Engine and Transmission Tech

I have a cad file around here somewhere for the spacers and they come out pretty nice. You also need a lifter valley cover. I've made those from 1/4" thick aluminum before, then I think with the gaskets top, bottom and sandwiched between the cover and the spacer they would have to be about 1/2" thick but then you'd want to calculate that exactly yourself.

But then I suspect the height might become an issue. Anthony is right, the real solution would be a separate pattern.

Jim

Just to be clear. .Anthony didnt suggest another pattern ....that was my assumption as to what worked best.

He did tell me he could make anything Bill had a pattern for.. leyland P-76 and Rover were it for the little aluminum V-8s.. they also made some MOPAR stuff including some blower manifolds.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2019 05:31PM by hoffbug.

Today's exchange rate would be a little under $500 and not include shipping costs. I wonder if Anthony could find a bulk buyer/distributor in the US. T/A comes to mind. If the price was around $400 in the US they would sell like hotcakes. Would be very popular for the Fitech /Holley Sniper TBI.

Yes, the 300 has a following. It is physically smaller and lighter than the 340 and 350, can be stroked to the same displacement and still maintain a good rod ratio, tolerates high hp levels, and can use the TA Rover heads. But there is no good intake available other than the factory ones. These engines were durable and there are many of them still out there. They have especially found favor in applications with small engine bays, and as a small V8 with good power, torque and reliability. It was an economy option with mid 60's Buicks, many of which are still around and being restored by the retro generation, who think of 5 liters as being a big engine.

Jim

A year or so ago, I imported an Ford 351C intake from the manufacturer in Australia. The seller required a bank transfer and I got hit with fees on both ends. Add in the shipping cost and I think it added something like $200 to the cost. It might be worthwhile to organize a group buy with shipping to the United States. I'd be in for one with EFI bungs (and EFI rails if he still offers those).

> Would be very popular for the Fitech /Holley Sniper TBI.

You can also get it with injector bungs to run port injection rather than throttle body.

Dan Jones

It's like anything else I guess ... Money Talks.
If some wealthy Buick Rover enthusiast wanted to cover the costs associated with creating a new pattern or a facilitate a bulk purchase I bet something could be worked out.

I have gone through this with some vintage snowmobile stuff that I am into. The particular model I collect had one last manufacturer making belts for it. When no one had ordered any belts for a while they cleaned house and destroyed a number of molds ...one of which was the last existing mold for this belt.
Once it was found out no one could get new ones , everybody wanted one. Right up until the point that Gates gave a quote of $10,000 to create a new mold. To date no one has stepped up with the money. But rather have found workarounds.

I also spent time research and money to send two different water pumps no longer being manufactured for these snowmobiles out to figure out how to get them rebuilt. Had a guy rebuild both types and figure out a way to do that and give a solid price . To date no one has taken them up on it.

We will see how some of this plays out with ta performance now producing aluminum cylinder heads for the Buick 350 and intakes for the Buick 350. It's easy to say online everybody wants one but it becomes a different story when people have to Pony up and actually buy it. Hats off to Mike for following through.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2019 04:42PM by hoffbug.

The aluminum 350 heads are a reality and will be here in due time. Seems to me the intakes are available but I could be wrong about that. None of that stuff works for us though because the 350 is too big to be a comfortable fit in the MG (the 455 goes in just as easily).

But the 300 is a different matter entirely. It is a drop-in swap for the later cars and almost as easy for the early ones. Plus they made half a million of them.

Anyway, making a new mold for an intake doesn't cost ten grand. The thing is made of wood fer crissake. Offenhauser used to crank 'em out by the dozen. It's how Edelbrock got their start. Anybody with decent woodworking skills could make one.

Jim

To be honest I know very little about casting other than some sand mold stuff I did in high school. I think it would be a lot of fun if someone had the time space and wherewithal.

Here is another idea instead of spacers. This is a Mopar SB intake but you get the idea. Cut the top off a 300 intake and tig the Wildcat intake to that for a prototype for casting for a 300. Dan says the ports match pretty good to the T/A heads.

Thanks to this discussion I spent two hours watching casting and Foundry videos yesterday.lol

I had always wondered how the the cores were made .All we did in High school "Hot metals" class was a flat pattern plate. Lots of interesting processes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/2019 11:41AM by hoffbug.

Tony, "visualize" a bottomless intake RV8 manifold = No cores/core box. Loose box casting, pattern is simple to make,(home grown). runners are cast without a bottom ! Heat treat and rough machine head mating surfaces= + .010" ? Port match and weld alum. sheet on bottom. Finish machine head mating surfaces, (warped at welding ?). Good Luck. Art.

Intake arrived today.
While it is a little more complicated than just buying something from Summit. They are still being made and they can be bought.

Tony, Cool!

I recently bought three leyland V8's and was wondering what sort of manifold was on one them ,now I know! This particular engine is in a car,a VW.
These look like the Edelbrock Tarantula from 40 plus years ago.
Regarding the twin 4 Bbl manifold,I have owned a couple of engines in the past with that type of set up. not much good for performance,One was 327 Chev with a pair of WCFB's. They only worked on the street if there was a progressive linkage ,the other was a very rare magnesium twin WCFB set I had on a 354 Chrysler hemi, again,great for looks but not much of an improvement over a single 4Bbl.

Welding a small block Mopar single plane to a SBB base is an interesting possibility. It'd be some fun doing the center walls but as long as the fit was tight and the flange was thick enough to hold up to milling, assembly and use I can't see why it wouldn't work. Chances are you could get bigger runners that way. Might be really good for a stroker 300. Jim, are those bosses big enough for port injectors?

Jim

I received my manifold from Anthony. He was great to deal with.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/01/2019 11:15AM by Bland.

Nice!

Jim B, The 215,300,340 and Rover V8 intake port configuration is unique. The 350 Buick is the same as the SB Mopar and Chevy. The picture above is for a 350 Buick. My idea was to gut a 300 2 barrel aluminum manifold and use that bottom on the Wildcat single plane.The Caddy guys use new flanges but use the Mopar top too. Pic of 331/.390 Cadillac using cheap offshore air gap dual plane top with new flanges:




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/2019 04:46PM by mgb260.

Oh, right you are. Wasn't really thinking about it, there's no 300 intake that looks anything like that base. Certainly no Rover or 215.

Wonder why they did the ports different from everybody else? Must have been Nailhead heritage carried over. Just a guess, they might have given the more common port layout a test drive with the Big Block (first one was the 400 wasn't it?) and when they decided they liked it, switched the Small Block over with the 350. That would sort of explain the chronology. Apparently that layout allows a little better port flow, at least that was always the explanation for the 350 but really, was it that or the bean counters?

So the Nailhead intake looks like a possible candidate if you found the right one. Unfortunately, single plane manifolds were developed in the early 70's, late 60's at the earliest (Edelbrock made a big splash but that doesn't necessarily mean they were the first) and by then the Nailhead was obsolete. So finding a good single plane might not even be possible.

Jim

This is what I did last December for Wildcat heads. I fabricated a pair of intake runners from 3 mm and 10 mm sheet of aluminium. The injector bungs need to be fitted and final machining needs to be done as well. The upper plenum is a bit open question. The heads are now at machine shop for deck machining. Once I get them I can fit themon a block and start thinking about the plenum.









Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/30/2019 01:52PM by minorv8.