FE Power Forums
FE Power Forums => FE Technical Forum => Topic started by: jayb on April 09, 2026, 11:23:41 AM
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The day after I posted the information about the new intake castings, I got a
very unwelcome call from my foundry. They are shutting down the production
line which builds casting molds from a particular type of sand, which happens to be
the sand that I use for all of my cast aluminum products.
Over the last week and a half I have contacted a bunch of foundries within
about a 300 mile radius of me, but have not been able to find one who is
interested in my business, or is able to meet my pricing requirements. My
business is just too small for most of the foundries out there. As a result,
I have no option but to discontinue manufacturing cast aluminum parts.
My existing foundry has offered me a "last buy" opportunity, but I have to place
any orders by an April 24 deadline. Unfortunately, they have also increased the price of
all my castings by 50% for this last buy. Nevertheless, if anyone is interested
in any of my cast aluminum products, now is the time. More details are in the
Vendor Classifieds post here:
https://fepower.net/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=13138.0
FYI FE Power will continue in business selling books, making CVR water pump
adapters, SOHC rocker arms and rocker arms for my cylinder heads, etc. Also,
in a few months I will pick back up with clear valve
covers, hopefully a pentroof style along with my normal Cobra Jet style. I have
also been working on SOHC clear valve covers, hopefully available sometime this
summer.
Also there is some possibility that another company may be interested in purchasing
my foundry tooling and machining fixtures and continuing with these products. This
would be great, but frankly I am not hopeful this will happen; no one has ever
expressed interest in doing this before.
Thanks to all the folks who have supported my business over the past 15 years.
It's too bad that I won't be able to keep making cool aluminum parts, but I will
continue with this forum and the business for a couple years yet - Jay
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Have you checked with Avalon Precision Metalsmiths in Markesan, WI? They were just purchased by Sigma, but historically they have done smaller batch precision castings.
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That sucks Jay. Sign of the times, I guess. It is very difficult to find small batch custom manufacturers on this side of the planet these days.
Perhaps check in with Dee Inc. in Crookston, MN. Bit over 300 miles from the Twin Cities, but at least still with in the same state. I did my Senior Design project with them some 20+ years ago at the end of my ME degree. At the time Dee was doing alot of small batch stuff for the Ag manufacturers up and down the Red River Valley.
https://www.deeinc.com/ (https://www.deeinc.com/)
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Well, that just sucks :'(
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Agreed....not good
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Avalon Precision Metalsmiths does investment castings, not sand casting. Checked with Dee a few years ago, no go. Trust me guys, I've looked all over within a reasonable distance. There are certainly places farther away that could do it, but one thing I have learned over the years, after having been through 5 different foundries since 2011, is that being able to get there and help them solve problems with my products is very important. I went all the way down to Fairfield IA once for a foundry, looked like it was working well after 6 months, then another foundry bought them, cleaned out their equipment, and closed it up. I was too small to go with them. The foundry that I've been with for the last 4 years has been really excellent, good quality castings, good customer service, and only a 20 minute drive from me. Too good to be true, I guess...
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I'm so sorry to hear, Jay. You had a good run of very cool stuff.
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Super sorry to hear this Jay….. But at least you’re still making other things, which is great! Wishing you the best and thanks for the things you have done over the years.
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Jay, you've done a great service to the FE community. The foundry story is not one unfamiliar to me......seen it many times unfortunately. Hopefully this means you will be able to devote some much deserved time to your own projects.
Best,
Kelly
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This is horrible news and very sad! I always have loved your innovation.
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Well that sucks. Just like Pro Stock Engineering, a few years making great FE stuff, then gone. Sorry for the analogy, I'm only speaking from a parts producing standpoint.
It would be great if Pond, or someone with experience and access to quality foundries, stepped up to keep producing these parts, especially the adapters and heads.
but I will
continue with this forum and the business for a couple years yet - Jay
Are we to take this that you will be shutting down the business and the forum in a couple of years?
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Probably the business, but not the forum. I will be 68 next week, and I don't think I want to continue making FE products for everybody after I turn 70. On the forum, it is costing me about $500 per year to keep it up and running, and free from scammers. Right now I expense that cost to FE Power. Probably when I close down FE Power I will solicit donations from the forum members to keep it operating, so hopefully it will be up and running for years to come.
