what a difference!

[99FiveOh]

Before, I was wondering why my car felt so underpowered compared to when it was completely stock in my 94 GT. Well today I finished polishing my new Performer I scored in trade of my old RPM upper. I can't believe something as simple as an upper intake swap could make such a difference! It truly felt like I bolted a power adder to the car no kidding!!

For those considering an RPM or Typhoon on an otherwise stock motor either save your cash and buy a GT40/Cobra style intake or go for the Performer.

Here's a couple shots of it:

 

[99FiveOh]

Oh, and I'm glad I have an intake that now says "Edelbrock" on the top. I hate when polishers are so amateur they have to grind off lettering because they can't polish for crap!

 

[Road_Runna]

What kind of tools did you use to polish your manifold? I too have a Performer upper and lower and have wondered how to polish those.

 

[Canary94GT]

Looks good!

 

[Dino Dino Bambino]

My Performer intake doesn't look anywhere near as good as yours but I'm very happy that I have it.

 

[99FiveOh]

What kind of tools did you use to polish your manifold? I too have a Performer upper and lower and have wondered how to polish those.

There are so many I don't know where to start. And this is really an art to tell you the truth. It takes lots of patience and time! But for the most part I use an electric 2600 rpm drill with a 5" backup pad. I start with 5" 80 grit sanding discs then follow with 320 grit. For tight corners I use what are called cartridge rolls, they are little tapered sanding rolls that are designed to reach into tight nooks and crannies.

After that I use small felt bullet-shaped felts to cut in all the tight areas before I use the big buffing wheel to buff all the easily accessible areas. I use what is called tripoli compound initially then follow with white rouge to make it "POP". When you shop for buffing wheels you'll see different kinds offered. You want "spiral sewn section" and "loose sewn". The spiral wheel is your cutting wheel and used with tripoli compound and the loose wheel is your finishing wheel and gets used with white rouge.

I was playing with the idea of making a DVD of the complete process and showing little time saving tricks along the way. I took a few snap shots of a little sanding of the tight areas. Nothing spectacular and I didn't go much further because frankly I just wanted this thing done. I had already shipped my RPM out so my car was sitting and not running!

Here is the intake after stripping with chemical stripper (Aircraft finish remover is best) then pressure washing:

and here's a few shots of getting into tighter areas.

that's all I got because I got in a hurry to complete. The biggest part of doing this is being able to control the sanding disc and cartridge rolls without destroying them. It's tricky because you want them to cut fast but not bare down so hard as to destroy them. This is why most people give up on polishing. I've gotten so many customers over the years that send me their halfway polished items they tried to polish themselves and gave up! lol

 

[Last5.0]

For those considering an RPM or Typhoon on an otherwise stock motor either save your cash and buy a GT40/Cobra style intake or go for the Performer.

Yeah those intakes have the powerband a bit too high for a stock motor.

When my motor still had stock heads and cam, the biggest difference came when I installed a cobra intake.

 

[Noobz347]

Looks awesome 4.6. Did you coat them in any way to preserve the polishing?

 

[99FiveOh]

Looks awesome 4.6. Did you coat them in any way to preserve the polishing?

no. There's no permanent coating that can be used that will be able to protect it and still look good. There are products out there that are designed to preserve it for months at a time, but over the years I have yet to see anything that's 100%. I mean, even with Zoop seal, which is very expensive, water will still spot the aluminum and require maintenance to remove it.

Honestly products like Mothers and Blue Magic easily return the metal to it's beautiful shine with minimal effort.

 

[Noobz347]

Whomever finally invents that product will be a billionaire!

 

[99FiveOh]

I don't think it is possible because anything other than a permanent coating won't adhere due to the surface being so smooth. And something like powder coating will take away the sheen of the polished aluminum leaving it slightly dull.

Not to mention, pretty much ALL clear coatings be it paints or powder will eventually turn yellow from the heat.

 

[Noobz347]

It will surely require a molecular bonded shell. We'll have to call the Haz and see what they used on KITT.

 

[revhead347]

You can't just spray a clear coat on it?

Kurt

 

[99FiveOh]

You can't just spray a clear coat on it?

Kurt

Nope, not only will it dull the polished look, it will also turn yellow after a while.

 

[revhead347]

I know, I was kind of joking around.

Kurt

 

[Zero Signal]

Powder coat it in light grey.

 

[99FiveOh]

if I powder coat it anything it will be a nice candy to go over top of the shiny surface. I think it would look sweet! And it would be the end of maintaining it too. Once I figure out what color I want to go with on the car maybe I'll go ahead and get it powder coated.

 

[90mustangGT]

Yes, the RPM has shorter, larger runners. Works great with AFR heads from what I have heard, but for anything less the regular performer works really well. I need to bolt mine on soon. I have one sitting in the garage. Need a TB.

 

[VibrantRedGT]

I hate to quote myself but I told you.

My neighbor broke the ear off his Edelbrock Peformer intake and since I had an RPM upper sitting on my floor we put it on his stock motor so he could get to work / school. To both of us the car seemed much slower with the RPM. Seems to make power it needed to rev but we figured the heads / cam just couldn't handle the area where the RPM wanted to peak. He then took the Performer upper to welder where they fixed that ear. Went for a drive after installing the upper and the car had much more torque and usable power. I don't even think the gear you have is good for the RPM either. Although I can understand your putting a blower on. However the Performer intake even with a blower I believe will make more HP without over revving the stock heads / cam.

 

[Zero Signal]

I was kidding about the powder coat. Although a smooth candy paint scheme would be nice. In the meantime, I'd just do Zoop seal. No reason to let the time spent on it go to waste.