Intake hole please help

All is not lost.
Find a shop which has both a TIG welder, and an oven to preheat it 1st. If the manifold is preheated before the repair is started, there will be much less distortion from the welding. I have a mate who works at a radiator shop that could fix that no problems. If you can't get it done for cash, it'll cost a bit more, but you don't want to lose the work which has alreadsy been done.

Maybe try ringing a few radiator shops who do aluminium radiators, and see if any of them have a preheating oven.

It might cost less if you clean up the hole with a dremel and make a patch of aluminium the right size and shape before you take it in. That way you're only paying for the welding, not for them to make the patch as well.


Where in NZ are you dude?