Finally sorted out my difficulty of a lean miss I had when I bolted everything back together the first try. Seems that I must have tightened one side of the air box(s) a bit more than the other resulting in a air gap [ crooked ]. All is well now and Iam waiting for the rain to pass to GET IT ON.

I really liked the LET spacer KIT as it came with pairs of FACTORY gaskets to insert on each side of the spacers, affording the best fit and seal possible. [ I proved that all good designs can be derailed by a DUMMY at the wrench ]

The photos show my installation and may afford you some ideas that will make your installation quicker and with less work. The KIT came with 4 gaskets, 2 spacers 1/8th inch thick, and 4 very interesting phenolic washers.

When the inlet air boxes were removed I noticed that the factory gaskets were flat on the inlet surface but formed [bent] over the fuel rails. To make the installation easier I preformed [ bent ] each of the 4 gaskets so that they were the correct shape and the holes all lined up with the bolt holes. The first photo shows the formed gaskets trial fitted with the screws inserted in the head. The spacers and gaskets have one correct FRONT position with the CENTER EAR TAB facing forward. The washer spacers are shown on the upper part of the photo.

Jerry ( Mr Helpful ) at LET filled me, in that these 4 phenolic washers were to space up the air box on the two outboard attachment posts (per side) so that the inlet air box would be supported evenly ( level ) and prevent mounting stresses and leaks.

Having done gaskets on a lot of different things, I realized that I would make a mess if I tried to align 2 gaskets, a spacer and 2 washers at the same time. To make this all reasonable I first glued the two washers to the support posts of the engine on each side, with YELLOW DEATH* [contact cement ] to keep them in place. Glued to the post first, the these two washers are secured and the two inlet gaskets will sit on top of them.

Photo two is the layout of the gaskets and spacer so that I can get a feel of how they install. I chose to match the gaskets and spacers for each side [ they are like a mirror image ] so that I installed them correctly the first time. Trial fitting is a good way to be sure that you are doing it all correctly before you proceed.

AFTER I checked the fitting of the gaskets and spacers I used a low -tack spray adhesive to laminate the gasket sets into one assembly. You have to take the time to breath and insure that your layout of parts is correct then you can spray a little glue on BOTH sides of the phenolic and ONLY ONE INNER SIDE of each gasket that MATES with the phenolic spacer. If you foul up, this stuff can be separated and cleaned up with solvent. See the third photo for the layout, one gasket is right side up, its mate is upside down for spraying the adhesive,and the spacer is sprayed on each side.

Yahoo now I have a single piece to try to get into position under the air box when I reassemble the whole thing. The fourth photo will show the sandwich of gasket - spacer - gasket. Use your fingers to slide the parts into good alignment before you set it aside to dry a bit. This piece will stay together so you can handle the set easily, now you can place it under the air box without having the little beasties separate and shift out of position.

To assist in understanding the steps that I took [ yeah I am lysdecix ] the fifth shot is of the posts mentioned earlier with the washers seen as the orangish color parts. The air box is installed in this photo. Just be sure the whole thing is down flush and sealed to avoid having an air leak ( like I did ).

My last shots shows the top of the motor with a test fit of the gasket and the boxes installed with the glue / adhesive cans used in the job described.

The spacers are intended to thermally isolate the air box from the head and reduce heating of the air charge going into the engine. This is one of the simple upgrades you can do to gain performance without adding stress to the engine. I did all of this work at the same time that I installed a Needswings cold air inlet system.

Enjoy, Waldig

* If you try to pick the contact glue off of your fingers, you will quickly see why if is called Yellow death.

 

Good writeup! Hope you like the spacers...

 

Any idea what gains are to be expected? How long did the install take? I look forward to hearing if you feel a difference.

Steve

 

I have not gotten the time to check with my G meter but it all feels great.

With my Limited Slip Rearend (PHANTOM GRIP ADDED), from a 10mph roll I can not punch it for both rears break loose. In second gear it will break loose a bit when shifting and this is on dry pavement. Seat of the pants feelings being what they are, there is a lot more bottom end punch in the motor.

These changes include the intake gaskets installed, the needswings added, and the porting of the heads, inlet air boxes, and polishing the Wye and inlet boxes.

To evaluate things, it is best to get one change evaluated at a time so that the contribution of each can be seen on its own. When the 1/8 mile opens I will get better ( more meaningful data ).

The needswings took me about an hour, I fiddle just to be sure, and also I did the painting before watching the supplied DVD. Used a heat lamp to force dry the paint too, always on the moove....

Intake gaskets would take about 1.5 hours total for a cool engine if they were done alone.

Waldig

 

Nice! You stole my idea At least now I get an idea of what they will look like painted. I wanna get mine powder coated gloss black, like my intake.