Custom intake made from steel??

[1FastCSX289]

I know that most people are making their intakes from aluminum. I dont have access to a TIG (and im poor, so id like to avoid paying someone). I do have access to a MIG welder though and I have an old fire extinguisher made of pretty thin guage sheet metal I would like to make an upper plenum to bolt to the lower runners of a 2.0 DOHC intake. Id like to take a stab at fabricating it myself. What are the drawbacks to making the intake from steel rather than aluminum?

[contraption22]

You can mig aluminum with a spool gun. Thats how my intake manifold was welded together.

Drawbacks of steel are weight, rust, and heat retaining properties.

[Pat]

You can mig aluminum with a spool gun. Thats how my intake manifold was welded together.

Drawbacks of steel are weight, rust, and heat retaining properties.

Spool gun works. I welded up end tanks for my triple core intercooler with one. It's not too difficult.

[Darkapollo]

Ive got a sheet-aluminum intake welded up with a MIG and aluminum spool wire. I think its low voltage and high feed to make it work well.

[1FastCSX289]

Hmmm.....

A spool would be out. Dont have one and the cost would be 3 times that of having an intake made. Aluminum wire might be an option......

And then again, I was thinking of just using the stratus intake for now and then have one built later on when I can afford it. Thats the beauty of the 2.4....you can swap intakes and turbos around real easily. Decisions....decisions.

[Pat]

Hmmm.....

A spool would be out. Dont have one and the cost would be 3 times that of having an intake made. Aluminum wire might be an option......

And then again, I was thinking of just using the stratus intake for now and then have one built later on when I can afford it. Thats the beauty of the 2.4....you can swap intakes and turbos around real easily. Decisions....decisions.

You'll never be able to run aluminum wire from the welder all the way to the trigger. It's way too soft and will jam up very quickly. That's why the spool guy is necessary. From the spool to the welding tip is only a few inches and even then, it jams up often.

[Darkapollo]

Actually pat, yes it does bind up sometimes, but running a long spool from the welder to the trigger is not impossible. My buddies and I do it all the time when working with aluminum. The only time it does bind is if there is a sharp bend in the tube going from the welder to the gun.

[contraption22]

Hmmm.....

A spool would be out. Dont have one and the cost would be 3 times that of having an intake made. Aluminum wire might be an option......

And then again, I was thinking of just using the stratus intake for now and then have one built later on when I can afford it. Thats the beauty of the 2.4....you can swap intakes and turbos around real easily. Decisions....decisions.

Brian Slowe went 10's on a stock Neon intake manifold. So has ohiorob.

How much are you getting quotes for to fab up a manifold?

The INDY manifold is pretty nice for forced induction applications, I hear. Big plenum, shortish runners with velocity stack entrances.

[thedon809]

You can get used box neon dohc manifolds in the 200 range.

[t3rse]

you can get a spool gun for cheap if you look hard enough

[1FastCSX289]

Brian Slowe went 10's on a stock Neon intake manifold. So has ohiorob.

How much are you getting quotes for to fab up a manifold?

The INDY manifold is pretty nice for forced induction applications, I hear. Big plenum, shortish runners with velocity stack entrances.

Well, maybe thats the route to go then......get a stock neon intake and just run it.

You can get used box neon dohc manifolds in the 200 range.

200 more than I gots.....im po'. I have to basically figure out how to swing the rest of this build for a couple hundred bucks.....or sell off my Charger, which I would like to avoid. My wife lost her job, so we are on bare bones survival mode for a while.

you can get a spool gun for cheap if you look hard enough

It would have to be real cheap! But ill keep an eye out.

What exactly does a spool gun do??

[raccoon]

me thinks the wire spool is on the gun not the machine, we piss though a few thousand miles of aluminum wire every day. all the way down the whip, no prob, that is when everything is working nice.

[Aries_Turbo]

What exactly does a spool gun do??

it keeps all the wire feed mechanism on the gun/torch itself so the wire length is real short so it doesnt jam up.



dont go steel. it can trash the entire engine setup because of rust particles forming and falling off in the air stream.

want me to ask juicedz4 on roclife for you? he is in macedon and does fab stuff for people for a reasonable price.

if you do all the cutting and grinding on aluminum fire extinguishers and the stratus manifold, he'd weld it.... i can talk to him about a price.

brian

[BadAssPerformance]

+1 Aluminum... BTW, I'm gonna have a TIG soon

[1FastCSX289]

it keeps all the wire feed mechanism on the gun/torch itself so the wire length is real short so it doesnt jam up.

dont go steel. it can trash the entire engine setup because of rust particles forming and falling off in the air stream.

want me to ask juicedz4 on roclife for you? he is in macedon and does fab stuff for people for a reasonable price.

if you do all the cutting and grinding on aluminum fire extinguishers and the stratus manifold, he'd weld it.... i can talk to him about a price.

brian

Gotcha. Yea....rust could be an issue especially as I spray meth/water through it. Yea, ask your friend and see what he would get. Let me know. Thanks!

[Mopar318]

Make it out of 3000 series stainless (304, or 321) and rust wont be an issue. since it wont get heat soaked like a 8-valve, I dont see its thermal effects being as much as an issue.

You could do it, but since there are quicker options that would get you just as fast, might as well use what you got. Or in my case throw what you got away and make something cool

[GLHNSLHT2]

it'll get plenty heat soaked absorbing the hot air from the rad.

[Aries_Turbo]

sean, i shot dan (juicedz4) an email. ill let you know what he said.

i said youd be doing all the cutting and stuff, you just need it welded up. i assume youd use aluminum fire extinguishers as the plenum?

brian

[1FastCSX289]

sean, i shot dan (juicedz4) an email. ill let you know what he said.

i said youd be doing all the cutting and stuff, you just need it welded up. i assume youd use aluminum fire extinguishers as the plenum?

brian

Yea probably. Either way, he'll just need to weld it up. Probably 1/8" sheet.

[BadAssPerformance]

1/8" is a little light... flexes when it backfires... cracks welds