port matching Air-gap intake to match VJ heads

I was checking out my heads (VJ heads) and my intakes (Air-gap 351W and Vic Jr.) again and was wondering if there was enough meat on the intake ports of the AG intake to match the ports of the VJ heads?

In the instructions for the heads it mentions that the intake ports are matched to the ports of a VJ intake and are port matched to a Fel-pro gskt. #1262. The instructions for the AG says to use Fel-pro gskt. #1250 or #1262 also. I went to a speed shop earlier today and took a look at both gskt. sets. The #1250 set matches the ports on the AG perfectly (smaller port opening) and the #1262 fits the VJ intake ports and the heads perfectly also.

So, could the AG intake be port-matched to the #1262 gskt? It looks to me like you would have to do some major grinding to open the ports up enough for the ports on the AG to look like the VJ intake ports. Also how far into the ports would you go or would you just port-match the opening and leave the rest of the intake ports "as is"?

In a related question, which intake should I use first when I get the stage 2 engine built and into my car, Air-gap or Vic. Jr?
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Don't tell me I stumped all of you on this question.....No one's port matched an intake to a cyl. head? I find that hard to believe. Back TTT....[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_confused.gif[/img]
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Which manifold to use all depends on where you want your power. If your engine is setup for low to mid range power I would say the airgap, if you are building for top end the VJ. You can probably make the airgap match up to the 1262 gaskets, but you might want to have whoever is going to do the port work, if you are not going to do it yourself, take a look and see what they think.

Hi CMan,

As the owner of a flowbench and avid racer as yourself, the right answer lies in the flowbench.

I would highly recommend that you find a competent flowbench owner and have your heads flowed with the manifold as-is. Flow the heads without the manifold and you can tell where the restrictions are. Most likely you will need to match the AG up to the VJ heads and then work back into the ports 2-3".

Edelbrock posts on the website how much meat is available below and above the bolt holes so you should be able to figure out how far you can go.

Good luck.

I was just curious what you were going to do with whatever intake you don't use.Port matching the intake unless they're really off doesn't really make much power,and if you get the intake port bigger than the heads it can cost you power.I was just thinking you could try the intakes,decide which one is right for you and then get it matched up perfectly for every last hp.That way if your going to sell the other intake,you can sell it in unmodified condition.(keep your fellow Canadian buddies informed)[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

thanks for the answer guys. When the stage 2 engine gets built around late next month my builder will take a good look at the intakes and the heads and we'll determine which to use.

I know that I will be using the VJ heads "out of the box", and the VJ intake also (this is the one I bought back in March used for $250 canadian, ports have not been touched on this intake), however to use the AG the ports will need to be opened up to match the intake ports on the heads (they are much smaller than the ports on the heads and the VJ intake). Just bolting the AG intake down on the engine with VJ heads won't work for me, it will definitely choke the motor (those that aren't familiar with the specs of this motor can do a search under my username and look for a post "camshaft for project sleeper" and see what the deal is).

I will try out both intakes on this motor before deciding if I'm going to sell one or the other, but if the AG is the one that will be sold it will definitely be port matched to my heads and won't be original. So, frdnut, can I put you down as #1 in line for either intake when I'm ready to let one go? [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img][img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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Ya Cman let me now when your ready to let one of those go.I gotta start collecting pieces sooner or later.[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img][img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

I have the air-gap on my 351w and port matched it to a fel-pro 1262 gasket no problem. The ports in the AG are really larger than the exits, you don't notice this until you do the port match and realize how the port exit now matches the port... When I did the port match I left about 1/16 or so to allow for any port mismatch and still not be overlapping the port in the head.