Just got my Street Dominator back.

[Yellow Truck]

My friend had the threaded holes fitted with stainless steel threaded inserts and one seized and broken carb bolt taken out at the machine shop at his heavy diesel shop. Other than that it is undisturbed original condition. The rest of the project has been dragging but I should get the block and rotating assembly back next week. Now all I need are some heads (sigh).

The intake is dirty so it needs some cleaning, but the big question on which I need some guidance is what to do to prepare it. I know Jay and some others told me at the outset it was a good intake to make power, but it needed some grinding. This is my first build, but I want to do this myself. I need to know what to modify in the intake - I understand the plenum needs to be opened up, also there are shoulders just below the carb mounting flange.

What do I grind, how to I know when to stop, and frankly, what is the best tool for this job? I'll have to buy something. Very excited to have something to do again - the project has been sitting for a few weeks since I finished the fuel system. If it makes a difference I also bought a QFT 2 inch phenolic Super Sucker.

[Yellow Truck]

Sorry, should have mentioned the project is a 445 (Barry's Prison Break) with a 280/266 average duration - 230/236 duration @ .050 roller cam and a QFT SS 830.

[jayb]

If you happen to have a copy of my book, on page 110 there is a before and after shot of the plenum modifications for the Street Dominator.  The best thing to use for this is an air die grinder with the 1/4" chuck, then get yourself a carbide burr for aluminum to do most of the aluminum removal, and one of those cheap porting kits with the abrasive rolls to finish and smooth everything out. 

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?PMPAGE=652&PARTPG=INLMK32

http://www.mcmaster.com/#4295a32/=z66t5z

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-g1060/overview/

[Yellow Truck]

Jay, I confess I have not. I was thinking about it when a friend gave me the Street Dominator, so my intake inquiries came to an end. The other reason is it costs $20 to have it mailed to Canada, so that winds up costing in total almost $80 Canadian.

[Yellow Truck]

Jay - I understand that the Street Dominator benefits from the same modifications as the Steetmaster, but the instructions I can find for that (on the Ford FE forum - you commented on the thread) are such low resolution I can 't read the text on the diagrams.

[jayb]

Yeah, that is a lot of money for a book.  I don't think I'd even buy a copy for that LOL!

If you look into the top of the plenum there are "ears" in each corner, up at the top.  All you have to do is grind those out of there and blend straight down into the plenum, so that it is square and open at the top.  Its really straightforward once you get into it.  There really isn't much of a chance to screw it up, so I'd suggest that you just get yourself a die grinder and go at it.

[Yellow Truck]

Jay,

Thanks again. It is wonderful how helpful you and many of the others on your forum are. It goes a long way to making an FE a viable hobby project for someone like me who has never done anything like this.

I'm sick of seeing SBCs in everything, but there is little other knowledge available on a local basis. Your forum is a huge help.

[jholmes217]

Hey Paul, if you live on the West side of Canada and make it down to the Seattle / Tacoma WA. area, I can get a copy of Jay's book and hold it for you until you make it down this way.  Don't worry, I already have a copy so I won't steal it!

[Yellow Truck]

Mr. Holmes,

Thanks for the offer, I do in fact get over there a few times a year, but I won't be back until January. I sincerely hope to have it on the engine and in the truck by then! It is snowing here today, so I missed my target of "before the snow flies", but I'd still like to get it done and tuned on a dyno before I store it for the winter.

Today I'll be tool shopping.

[shady]

snowing? shit, I need 6 more weeks of nice weather. I'm feeling the panic starting to settle in.

[Yellow Truck]

This is Alberta. Winter can come early. I don't want to over play it, it is supposed to be in the 60's again next week.

[Qikbbstang]

I disagree on Jay's advice to get a "carbide burr for aluminum" and while we're at it his advice to get an air die grinder. I have a feeling Jay having his on CNC machines leaves him out of the loop on the typical weekend shade-tree mechanic.  My experience is aluminum cutting carbide burr's are very aggressive making them difficult to hold on to. They will actually "bite" the aluminum and jerk the tool. I have a decent set of aluminum carbides and they're really hard to control and leave a course surface finish. I much more prefer to use standard carbide burrs with some lube to prevent the aluminum from melting and clogging the burr. I found WD 40 works OK, but used Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil works even better. Just oil the burr and area you are working on every 2-5 minutes and you should not clog the burr. I purposely leave the piles of machined aluminum around the work area and oil that as a reservoir for oil to just pass the burr into. There is almost no chance of the standard burr's grabbing/jerking and the finish is much nicer - in no time you can produce  surface finishes that are machine smooth.

Clogging is easy to prevent.  IF you do clog a burr with aluminum - take it to some oak hardwood aggressively to build up heat, that has worked for me.
     Air die-grinders for the typical weekend mechanic require a serious compressor, they are noisy and can get cold. Electric die-grinders have a much more stable power curve, are quiet and economical to buy.   

  Re: "The best thing to use for this is an air die grinder with the 1/4" chuck, then get yourself a carbide burr for aluminum to do most of the aluminum removal"

[Yellow Truck]

Qickbbstang,

Thanks, I will be using a Mikita electric die grinder. I don't have enough air at home to drive a tool. I have access to a shop but hate to make a mess in someone else's place.

My friend, who is advising me, also told me to keep it well oiled to avoid clogging. I'll be visiting the local industrial parts supplier this week. What is the difference between what you are suggesting and what Jay recommended? Is the one for aluminium a coarser bit?

[jayb]

That's right, the aluminum burr is coarser and tends to clog less.  And for what its worth, all the professional porters I know use the air tools.  But I think its because they are so cheap, and you can have multiple tools around with different cutters, and easily switch from one to the other.  For years the electric versions that BB described were the standards.

