Now that Drag Week and the wedding planning are over I can get back to this project. I'll get pictures later, but today I started welding in the injector bungs on the intake manifold I'm building. It feels good to be making progress on it again
On a separate thought, I want to get rid of the exhaust cross over in the exhaust manifold. I've looked at a few ideas, from filling the passage with aluminum or JB Weld like epoxy to cutting out the cross over and welding in some block off plates. And I've taken the first step towards the last option.
I have an old Buick 455 exhaust manifold that I had practiced drilling holes in cast iron and tapping holes in cast iron (for the EFI bungs and possible EGT sensors). So I beveled the edges of the hole and cut a piece off exhaust tubing out to patch it with. I then turned the oven I have in the barn to 500ºF broil and placed the exhaust manifold in there for a couple hours.
Using a laser temp gun, the manifold was around 400ºF inside and out when I removed it. I set the welder to the thickness of the block off plate and welded about a 1/2" at a time, going back and fourth. Once I was satisfied with it, I put the manifold back in the oven and turned the oven to 200ºF for about 2 hours, then turned it off and left it in there over night. The next day I pulled it out, and think it'll do just fine to hole exhaust gases back.
One of the cross over passages. I'll run a grinder around the edges to get them clean, then cut a piece of metal out to size to plug it. Once welded in, I'll probably pour a bit of exhaust mend epoxy or JB Weld over the patch to ensure it is sealed.
