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The option I had planned was for those pieces to have an aluminum look. But another option is for the steel brackets (alternator bracket, spacer, and arm as well as the plate with the X) to be black.
Then there are the bolts, which could be either black or natural, but will be PC'd in any event. However, I do plan to run a ground from the alternator to the block.
She is, but some of the details were too ...... tedious.
Ok, that is an even different approach. Stamped would be the X plate, the big black A/C compressor bracket in the pic, and the alternator's adjusting arm. All else is cast. I think I like that.
Decided that I needed to figure out which powder to use on the cast pieces, both aluminum and steel. So I shot the other A/C bracket I have with Eastwood's Blasted Aluminum powder. Here's a comparison between it, on the left, and the Saginaw power steering pump's bracket on the right, which is aluminum that's been blasted. The powder is just a touch lighter, but it has a similar texture as the real thing, so I think it is just what I need to give uniformity on all of the cast pieces. But, I wonder if I should use it on the intake manifold instead of clear?
And I cleaned up one of the pistons out of the $40 400 and shot it with the black I'm using, which is Sherwin Williams Black. It isn't as glossy as Eastwood's Gloss Black nor as satin as their Satin Black, and I think it'll work well for the stamped steel pieces as well as the bolt heads.
Got started today on the power steering pump. Pulled it all apart and have cleaned most of it up. And, as I was looking at the pieces I realized I can PC not only the ham can/reservoir but also the body. So, following the convention the body would be Blasted Aluminum since it is cast, and the reservoir will be black. What'cha think?
The USA-made Weiand came in today. And, it fits! Here's a shot of the tops of the two, with the Chinese unit on the left.
And here's a shot of the Eddy (left), Chinese (middle), and US-made Weiand (right). Yuk! I'll have to retake that shot tomorrow. Sorry. And, when I do you'll see that the Chinese made unit is completely different than the US-made one. The US manifold's ports are more rectangular, closer to the Eddy's. And there is another difference - weight. The Eddy weighs 15 lbs, the Chinese Weiand weighs 17 lbs, and the US one weighs 21 lbs. You think there might be a difference somewhere????
And, continuing the discussion of powder coating and colors, I think I'm going to PC the lettering Blue and then protect it when I PC the rest of the manifold Blasted Aluminum. Thoughts?
Later today I started thinking about your work on the throttle linkage and had a fleeting thought of asking you to take measurements on your Eddy manifold from the throttle bracket mounting bosses to the carb mounting bolt holes. That was so I could compare to the Weiand. But then it dawned on me that I have an Eddy manifold and the Weiand so I can easily compare the two. I think I'll do that to see if maybe Weiand relocated the bosses.
Just taking a quick look at your pictures, I don't really think so. The thread boss closest to the driver's side of the manifold would have to be close to even with the left edge of the carburetor mounting flange for it to be different. It looks the same to me.
I feel like the location of the thread bosses on some aftermarket intake manifolds are like the mismatched coil springs you get with TTB lift kits. No attempt was ever made to verify correct application, and even after years of production the problem has never been addressed.
It looks like the U.S. intake at least made an attempt to keep runner length the same.
The Chinese exhauts crossover looks massive.
At least, the bungs in the Chinese one should distribute PCV vapors to multiple cylinders though.
Shaun - You are probably right about the bosses. But I'm curious to see if they are different. And, as I think about it I might be able to figure out mathematically where the bracket needs to be. I have a factory 351HO intake, which surely has the right spacing between the bosses and the carb's bolt holes. If the 351HO took the same throttle cable as the M/400's I could compare that to the spacing on our manifolds and note the differences. However, the empirical method you used is probably the better one.
Jim - I plan to use the PCV port on the back of the carb to do an even better job of distribution. The bungs on the US-made Weiand are almost well-positioned for port injection, and wouldn't be very good even for a vacuum source. I think the plugs may be in when I PC the thing to try to hide them.
And I haven't heard from Tim on how to return the Chinese version. If no one wants it I may put it on the wall for decoration. Should be a good conversation piece.
