Derek

I too hate participating in dreams but I'm trying to get my post count up so I'll just jump in.! The head idea is in my opinion a much better idea. I would think that casting more of a blank as far as the combustion chamber is concerned and plan on having it machined on a 5 axis CNC mill would be a better way to go. Trying to get people to agree on a standard size and design might be problematic. I also agree that basing it on existing manifold designs would make things easier as well. If it had the stock port spacing but was a cross flow design then theoretically after market headers and intakes would bolt up to the head. Now the problem is the tilt of the engine reduces the room you have for intake system on the passengers side of the car. On the drivers side you have 15" from the head to the shock tower. on the passengers side you only have 10". For a NA motor this may be tight. This kind of stuff costs big money and for what you would have to plunk down to make this work you could install a RB motor and still have some left over. Just my opinion! Derek

Keep us posted on that if you can. I have the same idea but I'm probably a few months away from doing it. thanks derek

Just to give you guy's an idea of costs I would charge at least 15,000 for a set of patterns of this complexity. I get $1000.00 for a fairly simple double sided pattern that fits in a 13" x 18" box so if you do a little math the price could get astronomical for such a limited run. I just looked at the site again and saw that he had 1500 hours in the patterns and I'm not surprised. Making a pattern that looks like a block on the outside is relatively simple. Making one that actually works is a whole nuther ball game. I'm not trying to throw a bucket of cold water here but just trying to give you guy's something to think about. Look at how long it's taken me to get my manifold to the point of a single raw casting. Derek

Has anyone tried the halogen 1156 replacement bulbs as a backup light? Thanks Derek

Lot's of progress on the car but nothing on the manifold. Plus I just got slammed with a bunch of pattern work. I'm so close to getting my car back on the road after a 12 year or so hiatus that I'm going to be sticking on that. As soon as I get the car drivable I'm sure I'll be itching to get rid of the SU's so things will progress rather quickly from there. Thanks for the interest Derek

Found this on culture garage. http://tanetane92.web.infoseek.co.jp/gallery.html Very cool stuff Derek

I used SEM 39853 Texture paint on my dash and plan on using it on my console mods. Derek

I went this route http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23919 I followed Bruces instructions to the "T" and couldn't believe how nice it came out. I did my repair with the dash still in the car but with the windshield out. Not the best but it was workable. Here's a couple things I found during my repair. I drilled tiny holes at the ends of the cracks to check the crack from spreading. Make sure you remove enough of the black dash material next to the crack. Mine was warped upward. I didn't cut it far enough back and when I started to feather out the filler I broke through immediately. Make sure you have a thick enough layer of bumper repair over the crack. I sanded it too thin and when I pulled the car out in the sun it cracked again. I would try and leave at least 1/32" thickness over the crack and feather it out 2" or more on either side. I'm still amazed at how good the dash looks and how easy it was to do. I keep looking at the dash and just can't believe how good it looks. Derek

I did my repair as per this post http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23919 It went exactly as advertised but I made a couple of mistakes. Make sure you remove enough of the black dash material next to the crack. Mine was warped upward. I didn't cut it far enough back and when I started to feather out the filler I broke through immediately. Make sure you have a thick enough layer of bumper repair over the crack. I sanded it too thin and when I pulled the car out in the sun it cracked again. I would try and leave at least 1/32" thickness over the crack and feather it out 2" or more on either side. The SEM texture spray and trim black paint paint work great. One of my cracks came back and it's because i sanded too much of the bumper repair off. AGAIN!!! The other crack that I did with a thicker coat is holding up great. I live in Florida so come August I'll have a better idea of longevity. Derek

This just goes to show you your company is only as good as the person answering the phone. I bought a power window kit and central locking system from Spal. I was totally blown away by the quality. I had some questions about the hook up and the tech emailed me schematics and walked me through the whole process. I had to call him back for some more info and he was as nice as could be. I can never understand why employers put up with tech people with bad attitudes. I'm so sick of people who are being paid to help me treating me like it's a bother so now I'm starting to call them on it. Our country is now based on it's service industry and we're rapidly flushing that down the toilet. Derek

Started out in Optimist Prams when I was 9, went to Flying Juniors for a few years, moved into big boat offshore racing at 14. Graduated to fore deck - bow man and raced pretty much continuously until I was 25 or so. I raced on everything from a John Alden wooden ketch to a Farr 30. I took up windsurfing for a while and raced a bit but nothing serious. I was then talked out of retirement to do bow work on a Farr designed 42. This thing was very exotic and was the most serious boat I ever raced on. We did very well racing on Biscayne Bay and SORC off shore racing. I was on that boat until just before hurricane Andrew. My knees just couldn't take the punishment anymore. Fore deck is a young mans sport! Now I'm land locked in the middle of the state! Derek

So you see it's true! Sorry no more progress photos. I'm too close to getting the car on the read right now so the manifold is going to stall for a while. Derek

This is the one I got. http://ww1.autopartauctions.com/a.asp?A=818741&ap=6815&C=11&G=229 I've purchased a fair amount of stuff from this sit and haven't been disappointed. Derek

I used a pump out of a rx7. It was nice and quiet. derek

I was thinking about putting it in the Wheelabrator machine after I clean up the parting line so I'm thinking the smut treatment might be a waste. Any thoughts on this? Derek

Ok I added some more pics of the casting process to a gallery page. http://album.hybridz.org/showgallery.php?cat=850&ppuser=21354 I haven't had time to do any more work on the manifold yet so no new pics on that. Derek

Well hopefully you'll be getting a real close look because I'm counting on your help to get the meggasquirt dialed in! Derek