crosswind manifold

340srule
No,Vic was just showing how a inferior foreign made copy can't compare to the original American made one.


Yeah, it looks like a Weiand will be in my future. I know that the Edelbrock family's hot rodding history runs to the pre-WWII era, and that their knowledge far surpasses mine. I must also give them kudos for their support of hot rodding in general stretching back to far before I was born.

That being said, I bought those valve covers based on thier reputation and my previous experience with their products, which at that time had always been good.

I had the covers shipped to work so I didn't have to worry about them getting ripped off from my front stoop. I called over two of my co-workers, both of whom share my interest in racing, and build their own cars and bikes. Upon pulling them out of the box (there was no damage to the box whatsoever), I noticed that there was a crack running right through the gasket sealing surface. This was not a "oops I dropped it" kind of crack, but a bonified crappy *** casting crack that went straight through. There was so much casting flash on the sealing surface of both valve covers that I would have had to mill them both to have them seal even if they weren't cracked. The quality of the aluminum appeared poor (as in porous) and the castings were incredibly thin. All three of us were blown away by the poor quality. If your'e going to put your name on something, at least have some quality control. Summit being what they are, took the covers right back and refunded all of my money, including shipping.

Shortly afterward, I e-mailed (not a nasty e-mail, just an informative one)their tech dept, letting them know what the story was. I was expecting to get a response like "Thanks for letting us know what the problem was, we are replacing our vendor" or "We have changed our QC procedures to prevent such problems in the future". No response. Two more e-mails. No response.

A month later I e-mailed them a detailed letter regarding the RPM range of their LD4B intake manifold, here's copy of the e-mail and the response I got (Read from bottom to top!):

"The LD4B has an rpm range of 1000 to 5000 rpms.

For all replies please include the ORIGINAL Email.

Thanks - Gregg Suyenaga, Edelbrock Tech Dept.

-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Esterl
Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2006 10:23 AM
To: Greg Suyenaga
Subject: RE: LD4B Intake Manifold


Gregg,

Yes I do but it has not been installed on the engine yet. It came off a core 360 block I plan on stroking to a 408 that will have a solid roller cam and W-2 heads and will be going into a lightweight A-body Mopar. Needless to say, the LD4B will not work with the W-2 heads I plan on installing, so I was hoping it would work well with my existing truck motor combo. I can't seem to find much information on this manifold though. If it will not compliment my choice of parts, I can always sell it.

Thanks,

Joe



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Greg Suyenaga [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2006 11:09 AM
To: Joe Esterl
Subject: RE: LD4B Intake Manifold


Before I answer this. Do you already have the LD4B intake?

For all replies please include the ORIGINAL Email.

Thanks - Gregg Suyenaga, Edelbrock Tech Dept.

-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Esterl
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2006 11:26 AM
To: edelbrock
Subject: RE: LD4B Intake Manifold


Techs,

I am presently building a '74 Chrysler 360 LA engine and had a question as to whether an old Edelbrock LD4B manifold would suit my needs. The engine specs are as follows: 10:2 to measured compression ratio, cast iron 360 heads with 2.02 intake valves and 1.60 exhaust valves, Crane cam with 216 intake and 228 duration @ .050 lift, .454 lift intake, .480 lift exhaust, 1.6 ratio rocker arms, 1 5/8" headers, and Holley 670 cfm Truck Avenger carb. I am running a Torqueflight 727 automatic transmission with a TCI sizzler torque converter which should allow a 300 to 400 rpm increase in stall speed over stock.

This engine will be going into a '74 Dodge Ramcharger that is used at an altitude of 5280 ft. and above (up to 10,000 ft.). I have 32' tall tires (measured) with 3.55 gears, soon to be upgraded to 3.73. We have high speed limits here in Colorado (75 mph), and the truck will be used primarily for transportation to fishing and camping sites in the mountains and towing a lightweight pop-up style camper as well as blasting around in the mud and off-road hill climbing.

Thanks,

Joe"

All they wanted to know was whether or not I already bought a manifold? I don't get it.

Anyway, that's been my personal experience with them this past year, so my next manifold will most likely be a Weiand. :sad:

Sorry so long, been hitting the coffee hard this morning!