Aluminum intake install - 340

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imo350

imo350

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Hey all, I am getting ready to install my Torker 340 intake and I want to hear the tips for best results. I am using the Felpro 1213 gaskets and will run black RTV along the China walls in lieu of the cork gaskets. I have removed the dowel pins. The Torker has no provision for coolant flow across the back of the intake/heads.

I have heard that sealing up the coolant passages is critical in a SBM and this is my first one, so looking for the best tips on materials to use and techniques to implement or avoid.

Thanks, Ian
 
Use that intake for a paper weight and get a good one.
 
I disagree on being a crappy one though there are better.
Suggesting he dump it for a better one is unhelpful.

To answer the question, test fit the intake by simply putting it on with the gaskets in place without the intent of sealing it up for good. Just see how it fits on and bolt it down. No need to torque it down, just run the attaching bolts down. Check for distributor clearances. It should go in and come out easy without hitting the rear of the intake. Then remove the distributor and intake.

If there’s any issue, correct the. Now before you open up the RTV.

When you lay down the RTV, you should have noted how much space is on the China walls. The water coolant passages should receive a reasonable amount to make the seal but not a crazy amount of RTV is needed. Apply a generous amount to the corners as they tend to leak if not enough is there. Run the RTV towards the outside edge of the China rails or in the middle, not the inside edge.

Start all the bolts, tighten them down all around until the bolt head just touches the intake, the. Torque them down starting from the middle working your way to the ends alternating side to side and then left to right. This tightens the intake from the middle outwards setting the intake down evenly.

When you start the engine up, check for oil leaks at the ends and look in the corners. It is possible to use the plastic tip of the RTV tube to get more RTV i to the corners and on the rails if you find a leak. Clean it up well before adding more RTV. Brake clean can help here with the plastic red straw attached to clean up the oil since the RTV will sit on top of the oil and possibly not seal.
 
Thanks for the feedback Rumblefish and sounds pretty much like my SBC install. The choice is based on period correct offerings at the time of the era I am shooting for and so I will ignore the unhelpful comments.
 
The intake will do good if you have enough camshaft under it for its use.
 
It's also a good time to mock it up with your valve covers installed, especially if they're aftermarket. It's not common these days but sometimes the inner gasket rails need to be notched a bit so they'll sit flush on the heads.

These fit a SBC but the principle is the same.

1705774741019743312012846083671.jpg
 
imo350 said:
Thanks for the feedback Rumblefish and sounds pretty much like my SBC install. The choice is based on period correct offerings at the time of the era I am shooting for and so I will ignore the unhelpful comments.
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Well I do have a tendency to be blunt. That's FAR from the best of intakes, but for period correctness, which you made no mention of in the original post, it will be good, because they do look good. Not everyone knows they aren't the best performers and I have no way to know what you know, so I said it. And yes, your comparison to the SBC is a good one as the installations are nearly identical. I would use a good bead of RTV on the china walls and a skim coat around the water passages on both sides of the gaskets and don't forget to also put some on the intake bolt threads, as crankcase pressure will cause oil to migrate up the threads and pool on the intake. Lastly, I'm unsure if that's one of the intakes where the top of the ports can interfere with the valve covers depending on which ones you're running, but look out for that. There's you a whole pile of info to ignore.
 
imo350 said:
Thanks for the feedback Rumblefish and sounds pretty much like my SBC install. The choice is based on period correct offerings at the time of the era I am shooting for and so I will ignore the unhelpful comments.
Click to expand...
What’s the rest of the combination?
 
Mtrhead said:
They are better behind a four-speed
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That’s where I had mine. 10-1, 360 - 4spd - 4.10’s - 27” tire.
292/.508 purple was the smallest I ran in it in my 20’s.
Nice mid 12 car. Probably could have gone faster if it wasn’t in a heavy ‘73 Cúda @ 3600 before gasoline and me.

Oh! I made the switch to a LD-340 and later killed down the divider. Used a big TQ with it. Big thumbs up.
:thumbsup:
 
I'm running one on my 340. Because that's what I had. Works well with my set up. 4.30, 3500 stall, rmvb 727, some cam. As Rumblefish360 noted, nothing really special about the install. Run what you got. You may find it suits your needs.
 
suggest that you use ultra grey instead of black RTV., especially for the china wall Follow the instructions - you let it cure for awhile and then torque it. It will retain some level of resistance to squish (that's a technical term) when you torque it down and not just give to the pressure leaving more resistance to creeping out. More resistant to the effects of the petroleum liquid and gasses in the crank case
 
CudaChick1968 said:
It's not common these days but sometimes the inner gasket rails need to be notched a bit so they'll sit flush on the heads.
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TRUE! I put and Edelbrock Air Gap on my 340 about 15 years ago. At the same time, I bought a pair of Edelbrock stamped steel / chrome plated valve covers. I was really surprised that I had to notch the valve covers in several places for them to fit properly; that is to seat down all the way so that the gasket seals against the head. I would have thought that Edelbrock would have designed their parts to work together a little better. Anyway, when I bought a Mopar Performance Air leaner lid and cast aluminum valve covers about 2 years ago and did a 4 color PC job on them, I had to notch those valve covers quite a bit to get them to fit also.
So the moral of the story is this: After installing a new intake, check valve cover fitment BEFORE doing anything to them. How upset would you be if you spent hours cleaning them up and painting or powder coating them only to realize they are not going to fit without grinding on fresh paint or powder.
 
rumblefish360 said:
What’s the rest of the combination?
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It's a std bore with stock 69 pistons and mildly reworked J heads. Comps Xtreme Energy cam and springs. I'm running the Torker 340 with a 650 Double pumper and the 73 factory manifolds. Direct Connection distributor with a Mancini black box. I had the factory radiator recored and added a third row. Clutch fan from a 78 RV.

Trans is an 18 spline Hemi A833 that Brewer rebuilt and converted to SBM and A body configuration. Backed by a Hayes clutch. The rear end is a Ford 9 inch with 3.50 Richmond gears and True Trac center section.

The combo should make for a fun cruiser and I am taking some liberties but also keeping my high school era of the early 80's in mind with several of the upgrades such as intake, distributor etc.

Thanks to everyone who replied with advice and I agree it's pretty much the same strategy as my SBC in my 86 Monte SS. On that setup I am more particular on intake choice as I run a 383 SBC, Turbo 400 automatic, 10" convertor and 9" Ford with 3.70's and it was not happy when I changed from the Dart Sportsman dual plane to a Victor Jr single plane. I could tell within 5 minutes of driving it that I had made a mistake and the et's at the 1/8th mile track where I was running confirmed it. Killed the torque for the street. I went back to the Dart intake and it has ran a best of 11.92 in the 1/4 at US131 in Martin, Mi. with that intake.
 
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