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Well that sucks. Just like Pro Stock Engineering, a few years making great FE stuff, then gone. Sorry for the analogy, I'm only speaking from a parts producing standpoint.
Are we to take this that you will be shutting down the business and the forum in a couple of years?
[/quote]
I'd say there are two major differences- quality and good engineering of the parts, and the fact that Jay is not a total dickhead and bullshit artist like "ProStock Paul" ;D
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Thanks for the great FE ride, was cool while it lasted. I'm so happy that you invested your time and genius to make these parts available to us.
Is there a last time for cast valve covers, or is that already done?
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Sorry David, I haven't been able to cast valve covers in several years. The foundry that I was doing that with went out of business, and no other foundry I have found can use the tooling - Jay
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Probably the business, but not the forum. I will be 68 next week, and I don't think I want to continue making FE products for everybody after I turn 70. On the forum, it is costing me about $500 per year to keep it up and running, and free from scammers. Right now I expense that cost to FE Power. Probably when I close down FE Power I will solicit donations from the forum members to keep it operating, so hopefully it will be up and running for years to come.
Sorry to hear this, Jay. On the bright side, maybe we'll see you back in a Drag-n-Drive event again? ;)
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It would be great if Pond, or someone with experience and access to quality foundries, stepped up to keep producing these parts, especially the adapters and heads.
Yes to Pond!???
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Just like Pro Stock Engineering, a few years making great FE stuff, then gone. Sorry for the analogy, I'm only speaking from a parts producing standpoint.
I'd say there are two major differences- quality and good engineering of the parts, and the fact that Jay is not a total dickhead and bullshit artist like "ProStock Paul" ;D
That's why I added the caveat. If I wanted to offend, I would have compared to Dove. :)
PSE made some great and innovative stuff, even if the guy was a jerk. Nothing was perfect in the FE aftermarket world then, but his adapters were an excellent idea that opened up lots of new alternatives, at time when there was almost nothing but factory options. They were innovative enough that Jay took the concept and raised it to a whole 'nother level.
I'm glad to hear the forum will continue. There's loads of valuable data and experience stored in past posts. It'd be a shame to see that go away for future FE guys.
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Would you consider casting a special request for your last batch?
I like your efi crossram, but would like to use it with a set of "regular" FE heads, Edelbrocks or TFS. Would that be possible?
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Unfortunately not possible, the intake tooling is not wide enough to cast a complete FE intake. I've thought about doing one to fit on13001 ntake adapter (which would be possible), but have never gotten around to designing the part. That's about a 4 week job if I hit it real hard, so no way I can make that work by the deadline.
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This is the type of thing that makes baby kittens cry. :'(
Do you have anything "in stock" at all. Smaller things like timing covers, etc. or is it everything (cast items) that needs to have an order by the 24th?
Nevermind. I just read the post in the Vendor Classifieds.
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How unfortunate. Providence would be for you to open your own foundry for your and other small businesses. But I understand the age issue and the competing maturation issues in taking on such a bold adventure.
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Sorry to hear this Jay. Not just for your current line of cast products but for the diminished likelihood of seeing what you might have come up with next!
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Does this mean the Calliope project will stop also?
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The Calliope project is not really mine, I'm just doing some of the machine work. That one should continue, Dan is a lot younger than I am LOL!
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Is the Edelbrock foundry an option?
I understand they do small runs for some clients.
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They are the first foundry I contacted back in 2011, about doing my intake adapters. I asked for an NDA, because I didn't want them to steal the idea. The foundry guy turfed it to some business guy, who talked and talked and never signed the one I offered, or offered me his own. Left a pretty bad taste in my mouth, so I won't go back there. They are too far away anyway...
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I take it 3D printing is not a viable option for making the parts? I'm aware that some very intricate parts like the one in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qifd3yn9S0) can be made, but I have no knowledge of the costs involved.
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Not clear about foundry costs, but I think this printer is around $40K upfront, but can obviously be used over and over...
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https://all3dp.com/4/bigreps-new-one-5x-makes-big-parts-faster-easier-plus-introduces-pellet-extrusion/
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Not clear about foundry costs, but I think this printer is around $40K upfront, but can obviously be used over and over...
