65 Mustang intake manifold question (1 Viewer)

[Joey Skinner]

I have an aftermarket aluminum intake for a 289 and noticed that it only has coolant ports at the front where the stock manifold has coolant ports at the front and the rear. I'm talking about the ports that carry the coolant from the heads through the intake. Is this going to be a problem?

 

[Scooter]

I asked a tech here in the shop I work in and he said call the manufacturer and ask then why they did it that way. His sense from your post is they must of had a reason and it's probably..I said probably..ok.

Best bet again, call the makers.

 

[Joey Skinner]

Thanks for the reply Scooter. Is it possible that the front coolant ports are the only ones used and the rear ones are there just to make the heads interchangeable from side to side? My problem is I've "inherited" this car from someone who started working on it then abandoned it. Now I have to get it going by this weekend to remove it from someone else's property. I may be wrong about the stock manifold using front and rear coolant ports; I don't have it here to look at and I don't know the manufacturer of the aluminum manifold. I'm pretty sure it will work but confirmation from someone who knows for sure would really ease my mind.

 

[Zen Butler]

Joey many aftermarket intakes are like this. In short, it's fine. There is a lengthy answer but I'm pressed for time.

 

[Scooter]

I also asked "THE" 'Stang expert in the shop. Guy is known in the area for this. He said he needs specifics about the engine and he could have an answer for you.

 

[Mary M S]

Joey (my nephew by your name has a 65 coup) My Husband is fairly intimate with the 289 and the 302 engines, so I asked him for you.

He states: “After market alum intakes often only have 2 holes in the front, in theory, to achieve an increase in performance using a cooler denser aircharge.
The original stock used 4 holes, two in the back, to help heat the intake for greater atomization of fuel.
The rear holes do make the unit interchangeable side to side on the stock unit.

If you have the heads off, (if you have never reinstalled a manifold) be sure the new gasket is installed in the proper direction. These will be labeled ‘front’ and this is critical. Proper installation allows the water to come up from the back of the block and pass through the heads to the front of the engine. If you are unaware of the directional label and install backwards it will allow the water to enter from the front of the head passing back out without the correct circulation causing overheating of the alum.

For the small block Ford, if you end up shopping for a new manifold, I recommend the Airgap intake from Edelbrock. Good Luck.”

…..he mentioned to me a method he installs these as regards the gasket which creates a better seal, then stopped himself and told me, disregard that; explaining that if you are not familiar with installing the gaskets and use an incorrect amount of adhesive etc, you can mess up the install allowing leakage. If its your first manifold reinstall its better to stick to the supplied cork gasket, (be careful with the cork he mentioned its easy to overtorque and ruin the seal by applying too much pressure during install)

If you’ve done several of these type installs before and are interested let me know and I will query him further.

65. Is it coupe or fastback? I think my husbands looking for a new fastback body. We are in your area (DFW) with our 68 moneypit stang which won Outstanding in Class at the Dallas Autorama.

 

[Joey Skinner]

Hi Mary. It is a coupe. We bought it as a project for my stepson and it has been a nightmare(blown engine the day after we bought it). Like most teenagers he had great plans but the reality of it was too much for him. He replaced the 2 bbl manifold with a 4 bbl and then it had a bad oil leak. So he more or less abandoned it and got another car. I was going to put the original manifold back on it but he didn't know where it was and I was in a hurry to move it so I put the aluminum one back on today. I was a mechanic for many years so it was no problem; it's running now although I had a bit trouble getting all the air out of the cooling system. He had tried to put the manifold on using silcone only for the front and rear gaskets which seems to be the accepted way to do it nowadays but I've never had a problem with the cork gaskets so I went with them.
Anyway, I'm fixing the car up to sell. It is pretty rough now and I'm going to lose a fortune on it; you live and learn.

 

[Scooter]

Joey...BEFORE you go to even MORE expense....


www.ebay.com

Good luck.