tommyd2006

Man sweet work looks like you got some talent thr

TurboTerrorLS

just curious why you put this much work and money (steel for the mold and then materials for the final) into an intake that probably wont perform that well at all? a used Victor can be had around 200 bucks and bolt and go.

inde-fab

just curious why you bothered to put that much effort into your post.

its all relative.

If I can spend the same money and make molds i'm money ahead. If it even comes close to stock efi man. in performance, then I know i'm on the right track.
I can modify the mold or part until it is to my liking. In my experience when I put my mind to building something it works out. After it's dyno proven I can make as many as I want for future builds./for sale

thanks for the input.

P.S. the part I'm making currently is an efi manifold, sorry it's confusing.
The carb one is next, and seems pretty simple in comparison to an efi plenum with internal runners.

inde-fab

for example about 5 years ago when I decided I wanted a $10K longtravel suspension for my toyota so I could jump it like a dirtbike and play in Baja I realized I wouldn't have that kinda spare change for car parts anytime soon.
Insted of giving up the dream I taught myself all the geometries involved, learned 3/d CAD modeling, and brushed up on my metal fab skills. Multiple ppl told me I was wasting my time and would end up buying a pre-fab kit. My kit did take 6 months to get together, but I never would have raised the dough in that time period. My kit also makes 21" of wheel travel vs the 16" available from the "best" other kits available for my truck.

My company is now called independent fabrication and I do it for a living.

I have full confidence that figuring out how to make an intake is entirely withing my abilities, and reproducing them has already done been thought out.

Johnmaster

iTrader: (3)

Good job man, it might not be everybody's cup of tea but I see where you are coming from. My Dad owned a fab shop and I worked there through high school. While all the popular kids in school were out smoking crack I was hot rodding, building mufflers and exhaust systems, fixing things on my pick-up whether they needed it or not (but it was an ex plow truck so yeah it needed everything). Now they are bagging my groceries.

If it helps, I can tell that this isn't another blazer meets camaro project Good luck, I hope it turns out the way you are envisioning it!

Irish350

iTrader: (14)

im enjoying the progress

inde-fab

thanks guys. just gettin' warmed up =)
some big updates right around the corner

plenum molds complete,
runner molds getting painfully close

hacked up a stock intake and solved about 7 different design problems/questions in a half hour with the sawzall.

lowered the plenum height around an inch in final mockup.
hopefully it wil fit under a few more hoods.

I really like how everything lays out when mocked up.
I think it's going to flow just fine.
especially once I get the 108mm Throttle Body rockin'

1CAMWNDR

iTrader: (21)

Coming along nicely!

NemeSS

iTrader: (127)

inde-fab

man thanks guys. and thanks for not asking why im making an intake outta wood =)
I swear I get that like 3 times a day at the shop from randoms checkin out the camino.

Got 4 outta the 8 runner flanges carved out of the factory intake today.
damn things take like 30mins or more to carve each!

I also mocked up the runners to see how much room I have for the "bell" flares
T.B is sitting almost an inch higher than it will on the plenum in the mockup. Its just there for a visual aid.

Hopefully we get some decent weather this wk so I can finally start making the actual part.
this moldmaking stuff is tedious.

Johnmaster

iTrader: (3)

WHY ARE YOU MAKING AN INATKE OUT OF WOOD?!?!? J/K

Can you speculate how much you think you would charge for the carbureted version once you design it?

Nice progress, looking good.

inde-fab

prices are tough to predict rt. now.
when I make a carbed version my goal is similar runners/height as the vic jr. with a spacer option (or use your own) at a competitive price in fiberglass and a couple bills more for carbon fiber.

The injected plenum is designed to be competitive performance and pricewise with the fast stuff. If I can figure it out I will be making a universal plenum that can support multiple heads (different runner shapes)

The end goal is a product that never needs to be shelved.
Try it, modify it, throw new runners in it, try different throttle bodies...

Basically a tuners tool to aid in dialing in engine combos, that looks good too.
=)

Irish350

iTrader: (14)

that kind of modability would make it that much cooler

inde-fab

^I thought so. For now I'm going to mold up short, med, and long inner runners to make total lengths of 6, 8, & 10" long.
All the runner specs will be available once the designs are finalized in CAD

carving out those flanges took like 5 frickin hours, but did solve alot of initial moldmaking headaches.

Getting alittle burned out. I just want this thing to come together already, all my chassis materials are on the way tho.
That's keeping me stoked/focused on finishing this so I can get right to that as soon as material is here.

Here's a cpl more pics of the process since there's no such thing as too many pics in a thread like this imo.

thirdgenbum

iTrader: (17)

are you using any sort of computerized calculator like Maple to figure out the flow characteristics on this, or just kinda coming up with what should kinda work?

inde-fab

Nope, just using all the knowledge I have gathered lately along with using the stock one as a basic guideline.

I plan on getting into all of that to tune it after its built.

PerformanceDefined

Starting to really look good now.
Drop me a note (ken@PerformanceDefined.com.au) if you need some CAD detail for the 108mm TB.

inde-fab

got busy building the chassis, but its warming up
so Im thinking late next wk I will try to layup
a prototype in fiberglass. The molds are all smooth as glass now