FE Power Cylinder Heads

[ant123]

Jay,

Really cool what you are doing. I was wondering if you considered plastic for the intake manifold. It appears the coolant is already isolated from the intake manifold. The intake is just channeling air. Plastic would be lighter and better insulate out the heat.

[WConley]

Jay,

Really cool what you are doing. I was wondering if you considered plastic for the intake manifold. It appears the coolant is already isolated from the intake manifold. The intake is just channeling air. Plastic would be lighter and better insulate out the heat.

I'm not Jay, but for a plastic intake you'll need to have six-figure $$ metal tooling and a very large injection molding machine.  At the expected low volumes, each manifold would be incredibly expensive!  Jay's 3D-printed sand patterns make it possible to affordably cast a short run of these parts.

JMO, of course!

- Bill

[Dumpling]

Low volume part.

3-D print with 'plastic'.

JMO of course

[jayb]

I tried at one point to take one of my 3D printed manifolds for my standard intake adapter and use it on the dyno.  I tested it with race gas and it didn't eat the plastic, so that wasn't going to be the issue.  The problem I encountered when I bolted it on the engine was that it came apart where it was bolted together (it was a multi-piece, sheet metal style intake manifold).  So, there was this huge vacuum leak and the engine wouldn't even run. 

I think it is definitely possible to make one of the 3D printed manifolds work on the dyno, I'd just need to print it in one piece.  However, having it live in the car is a whole different story.  I think underhood temperatures might melt the plastic, regular vibration exposure might tear it apart, etc.  I need to do more work on this and try one out on the dyno at some point.  When I do, I will post about it on this forum.

If the 3D printed plastic doesn't work, then as Bill says a plastic intake is really out of reach financially.  But I have read that the Ford GTs that ran at LeMans used 3D printed plastic intakes, probably with a different material than the plastic that my printer uses.  So there's hope...

[olman]

  In the meantime, when do you ever get any sleep!!!!!   They say a genius doesn't need sleep so this must be the case.

                                      Bud

[Gaugster]

Put me in the "sacred cow shock tower camp". Just read this thread in its entirety. Very impressed!  I note that the export brace would have to be removed for the EFI IR setup. What structural modifications would be needed in its place? Jay (or others) could I trouble you for a quick rundown of your Mustang chassis modifications? Perhaps it's posted elsewhere? My Cougar is a ~20 year old restoration with mostly a stock 390 setup. The X Code volume was a little over 2037 units that year so not ultra rare. Plus it's been gone through once already and I doubt much can be reused. I like the idea of buying American and getting the best FE technology out. Mercury Cougar fiberglass hood reproductions seem sketchy too and I don't think I'd go as radical as the taller intakes would lead to.

[Yellow Truck]

It is worth keeping an open mind about 3D printing. What is super expensive cutting edge stuff today reserved for the likes of Space X and super cars will be available in Staples in 5 years. Ok, maybe not Staples, probably Best Buy.

Certainly it will be available as a service and it will be able to make an intake, maybe even a set of heads in the next 5 years.

[ant123]

3D printing is already accessible to everyone now. I built a 3D printer based on parts from a kit for less than $200 two years ago. The printing filament material is advancing rapidly. Higher temperature and stronger materials for usable parts are now available but typically require higher print temperatures and an upgraded printer. But I am just talking plastics. 3D printing metals still requires expensive equipment.

[jayb]

Jay (or others) could I trouble you for a quick rundown of your Mustang chassis modifications?

Depends on the car, but for my street only 68 fastback and also my 69 Mach 1, I've lowered the front control arm mounting points (Shelby drop), and installed rollerized spring perches.  Since I drag race my Mach 1 sometimes I've also removed the front sway bar on that one, but for the 68 I've installed a 1" sway bar (again, a Shelby mod).  The 68 also uses an export brace, but when I install the IR intake setup with my heads I'll have to ditch that in favor of some custom bracketry that serves the same purpose.

Both of those cars use Caltrac bars, Caltrac monoleaf springs, and Caltrac shocks in the rear.  The Mach 1 has gone 9.30s on a 10" tire with that rear suspension setup.

[Dumpling]

3D printing is already accessible to everyone now. I built a 3D printer based on parts from a kit for less than $200 two years ago. The printing filament material is advancing rapidly. Higher temperature and stronger materials for usable parts are now available but typically require higher print temperatures and an upgraded printer. But I am just talking plastics. 3D printing metals still requires expensive equipment.

Many libraries around here have 3-D printers, some of them pretty high-end (our tax dollars at work).  Also really really advanced sewing machines...think custom designed embroidery, because, you know, I thought gearheads might be into sewing too...

[cjshaker]

What structural modifications would be needed in its place? Jay (or others) could I trouble you for a quick rundown of your Mustang chassis modifications?

Jay forgot to mention sub-frame connectors, which is pretty much an absolute necessity if you're planning on doing any road or drag racing. It's a good idea for a street car also, but it is somewhat of a permanent modification. I put weld-in sub-frame connectors in my original R-code 4 spd car, but I'm not all that concerned about value because I'll never sell it, and there seem to be plenty of R codes around. The A arm drop is a good mod also. If you do remove the export brace, then you really should fabricate something to take its place. Something that ties both shock towers to the firewall, because that is definitely a flex area on Mustangs. I think frame connectors and some sort of tower brace is all you need until you get to the point of needing a roll bar. If you want to add some more structural integrity to the car (in addition to frame connectors) without cutting and welding, they make much better cross members than the factory job that goes under the engine. The stock one is not perfectly flat on the ends and really doesn't do much of anything other than keep the frame rails from spreading apart. Aftermarket jobs lay flat against the frame rail and are much stronger, and they do add structural strength to some degree.

[67428GT500]

The export brace is even more critical on 67- 68 cars. They lack the tower reinforcement that the 68 1/2 CJ-69-70 vehicles have. Shelby realized the issue and there did some horrid stitch welding around the plates.  When I restored my Shelby I welded all the way around and cleaned the welds post.
I didn't see much for bolt-on frame stiffeners that didn't cause ground clearance issues. I make enough power to justify them, but I can't weld them on my vehicle.

Jay, what headers work with your heads? Will they work on a shock tower car without custom made headers?

                                                                                                                 -Keith

[jayb]

The SE version of my heads will fit shock tower cars and any headers that will fit a 427 or 428CJ exhaust port.

[Heo]

I used to weld in a plate 45 degrees from
bortom of the a arm boltholes out to the
framerail and torqueboxes like the convertible have

[Gaugster]

Thanks for the chassis advice. I want to believe that I'd never sell the Cougar. With that in mind I'll do some changes but just keep it classy. Are the composite leaf springs trustworthy for the type of torque that a FE can deliver? Significant weight savings but I haven't found much application specifics yet. I have seen a plate that gets welded behind the rear seat. Looks to beef up the cross brace between the C pillars. Any opinion or consensus about it? Like welded frame connectors it would be mostly out of sight but not interested in adding dead weight.

Glad someone asked about headers. From reading I assumed the Mustang/Mercury options would still be applicable once the new variant of the heads was made official.