[427Fastback]

Air dremels have a throttle and you can control your speed...Electric is just a switch and in my opinion is usually far to fast for anything..

Aluminum burrs are single cut (one direction)only like a lathe file.Reg burs are cut in both directions like a standard file..Aluminum burrs do tend to be far more aggressive looking and can wreck stuff far faster.

[Nightmist66]

Don't forget the regulator on the air compressor.

[Yellow Truck]

An air die grinder can be had much cheaper, but you have to have the compressor. Sadly I just started up the electric one and it vibrates like mad - clearly not working correctly. May need to go use the shop air and buy an air grinder.

[TomP]

I have several die grinders but old trusty Makita electric is the one I always use. I put up with it's vibration, I don't like the noisy air ones with cold wind blowing aluminum chips in my face.
 I use the carbide burrs with really coarse teeth and they need a real gentle touch and will sometimes grab. The less aggressive burrs for steel work like BB says. I use the sanding rolls once the major material is removed.

[Qikbbstang]

I can't understand the going to fast as a problem. Re: (...Electric is just a switch and in my opinion is usually far to fast for anything..)
          High speed gives a very precise easy to control cut.  Just the lightest touch on aluminum and it cuts like and as smooth as butter.  Where as low rpm to me is made worse by the lack of power that makes the rpm's fluctuate badly with load. Varied RPM makes for jerking loads on the grinder.  You want to feel and see a mess use a 3,000rpm drill with a carbide burr.

                       Plenty of times I used the motor out of my 40 year old Black & Decker router to die grind (all use 1/4" collets) they are about 20,000 rpm and discharge vent air at the shaft. You just slide off the base.  I recently scored a like new Dewalt laminate trimmer from a pawn shop for $12. that also can be used for a die grinder and it also can be run w & w/o base.  The no Rolls Royce electric 1/4 Die Grinder from Harbor Freight is about $20.
 
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=laminate+trimmer&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=laminate+trimmer&_sacat=0

                   
       

[57 lima bean]

This stuff worked great....

http://www.eastwood.com/ew-grinders-grease-8-oz.html

[GJCAT427]

Being in the welding business I own a ton of grinders and sanders for fab and repair work. One of the best tools I have is a Dyna File belt sander. I use it in porting and polishing on alum, SST and good ole cast iron and steel. Smokey Yunik used the same tool in his shop. It has different ends and the belts come in a variety of grits so you can blend and polish to your hearts content.

[jayb]

As I mentioned everyone I know uses the air die grinders these days, but the electric grinders that I saw in use back in the 1980s were variable speed.  I remember talking to some people about those back then, and one of the attractions was that the grinders had a fairly large rotating mass, giving them a lot of inertia.  So you could slow the speed down, and if the bit caught in the work it wouldn't tend to stop like it does with an air grinder, it would just keep going because of the inertia of the electric motor.  So that made them easier to control at low speeds, which some of the guys doing the porting found to be useful.  I also remember seeing the electric motors hung up over the bench, with a flexible shaft on them down to the tool holder.  One of the issues with the electric grinders was that they were very heavy, so this was an attempt to make the grinder easier to handle at the point where the operator held it.

Also back then almost everyone was porting cast iron heads; very few aluminum heads were around.  It might be that as aluminum heads became more prevalent, the air grinders became easier to use and most people eventually made the switch.  Just guessing on that one...

[Yellow Truck]

Well, not having $800 lying around to buy a Dynafile (very nice tool), and not having an air compressor that will drive that kind of air (ruling out an air grinder as well), I sorted out the vibration on my old Makita and got a coarse carbide tip to cut back the aluminium. Since I'm not working the ports, just inside the plenum, I decided I could risk the more aggressive cutting head even though I am a complete novice. Here are two pictures of the work in progress. I have a question - is there any other material that should be removed from this area? I have not smoothed it yet.

[jayb]

That's exactly how you should do it.  Smooth out the grinding marks and radius the entry from the plenum into the runners, and you've got it - Jay

[Yellow Truck]

Thanks Jay, you guys are good teachers. I need to go pick up a porting kit to do the smoothing.

[plovett]

Thanks Jay, you guys are good teachers. I need to go pick up a porting kit to do the smoothing.

You can do the smoothing with your hand and sandpaper, too.  Aluminum is soft stuff.

JMO,

paulie

edit:  various files, or screwdrivers wrapped in sandpaper work, too.  Low tech and tedious?  Sure, but it works.  I find it relaxing.

[Qikbbstang]

Here's a Street Master I did after paying a lot of attention to intakes I looked at in PRI and elsewhere. You are kind of limited in how much you can remove from the top of the runners by the outside of the manifold

http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy359/qikbbstang/FESM1.jpg
I believe this is from an older engines masters winning Ford by Jon Kasse
http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy359/qikbbstang/engine%20masters%20BBF%20IntakeMan.jpg

[Yellow Truck]

I assume there is nothing to be gained by taking the dividers between the runners back. After reading your reply Jay, I took the roof of the runner where it meets the plenum back a bit to create a radius, there had been a bit of a hard corner there. I can take the top of the entry into the runners back a bit more if there is HP or torque to be gained. I am hoping to keep as much low end torque as I can. Not sure how much more makes for an improvement.

[jayb]

Taking the dividers back will shorten the runners and hurt low end torque, so I would leave them as is.  If you put a 1/2" or so radius from the plenum into the top of the runners, that should be sufficient to ease transition of the air/fuel mixture into the runners; probably don't need to go any further than that.

[Yellow Truck]

Thanks Jay. I'll get right on it.