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https://all3dp.com/4/bigreps-new-one-5x-makes-big-parts-faster-easier-plus-introduces-pellet-extrusion/
That prints in PLA and PEEK which are plastics.
Not suitable for things like intake manifolds and such...
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Not clear about foundry costs, but I think this printer is around $40K upfront, but can obviously be used over and over...
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https://all3dp.com/4/bigreps-new-one-5x-makes-big-parts-faster-easier-plus-introduces-pellet-extrusion/
That prints in PLA and PEEK which are plastics.
Not suitable for things like intake manifolds and such...
i guess that depends on the plastic used, most modern intake's are some kind of plastic these days. any threads needed are taken care of by pressed/screwed in inserts
neil.
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Not clear about foundry costs, but I think this printer is around $40K upfront, but can obviously be used over and over...
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https://all3dp.com/4/bigreps-new-one-5x-makes-big-parts-faster-easier-plus-introduces-pellet-extrusion/ (https://all3dp.com/4/bigreps-new-one-5x-makes-big-parts-faster-easier-plus-introduces-pellet-extrusion/)
That prints in PLA and PEEK which are plastics.
Not suitable for things like intake manifolds and such...
i guess that depends on the plastic used, most modern intake's are some kind of plastic these days. any threads needed are taken care of by pressed/screwed in inserts
neil.
Sure, but modern plastic intakes are usually composite and/or glass fiber reinforced nylon made in a mold.
Not sure you could print that...
I for one would not want a plastic intake on my FE...
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Every time the topic of plastic intakes comes up I have to laugh about my own experience with them. Back in 2017 I bought a large 3D printer, with the idea that at some point I could print a plastic intake and test it on the dyno. I had purchased a spool of PLA plastic printing filament and soaked it in ethanol fuel and race gas, and it held up well for a week, so I bought the printer knowing that at least the fuel wasn't going to melt the plastic. When I finally got around to doing my cylinder heads a few years later, I started designing and printing intakes for them.
After printing a sheet metal style intake, I put it on my dyno mule and tried to run it. It was fitted with two big Dominator carbs. To this day I regret not having a camera in the dyno room to video the results. When I tried to start the engine at an idle it wouldn't catch, probably (I thought) because of the big plenum in the intake. So I pumped the throttle a few times, opened it up a little, and hit the starter. After a couple cranks there was a huge, loud explosion and fireball! The carbs ended up hanging over the left valve cover, on fire. The plastic in the manifold was blown all over the dyno room, totally shredded. If I'd had a camera running, I'd have a million hits on youtube with that video; the explosion was absolutely spectacular!
Red plastic from the intake was blown all through the induction system too. I had to pull the heads, and pick little bits of plastic out from between the pistons and the top ring on a bunch of cylinders. Five years later I was still finding little bits of red plastic in the corners of the dyno room from that explosion.
Being a sucker for punishment, I printed another intake, this time a low 4V intake. After it was printed I checked to make sure it was airtight. It was NOT; water poured into the intake would leak out between the layers of the 3D printed plastic. Obviously, my first intake had a huge vacuum leak that caused the problem.
I took the new intake and coated it on the outside with garage floor epoxy to seal it up. Then after getting the engine back together I tried again, and this time the engine ran great with the 3D printed plastic intake. Over the next couple years I kept printing and testing intakes; it only cost about $200 in plastic to print them, and I could make changes to the design on the computer, so it turned out to be the great development tool that I had originally envisioned. In fact, the 8V tunnel wedge style intake went through three revisions in plastic. The first one made only 825 HP, but the third one, which was an improved design, made 875. I was really pleased with how easy it was to tweak the manifolds on the computer, and then get real life data from the dyno which showed any improvements. I was able to tweak all the manifolds for my cylinder head package to optimize their performance.
I did have one other minor explosion along the way, with another sheet metal style intake. Despite being epoxy coated, it gave a small backfire that knocked a hole in the plenum. That huge plenum was just a bomb waiting to go off when you added fuel. Fortunately, that one was no problem to clean up.
