86 & 87 GLHS lower intake, painted or not?

[86Shelby]

Supercrackerbox and I are trying to figure out which if the lower intake should be painted on his '87 GLHS(103) or not. After asking the folks we know with 'S cars and checking out the parts we have that we are certain of their origin, our results are inconclusive at best. The sales material I have doesn't give a good enough shot to look at. Is there a rhyme or reason to different cars being painted or not?

86 #420 was unpainted 170k+ Engine may have rebuilt sometime along the way before I had it.
86 #326 was painted black (6k mile survivor) No reason it would have been messed with.
87 #305 was unpainted Unknown mileage/history salvage yard refugee.
87 #231 was painted black (5xk mile survivor) Not taken apart to the best of my knowledge.
87 #103 the top was black, bottom was bare. The shortblock, at minimum, was replaced at some point. Car had other speed goodies on it when he picked it up. That's about all we know about it.

Side note, if you have info for the '87 Shelby Lancers, CSXs, or '87 TII Daytonas I'm ok with that in the thread also.

'86 326 for reference.

[cordes]

I know for sure that one of mine was painted on the top side. It was out of a TII Daytona.

I think I have one in the basement which is bare on the bottom, but I think that one was refinished on the top and bottom left that way.

[86Shelby]

Thanks, Mr. Cordes. Anyone else have input on this?

[glhs0075]

#0075 is a failry unmolested survivor, I'll take a look tonight and see what I can see.

[135sohc]

I purchased a two piece manifold from a very reputable member of community and I believe it came from a Daytona. Upper half is wrinkle black and the lower is bare as cast aluminum fwiw. I am 99.998% sure it is as originally finished and was never altered.

[Marcus86GLHS]

all of the confirmed unmolested 86 GLHS cars i have seen, including my ex #126, have the lower intake manifold unpainted, bare aluminum.

86 SHELBY's data above is very interesting and is in line with Mopar's long running reputation for inconsistency and does not surprise me one bit.

this looks like it might be one of those "either way is correct" scenarios.

[135sohc]

I'm not a thermal science expert by any means but the lower halves may have been left bare for a few reasons. 1: its cheaper and that fits with chrysler well. 2: the bare aluminum may not absorb as much heat vs the oem'ish satin black since the exhaust is right below it.

[johnl]

I haven't looked yet as the '87 car is not parked in my yard yet but I will report back, maybe even snap a pic or two, as soon as I can. And, I'll look at the '86 too, don't remember.

[Turbo3Iroc]

86 #210 is unpainted. The car is higher on miles (~150K) but I believe it to be original. I can look through the records to confirm.

[glhs0075]

'87 #0075 is not painted on the lower piece of the intake. 72 000 miles, numbers matching block and trans, very unmolested looking.

[85boostbox]

I know where a few are lying around. All from numbered cars. 1 is on a 44k miles 100% unmolested 86 glhs. One from a 87 shelby lancer and one from 87 glhs. I will report back.

[RoadWarrior222]

Don't spose any of those super double secret VIN lists floating around have build dates, so we could determine "This week they had them, next week they didn't" sort of patterns.

[supercrackerbox]

Don't spose any of those super double secret VIN lists floating around have build dates, so we could determine "This week they had them, next week they didn't" sort of patterns.

That's a thought. Might take a while to cross-reference all the data though.

[Turbo3Iroc]

It would help a lot since the cars were not built sequentially.

[zin]

For what it's worth, the 3-4 I've had were not painted...

Mike

[85boostbox]

Ok got the info as follows.

86 glhs #136 unpainted
87 glhs #874 unpainted
87 shelby lancer #? Unpainted

[sdac guy]

Don't spose any of those super double secret VIN lists floating around have build dates, so we could determine "This week they had them, next week they didn't" sort of patterns.

No build dates are listed on any of the Whittier VIN lists. Cars were unloaded off trucks or trains into a storage lot. Brought into the plant in no particular order and modified. Then parked back in the lot in the "completed" area when finished. When looking at the lists, and following which cars were sent to which dealers, there isn't even a pattern there. Other than the low numbered cars which always went to certain dealers, the rest appear to be fairly random.

My Shelby Lancer prototype has the lower half in black.

Barry

[Chad T]

1986 #088 is def bare on the bottom.

[contraption22]

I'd suggest ceramic coating to keep some heat off.

[RoadWarrior222]

I'd say first step would be an insulating spacer... airflow will keep it pretty cool then (If you have an IC) ... but soaks at idle.