than one car where the plenum was massive compared to engine size, or the throttle body was placed on the blower before the intercooler and everything. What happens is because you have so much stored volume with alot of velocity the car almost feels like it continues to accelerate for a split second. This can be a real pain for downshifts and not very confidence inspiring.

Therefore I have found sticking to a maximum 1.5 times engine displacement works fairly well.

The plenum diameter is acually 5", and the runner diameter is 1.75x6. I have not determined the overall plenum legth as I have not mounted the throttle body yet.

Thanks,
Zack

wanabgts

small update pic on intake manifold progress, but the plenum back off and drilled runner holes. Next step is to weld velocity stacks!



thanks,
Zack

shakedown067

Any updates?

wanabgts

I wish there was more to put up lately, tax returns have brought in alot of work this year and are already bogging me down haha. Ill try to get back to work soon!

Zack

shakedown067

Nothing wrong with staying busy!

VetteDrmr

This is an amazing build to follow, I'm subscribed! True craftsmanship with an eye on a goal.

And thanks for describing some of the "why" behind your decisions, helps me learn more.

Good luck!
Mike

helphos

Whatsamatta? With your background, I'm sure you've heard of TURBO---TAX!!

SERIOUSLY, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this outstanding project!! Someday soon, people will be reading this thread and saying, "Look, this guy came up with the idea of running a lightweight high output powertrain in the Corvette long before GM thought about it.

This project has implications far outside the racetrack- When gas hits $5 a gallon, Those Corvette lovers who think it's apostasy to put anything smaller than a V8 into the engine compartment will be whistling another tune!!

Show us how it's done!!

wanabgts

Well I have had a small amount of time to work on the car, so I did some welding and started pulling the interior. I got to get my *** in gear and start pulling some 14 hour days to get this thing done lol.

Car is sitting around 2400lbs right now, Im hoping for under 2500 when completed. We will see if I can maintain my goal.

Couple of pics to keep the log going, should have more in the next couple weeks as im building my custom steering column and ordering up some more turbo parts.

Intercooler came in, just need a turbo and time to finish my exh man and the engine bay will be getting there.









Thanks,
Zack

helphos

Manifold is looking good!

But don't you think it would go faster (the project, not the car) if you used JB-Weld?? Inquiring minds want to know!!

wanabgts

Alright sorry for the long wait between updates, I have been getting some stuff done but its slow going during race season. I got the lower portion of my manifold ported, and finished the plenum finished as well. Had to have a custom 3"-5" reducer made for my throttle body, luckily my buddy at a laser cutting facility was able to help out with that portion.









I also finally finished my exhaust manifold collector. It turned out pretty well, I have been working on the runners lately at well i will get pics soon.





Finally are some pics of my new race steering column, we used the oem collapsing section from an 80's toyota steering column per the rules of xp I must maintain this. I cut the factory D section off the bottom of the rack so it would hook up to the factory intermediate shaft. And use a firewall bearing and mounting plate. Got a universal quick release and machined the shaft .007 so I could use a normal 3/4 heim for mounting the shaft.







Thanks Ill keep you updated!

Zack

shakedown067

Looking good. Man, I hope to be able to weld half that good one day.

map351

Don Nase turbo Ecotec. Don had the fastest 2.3 Lima turbo Ford back in the 90s Chevy made him a offer he couldn't refuse!