Aluminum Intake Manifold Restoration the quick, cheap and easy way 

Agree with you, definitely read the delusion parts to water ratio

Yep drain cleaner is the same thing but I used it on a snowmobile cylinder that got scuffed by the piston skirt to dissolve the aluminum then re hone the cylinders for new rings being the cylinders were with in spec . I think what happened is the guy got on it too hard before it was warmed up being a liquid cooled rotax engine and it cold seized just long enough to drop compression and skuff the cylinder walls .

@Pete Loomis I hope it wasn't a nickel coated sleeve cause honing those destroy em! 99% of liquid cooled sleds have/had nickel coated sleeves!

I have been wet blasting for decades...it always gives a great finish.

Like a water 💦 jet ?

Thank you!

Please people just use the duplicolor. I’ve tried them all, nothing looks better unless you use some old spies hecker European blend (impervious to brake fluid) base with a Saturn (highest flake content) silver, clear with green Pearl. Done it. I think if you chime in and make a comment to use header paint, I have to warn everyone not to. There is no more unreliable paint than header paint. Duplicolor also made the best ceramic header paint. Held up as good as the real thing. They don’t sell it anymore. I have a can of everything. Some have silicone, and if painted indoors will track all over the floor. Others have no corrosion protection. Of any paint made, header paint is a loose cannon. Btw, last I checked, Sikkens was the only brand of auto paint left similar to the Spies. You have to ask for it and pay extra, but if you can get, and want wicked show quality, that’s what you should use.

@@wheelstandr Have you tried POR 15 silver header paint because I have and it worked very good and didn't crack or peel off after 5 years of header abuse ? I tried VHT a couple times blasting the headers and that crap is awful even after short baking the stuff on and once dried and cured it literally cracked and fell right off the headers onto the shop floor and I wouldn't use that stuff on anything other than to toss it in the garbage can .

well priced too picking up a few cans to try cheers

Thanks Chris! The red is a good idea, I may do that! I've found that the high temp clear on these manifolds tends to yellow over time, so I've had better luck not clearing them at all. They still hold a pretty nice gloss from the paint. Thanks for watching!

Gasser Nation Next One I Have That’s Oxidized I’m Going To Give Your Method a Try 😀🧰

I will try that

@anonymous What better to clean shit than a toilet bowl cleaner?!???

BenseBuilt 😃😂

That is the best bro!!! Looks white. Like new, hell, better than new.

Not everyone has the funds or the space for that. This method is cheap and easy.

It would just burn off in no time if it got past the valves. There isn't enough to matter.

Yup. Got a gallon of it. Used to clean big rig rims

Hi James, it however needs to high temp. Manifolds get hot due to the heat crossovers in the heads and manifold.

Why would "temps" be an issue?

Just enough room.. You rotate downward until clear of the manifold.

I had the same intake on a LS6 454 that was built more than factory but I had M/T finned aluminum valve covers and they weren't bad getting off for valve adjustment because I had solid lifter cam . The hardest part was if you weren't using T nuts to hold these on and just bolts was getting those bolts closest to the intake side out and back in without dropping them I found out early on then used T nuts after .

The long runners, set the peak rpm. I have a 1988 corvette with TPI. PEAK horsepower is 4800 rpm. The 1988 TPI has 8 injectors, but the peak rpm is still 4800 rpm. Goggle Chevrolet 1988 TPI

I've tried it, but the clear tends to yellow over time with heat cycles, so I just put the gray on with no top coat, and that way if it does begin to flake or get scratched, you can easily spray some more on to touch it up.

@@NitroUnion what about self-etching primer for aluminum?

You’re using the word “literally” wrong.

Metal 101

@@Ricksastar what

Vapor blasting look it up might cost more but it looks better and actually polished the surface. I had this very same intake on a 66 Chevelle original SS 396 car but put a 70 LS6 in it with a hotter solud lifter cam with electronic ignition and big tube hooker headers and with a 4 spd Muncie and 4:10 out back with big drag slicks it would pull the front tires. I bought the manifold from my boss who ran it on one of his dirt oval track stock cars until rules changed and mandated smaller cubic inch small blocks so the engine got pulled out and a smaller street cam went in and the engine went into his tow truck with a single 4 barrel Holley and that's when I bought the intake manifold for 50.00 with carbs and linkage lol . I looked a few months back on Ebay for this same Edelbrock XC-96 and the price was over a 1,000 bucks and had seen another at a car swap meet that was 1,200.00 a couple of years ago . Wish I still had the car because it would be worth a fortune compared to what I paid and had into it and it was a blast to drive but fuel mileage was out the window .

​@@Ricksastar🤡

One can always polish it to a mirror finish after blasting as well.

Then it oxidizes and stains again (unless it's a show car that is barely ever run.). Mag wheel cleaner IS useful for cleaning, but needs to be rinsed well before painting.

@@Spiritof_76 I would mostly agree with you, on the fact that it will oxidize again. for my car. since they are extremely rare, (L78 was a 1 year only option and they only made 600 off them and they were all 4 speeds), so the value is in keeping it as close to original as possible. painting the aluminum intake is not an option, as it will detract from the value of the car. my current method for restoring aluminum pieces, is vapor blasting, followed by eagle 1 wheel cleaner. vapor blasting as a tendency to leave the metal a little on the white side. but the wheel cleaner fixes that.

@@shadvan9494 I wouldn't go slap happy painting parts on an L78 either.

They do, but you gotta have the bottom end and cam for it.

This is the same series manifold that I have been looking for for 30 plus years , Edelbrock X-3 for Chrysler. I had a guy tell me to forget that I even know about them , smh.

@@Mike_Collins392 I think someone is making repops of those intakes now and I thought it was INDY cylinder head who were making those Max wedge intakes .

Why is that bad?

Thank you! Those clips were filmed at Greer. I've been up there several times to the Hot Rod Revivals, we ran the first couple with our car. It's a really neat track.

@@NitroUnion That's awesome! It's a great little track. Keep up the great videos man!

T nuts are the way to go or you use a small magnet that sits in the socket to hold the bolt on and even then it's a pain in the ass because I had the same exact intake and switched to T nuts and life was good again.

I was looking for someone to say something about the leaks this guy was going to have for painting over the metal. Not a good idea. Gaskets hate paint.

A little sealant and a gasket and bolt it together. That thin layer of paint hardly matters. If you want to be picky, a scotchbrite disk on an angle grinder will take the dry paint off faster than taping it all off. Or a paper or cloth towel with a little thinner will wipe the wet paint off quicker as well.

@@Spiritof_76 paint makes gaskets separate. That's a simple fact. There's a reason no performance, professional, or even novice racer just leaves random paint on mounting surfaces. And that's for cars that are only run a few hours a month, if that. On a daily driver, it's even worse.

@@the-dullahan A thin layer of paint on the carb flange? What's it going to leak? The only flange with liquid passing on a Chevy intake would be the thermostat housing. A quick pass with a sanding block, lacquer thinner, or scotchbrite disk and it's gone. A little paint on the distributor flange isn't going to pass oil, there's an o-ring on the shaft. I have 5 chevy engines in my garage right now and have assembled a few in my lifetime.

Why?