+1 Tsemmett
Hello Pete,
Ford dropped the ball, there..all 96’-98’4.6L 2V NPI Motors affected.
Haven’t seen one in a while. Looks obvious that 97’ is your pride & joy.
I’d swapped out over 15 in my own shop, including my personal 96’ GT. Ford list was 460$ for that Intake, (2007). Be happy they’re not available now, lol.
I’ve used Ford’s, once backordering, was forced to use the Dorman part, as well as another Mfg. All (3) types functioned appropriately. Upgrade hardware, that’s easily accomplished. I usually replace fasteners.
Only differences between the OE part and Fords response to overwhelming Dealer & Tech coolant leak TSB’s (96’-98’ stock, non PI replacement) was the aluminum coolant crossover.
Remaining Intake material was a revised polymer matrix composite.
Swap is easy and will take an hour or two moving slowly with basic hand tools.
Though appearances suggest it’s a PI Intake, It is not. As suggested above, PI Heads are designed for a PI manifold. Will it fit? Yes. Correctly? No. Present course, you should opt for a 96’-98’ OE replacement.
Something else to consider:
Though more costly, I’d dropped a few links below with information regarding the PI Intake/Head/Cam swap. The motor runs much more efficiently, mileage improves, 50HP gains are not unusual.
Cams have a large role in this, but geared for all driving types.
99’- 04’ factory PI motors have dished pistons yielding a 9:1 C.R. using the same PI parts you’d be adding, while the Compression ratio is at 10.5:1 with 96-98’ Motors, giving an edge on gains.
Stock, 96’s, 97’s 98’s were 210HP, 215HP, 225HP. Same motors, 96’-98’ with a PI swap: 97’’s around 260-270-280 HP. Drivetrain losses aside, you’d still be planting at the tires more HP/TQ than you previously made at the Crank. Better throttle response, mileage, HP/TQ, less emissions...and running all Ford parts.
Around 230HP/290Ft/lbs of Torque, at the wheels. More than the 99’-04’s.
https://www.americanmuscle.com/what-is-a-mustang-pi-engine-heads-or-intake.html
www.americanmuscle.com
Hope that helps!
-John