Occasionally I get folks who want to buy a plastic intake from me, and run it on the street. I won't sell them one; a single backfire will damage the intake and potentially spread shrapnel through the engine. I think even a modern automotive plastic intake would be a big risk to run on a performance engine, unless it was EFI and the timing and throttle settings were dialed in perfectly. That is how the major manufacturers get away with plastic intakes; best for folks like us to stick with aluminum.
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Jay, I'm not suggesting this for you to continue in business because I doubt that there is anywhere in the US to even get castings but, I'm curious if you ever investigated magnesium castings and their availability. I can only assume that you'd have to go to Canada to get castings.
Other than there long term corrosion issue with water and possible fire issue with chips (I used to machine it), I think it's the ideal material for the big FE intake, I know that there are mag intakes that have been done, in the past, for FE and others but, nothing I've ever seen in the after market, other than Sprint Cars.
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Not clear about foundry costs, but I think this printer is around $40K upfront, but can obviously be used over and over...
.
https://all3dp.com/4/bigreps-new-one-5x-makes-big-parts-faster-easier-plus-introduces-pellet-extrusion/
That prints in PLA and PEEK which are plastics.
Not suitable for things like intake manifolds and such...
"BigRep offers a specialized range of high-performance 3D printing filaments tailored for large-format, industrial applications. Key materials include heat-resistant HI-TEMP/HI-TEMP CF, engineering-grade PRO HT, flexible TPU 98A, soluble BVOH, and high-quality PLX/rPETG/rPLA, all designed for durability and precision.
Key Material Properties & Uses:
HI-TEMP: High-temperature resistant, rigid, and low-warp, suitable for industrial, high-heat applications (up to ~100°C+).
HI-TEMP CF: Carbon fiber-reinforced, offering high stiffness ( flexural modulus) an
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I take it 3D printing is not a viable option for making the parts? I'm aware that some very intricate parts like the one in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qifd3yn9S0) can be made, but I have no knowledge of the costs involved.
So I did a small amount of searching. Appears to be well beyond EXTREMELY cost prohibitive. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how manufacturing facilities are justifying something like this (https://www.google.com/search?q=Nikon+SLM+Solutions+NXG+XII+600+cost&oq=Nikon+SLM+Solutions+NXG+XII+600+cost&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQABgWGB4yCAgCEAAYFhgeMgoIAxAAGIAEGKIEMgoIBBAAGIAEGKIEMgoIBRAAGIAEGKIEMgcIBhAAGO8FMgoIBxAAGIAEGKIE0gEIMTUzN2owajmoAgCwAgHxBZAOTgfsWIBr&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) (probably still too small for some of Jay's parts) versus having a part cast at a foundry. Both options require final machining.
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"the influx of metal additive manufacturing. An avid 3D printer can now print in metal with direct metal laser sintering technology. You can easily use Aluminum AlSi10Mg or Stainless Steel 3156L and melt together a brand new cylinder head that would perform presumably exactly like the original head did. It's amazing how far this technology has come. The aluminum 3D prints have a melting point of around 1240 degrees Fahrenheit, for example, and would easily stand up to the temperatures of internal combustion."
Read More: https://www.jalopnik.com/2143679/3d-printed-engine-cylinder-head/
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I take it 3D printing is not a viable option for making the parts? I'm aware that some very intricate parts like the one in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qifd3yn9S0) can be made, but I have no knowledge of the costs involved.
So I did a small amount of searching. Appears to be well beyond EXTREMELY cost prohibitive. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how manufacturing facilities are justifying something like this (https://www.google.com/search?q=Nikon+SLM+Solutions+NXG+XII+600+cost&oq=Nikon+SLM+Solutions+NXG+XII+600+cost&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQABgWGB4yCAgCEAAYFhgeMgoIAxAAGIAEGKIEMgoIBBAAGIAEGKIEMgoIBRAAGIAEGKIEMgcIBhAAGO8FMgoIBxAAGIAEGKIE0gEIMTUzN2owajmoAgCwAgHxBZAOTgfsWIBr&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) (probably still too small for some of Jay's parts) versus having a part cast at a foundry. Both options require final machining.
Aerospace and prototype have moved deep into this. Low volume or first run stuff where speed of delivery outweighs costs, and/or where the full cost of tooling has to be amortized over a very few parts.