Derek

Well truth be told I couldn't wait either! Making chips The new clamping arrangement worked out perfectly. Now I really have to go back to work. I have the head setup in a prominent place so I'll keep motivated. So far it's looking exactly like I wanted. I'm really happy. Thanks Derek

Thanks guys You don't know how bad I want to see it happen as well! I'm going to try to knock out the machine work on Friday. I'll be able to bolt it up to my mockup head but that's the best I can do. Like Phar said. I'm in no hurry to take down my daily driver. I'm having too much fun, and tooling around in the F250 diesel just isn't the same. I still have a ton to do. Pattern and core box for vacuum log Machine rear manifold clean up the bores make jig for machining butterflies machine butterflies finish linkage make air cleaners make injector hold downs fabricate fuel lines machine fuel distribution block make surge tank YIKES!! I probably shouldn't have done that. That's a mighty big list. The flanges are identical to the stock manifolds so they will use the stock gasket. Derek

Hey Jeff how you been? I know, can you believe how long this is taking? When I showed you the first pattern at the Daytona convention I had no idea it would be this involved. Derek

Well the pour went really well except for the bosses on the top for the throttle shaft bushings short ran. No big deal as I'll tig weld them up and they'll be just fine. The inside came out much better than the first one. The stainless tubes match the aluminum really well. I won't be doing any machining for a few day's as I have a pattern that I need to get done. Derek

Thanks! Actually if you go back to the original design thread http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=121021 You'll see that I really don't know too much about manifold design. I did some searching and got some input from other hybrid members. At this point if it runs better than my 25 year old SUs then I'll be happy! Hi Phar The PVC sheet that I use as the base is great except it's a lot like wood in that in order to get a good finish it needs to be painted and sanded. If I use the gel coat I can eliminate that step. I ended up painting and sanding the manifold anyway. I wasn't very happy with the finish. I'm not sure where garage queen came from as this is my daily driver! And I hope to keep it that way. I rescheduled the pour for next week as I have some machine maintenance to do. Thanks for the support. Derek

ok that's the good news. Unfortunately I won't be able to do any machining this week as I'm heading over to the foundry to cast my rear manifold tomorrow. The castings look great. I'll be doing the machining the first part of next week. Derek

Well if the foundry gets a decent core today I'll be heading over there tomorrow to pour the rear manifold. Here's a shot of where I'm at now. I still need a little touch up an I need to get it mounted to the board. WAHOO!!! Derek

The hubs are going to made from Almag 535 which is an aluminum magnesium alloy. It has a very high tensile strength. It machines really well. It's used a lot in the aircraft and medical industry. I do a lot of patterns for a helicopter company and they have everything done in Almag. The nice thing about it is it's right at a T6 hardness with out heat treating. Using castings is going to save a ton of machine time. I'll still machine all surfaces but it will all be finish passes. I had about a whole day of hogging on the first one I made. Derek

No problem. I'm waiting for the hub blanks to get back from the foundry. I'll do the machine work on them right away and then we'll have the prices. Shouldn't be too long now. Derek

It's a good thing I don't do this for a living!....Oh wait...I do do this for a living. I went back and checked. April 2009 will be 2 years since I started the design. I better get this thing done! As I was finishing up the Hemi manifold I was struck how much more involved an ITB setup is. I feel I'm on a roll now though. I'm heading into my slower season (although I'm still slammed) I think I have the majority of the issues solved. I'm sure when I see that second manifold machined and mounted on the mockup head it will be full speed ahead. Thanks again for all the support and encouragement. Derek

I'm using a new procedure on a lot of my patterns and core boxes. I carve the piece out of sheet PVC. I make it about .015" undersized and then spray a few coats of tooling gel coat on it. I then put it back in the machine and do a final finish carving of the gel coat. Here is the carved core blank with the gel coat sprayed on Here are the blanks for the rear manifold. We're talking boss heaven! I'll be able to bolt everything on here but the kitchen sink! The square towers with the small squares on them are something I've added. These locate the manifold on the angle table for machining. this should make the setup a lot easier if I go into production. I'll then remove them with the gating. Derek

I just got started on the rear manifold on Friday. I'm roughing out the core box and then I'm on to the manifold pattern. I'm hoping to head over to the foundry right after Thanksgiving to do the castings. There is no fuel rail. I'll be using individual lines to each injector. I'm trying to get a mechanical injection look with the individual lines. Derek

Ok Big favor department. I'm going to be redoing my center dash section. Here's what I have now. I'll be making an entirely new plate. I'm going to move the Vintage Air controls up to where the vent is and put vents in the section where the controls are currently located. This gives me a working area of 6" x 2 1/2". I'm looking for a single unit with 2 separate vent assemblies. I'd like to have the option to close them off individually if I can. If you have a car (any make) that has vents that fits that description can you post the make model and year. I know it's a lot to ask but I've already bought a couple of vents on ebay and it's just not working out. Thanks Derek

Thanks Clint. I used shielded wire for all my runs and I'm being careful to use single point grounding. I've got about 200 miles on it with no apparent problems. On Monday I'm driving the car for a 3 hour run down south and I'll have my laptop hooked up so I can datalog and check for rests. Derek

Alright I got 6 mounts completed The price is $48.00 plus shipping and includes the longer bolt for the timing cover and the bolt for the boss on the cover. It also includes the sensor mount bolts. The finish is not show quality. there are some tooling marks. I did tumble them so there are no sharp edges. Hopefully I'll have some hubs toward the end of next week. Derek

Hi Phar The map is inside the Megasquirt unit. I'm pulling vacuum from the balance tube on the SU Manifold. No O2 sensor yet as I'm still running carbs. Right now Megasquiirt is just running the spark. All the bolts on the front do is lock the 36-1 from turning and from going forward. The ring sits on a shoulder machined into the hub. I use blue lock tight on every thing as well as fine pitch screws which helps in vibration issues.

I'll have 36-1 wheels laser cut and I'll bore the center to match the hub. Derek

Hi Ed I've used laser a laser level on a tripod when I built my CNC router and it really worked like a champ. Derek

Alright here's the deal. I'm going to do a run of 4 wheel adapters and 4 sensor mounts. I'll keep track of my time and materials. I'll then base the price on my shop rate. If they're too expensive then I'll keep 1 set and throw the rest up on ebay and let the market set the price and that will be the end of it. If the price is right and people want them then I'll continue to produce them. Thanks Derek

Dude I just had an epileptic seizure looking at that thing! I think you need a warning. Derek

On my 73 I had to dremel the hole open a bit for the Honda switch to fit. Derek

Being able to switch dampers without machining was definitely on my mind. It's a Maxima alternator but it's mounted in the stock position. There's enough clearance where I can still remove the belt without any problems. I bought the edis stuff on ebay and it included the coil. originally I was going to switch out to the Dodge but started reading how important it was to run good wires with Megasquirt. Magnecore kept poping up so I called them and they had the Ford ends. The wires cost me $97.00 including shipping and were custom legnth. I really don't see any problem makind a bracket for the Dodge though. I'll just need someone to send me a coil. Derek

Well if it's any consolation pictures of your hub adapter is what got me going in that direction so I thank you for that! Derek

Well the beauty (warning sales pitch ahead) of my adapter is that it's really true. The crank bolt is what it is indexed off of and I machine the step for the wheel and the bore for the bolt in one op. I'm having the wheels laser cut but then I'm finish boring the centers concentric to outside diameter. You see we take the guess work out out your edis installation allowing you time to pursue a life of meaningful fulfillment.... or sit around and drink beer. Derek