Porting the TIII manifolds

[2.216VTurbo]

Hey gang,

I have ported tons of 8V IN/EX manifolds even some Masi 16V stuff but in the 7+ years I've had the Rampage RT (TIII/568) the head has never been off nor do I have any experience playing with the Lotus stuff. So now I have a couple of lightly coolant wetted plugs so it's time for the head to come off. I still have to get the whole set up cleared past the most stringent of all inspection tests, the California Air Resource Board. In CA you can put a newer ('cleaner') engine into an older chassis, but not visa versa for post '73 smog controlled cars. Thing is the older chassis needs to then meet the emissions standards for the vehical that the newer engine came from. That means not only does it has to pass the sniffer for later car (the donor for the Rampage was a 93 IROC RT with 912 miles on the ODO ) but every smog piece needs to be in place and working. CARB wont even allow any non stock brass vacuum fittings! So the hybrid turbo and the big triple core I/C will have to stay on the shelf for now I figure I might as well optimize the stock manifolds as long as I am changing the head gasket. I know the best thing to do would be just to send the stuff off to one of the TIII gurus but if I had to pay someone to work on my TD projects, the house would get repo'd in no time.

Anyone have any tips/tricks/pitfalls to watch for when porting the TIII head/manifolds?? If you have done it no pearl of wisdom is too small for me to heed. I do have the increased height Ti retainers and adjustable cam gears to put on in the process. TIA

Alan
84 Rampage RT TIII/568
87 GLHS 16V Masi/555
89 TC Masi DOHC/284 Getrag now, soon 523 OBX

[1FastCSX289]

There is a T3 manifold on ebay right now. Ive never done any porting, but if I were to try it, I would want an extra laying around in the event I screwed up.

[2.216VTurbo]

Good call, that's whay I am starting with a spare head/manifolds that got from parting out an RT a few years ago It also cuts the 'down time' of the project.

Alan

[green IROC R/T]

Would love to get some info on porting intake and exhaust manifolds. How much metal should be taken off and where? Can more harm be done than good without a flow bench? My head guy has cleaned up the bowls and ports lightly and taken the blunt edge off the port divider on the intake side. I was thinking of taking the same approach of only lightly modifying the manifolds.

[Lotza Boost]

First thing you REALLY need to do is move out of California! Once that is done you can do almost anything you want to.

[2.216VTurbo]

Aw C'mon, you can do anything you want to your motor in California too, you just have to make sure they don't find it AND it has to burn as clean as or cleaner than stock You don't want a traffic stop to get to the point where they ask you to pop the hood

[MOPAR2YA]

Just open the exhaust up. Take the bumps from the runners and really work the collector well, especially the side where 3 runners converge into the collector. minimize any hard angles.

[2.216VTurbo]

Gotcha Wallace, thanks. Kind of sounds the same as working a SOHC manifold

About how much can the bolt bumps come off before it's too thin there? 50%? 75%? Completely? I'm sure the TIII manifolds are pretty second nature to you by now

I have my TC apart and have been porting everything and building some new pieces But after that I am back on the Rampage RT, I'd like to bring it to Topeka this year, lots to do still...

[Turbo Joe]

how does C.A.R.B. know if something is not stock on a t3? those engines were made for 3 yrs in a limited quantity? and if a fitting is or has damage, and mopar went ns1 with everything your supposed to junk the car because the vacume nipple isn't stock?

[2.216VTurbo]

A club member here locally went thru the CARB/referee process a few months back, they dinged him for his BOV, non-stock IC tubing, FMIC, lack of EGR, aforementioned brass nipples (in Beavis voice, huh huh, he said nipples ), Grainger valve etc. These guys just know and worse if they don't know, they just consider it illegal He was so bummed he dumped that 2.5 Shadow and bought an EVO...

[Turbo Joe]

here in mass. we have the same emissions standard as cali. modified or not
as long as it passes the emissions test, thats all that matters. i would write to congress about that and make it a point that living expences supersed the fact a vacume nipple was replaced with a non oem peice due to damage to keep the egr system or what ever working properly. if it passes it passes!

[Whorse]

I recall reading about a year ago that California was passing legislation to make it illegal to modify your vehicle's performance at all (to combat street racing). Is this what you're talking about?

We have emissions here, but they mostly just check for a Cat, no exhaust leaks, and that it passes all readings. Never seen them look under the hood of a car.

[turbovanman²]

We have emissions here, but they mostly just check for a Cat, no exhaust leaks, and that it passes all readings. Never seen them look under the hood of a car.

They used to look under the hood, it was a PITA, now, we got it thru so they just check the gas cap, cat and if its clean, its clean. Thats the way it should be.