[brut4s]

Thanks for all the hard work Tom. I'm still in & Hopeful

[tom s]

Guys,I have decided to wash my hands of the project.Im worn out.The project is forsale for $8500.For that the buyer will get 2 3D printed plastic intakes and a memory stick with the STL files to be able to print and machine casted intakes along with the Paisolid(spelling) files need to make the patterns.These will allow the buyer to take the files to their local pattern maker and have patterns made which can be taken to a local foundry to have cast.They can then go to a local machine shop to machine the casting.This includes files for the early and late style intakes.sorry to bail out but for my mental well being its my only option.I really wanted to stay to the end,SORRY.I know to duplicate to this stage it would cost more than double the amount I have in it.My thanks to John Cogger and Jon Schmit for getting me this far,without them I would have been lost.Tom

[tom s]

Well that did not take long.Guys,the project will continue!John Cogger who is a board member is taking it over.He was involved with scanning my intake and getting the 3 D manifold printed and has a 5 axes CNC machine.He is actually making a billet Bathtub.Im sure at some point he will get on the thread and confirm.I will remain on board with him to supply him with all names that have confirmed they still wanted them.Standing by to stand by!Tom

[mgarblik]

This is indeed great news! I don't know Mr. Cogger, but he has the key ingredients to keep this project alive. He is very interested and involved in the project. The project will remain in local control. (assuming he will be using the local foundry/pattern shop you found). He is a PONTIAC guy. Can't hope for a better result than this. Congratulations and thank you.

[4zpeed]

Just seen this, what a case of whiplash! Getting in line to get in line.

Much thanks to John Cogger, and especially you Tom!



Frank

[darbikrash]

Thanks to all for the patience in hanging in with this project. I have been involved since the beginning, getting the scan done, getting a 3D printed model, and helping out with some of the computer modeling work. I have owned a company that does mechanical engineering and product development for more than 30 years, so this project is a good fit for us.

Tom was gracious enough to come along with me today to the foundry to facilitate the hand off. The foundry is enthusiastic about this project, and so am I. Contracts were signed, purchase orders given and the deposit was made so the production is now officially started.

The casting tooling is now underway, which will take around 8 weeks. During that time we will develop the necessary fixtures to accomplish the machining of the finished castings. I plan to do all the machining work in house on our 5 axis mill.

While this is not really a 5 axis job, using this machine will mean the part can be machined on 5 sides in a single setup, and insures that the tolerances and feature relationships are of high precision.

As a side project, we are also machining a late model style manifold from a solid billet. Here are a few pics, the top is done but the base is still on the machine as it is a big project. The chunk of raw aluminum weighs 145 lbs, and the toolpaths contain over 240,000 lines of code, all which had to be programmed. Here are a few shots of the plenum area that was roughed out of the billet.





I’ll post updates on the casting tooling periodically as things progress, and we should have some really nice intakes shortly. After visiting the foundry, I am confident that they can turn out high quality castings- Tom did a great job finding these folks and getting the project this far.

[JSchmitz]

Originally Posted by darbikrash

Thanks to all for the patience in hanging in with this project. I have been involved since the beginning, getting the scan done, getting a 3D printed model, and helping out with some of the computer modeling work. I have owned a company that does mechanical engineering and product development for more than 30 years, so this project is a good fit for us.

Tom was gracious enough to come along with me today to the foundry to facilitate the hand off. The foundry is enthusiastic about this project, and so am I. Contracts were signed, purchase orders given and the deposit was made so the production is now officially started.

The casting tooling is now underway, which will take around 8 weeks. During that time we will develop the necessary fixtures to accomplish the machining of the finished castings. I plan to do all the machining work in house on our 5 axis mill.

While this is not really a 5 axis job, using this machine will mean the part can be machined on 5 sides in a single setup, and insures that the tolerances and feature relationships are of high precision.

As a side project, we are also machining a late model style manifold from a solid billet. Here are a few pics, the top is done but the base is still on the machine as it is a big project. The chunk of raw aluminum weighs 145 lbs, and the toolpaths contain over 240,000 lines of code, all which had to be programmed. Here are a few shots of the plenum area that was roughed out of the billet.


I’ll post updates on the casting tooling periodically as things progress, and we should have some really nice intakes shortly. After visiting the foundry, I am confident that they can turn out high quality castings- Tom did a great job finding these folks and getting the project this far.

Very impressive! So glad to hear that this is going forward!

[Tim john]

I don't have a need for this intake or an order placed but this gives me great satisfaction to see this come full circle. The folks involved from concept to fruition are simply outstanding. Thank You to everyone in giving this project life !

Tim john---

[tom s]

Mike,just got back from 3 days in Mammoth and then a week long trip in Mexico a couple weeks ago.Going this Friday!Tom

[421mike]

Good idea, just got back from thyroid surgery at UCLA, wish I could go.

[ANDYA]

Glad to hear the project is still on track. I'm still in.

[tom s]

OK guys,we have not been dragging our feet but John had some concerns of how the patterns were coming along.The casting company was 100% on board but the pattern maker has a little iffy.There was a conference call today and now everyone is on board BUT the lead time has been extended.It looks like its about 18 weeks now before we have casting samples.Im sure John will chime in.What we really want to know who if anyone wants off the list.Tom

[darbikrash]

Originally Posted by tom s

OK guys,we have not been dragging our feet but John had some concerns of how the patterns were coming along.The casting company was 100% on board but the pattern maker has a little iffy.There was a conference call today and now everyone is on board BUT the lead time has been extended.It looks like its about 18 weeks now before we have casting samples.Im sure John will chime in.What we really want to know who if anyone wants off the list.Tom

Now that the pattern maker has laid out his tooling plan, he has revised his estimate to completion to 12 weeks from today. After that, the foundry needs another 4-6 weeks to produce samples.

So realistically, production intakes are 4-5 months out.

This delay will produce a better quality tool, with dedicated cores for both early and later style, but it does move the schedule out quite a bit.

If those who have previously indicated interest in either the early or late style can weigh in if this delay changes your interest in buying an intake, can you either post this or send me a PM? No problem if this is the case, just let me know.

[brut4s]

I'm still in for late style

[Pontiac Pete 63]

I'm definitely in for the 980 style heads

[61-63]

I am still in for the late style.

[3fastgtos]

Still in for late style, quick question. Can the top be altered for side facing holleys?

[darbikrash]

Originally Posted by 3fastgtos

Still in for late style, quick question. Can the top be altered for side facing holleys?

I'll have to check the hole pattern to see how this overlays on the existing casting.

Also, we'll have to confirm the carbs physically fit in this configuration, if so, we can then machine the standard casting with the correct hole pattern for the Holleys.

I have anticipated that some may want different carb(s), so it is also possible to make a billet top to match up with the cast lower piece if the standard cast top won't work. In this case, many more options are available if anyone wants a unique setup.

[421mike]

I'm retired so waiting means nothing, still in for the early one.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by darbikrash

it is also possible to make a billet top to match up with the cast lower piece if the standard cast top won't work. In this case, many more options are available if anyone wants a unique setup.

hmm
6 Deuces on a BathTub Intake
that would be Killer eye candy