Ported intake?

**Damage Inc.** · 03-15-2009, 03:48 AM

So does anybody have any good pics of the plenum of a finished ported LS2 intake, that they are willing to post or PM me?

I've got a good idea of what to do and what not to do. But all the pics I've seen have been not quite finished looking.

I think I know how the runners should look after porting but I'm not sure about the plenum area.

I don't want to take any business away from the vendors and I don't plan on going into the porting business myself. I've done a fair amount of port work on my cars in the past with good results. I just want to know how far to go with it.

Has anyone taken a good look inside? All I want to know is did they flatten/smooth the entire floor of the plenum or just the front part?

**mark21742** · 03-15-2009, 03:06 PM

i dont have any pics, but one of my friends just did his ls2 intake a few weeks ago. used a 6" bit set from summit to get nice and deep in there. you really cant take much out, you can grit all of the lips and seams down level with the inside runners and to go even further take a long Q-tip with plastic epoxy to seal the gaps/ cracks in the seams.
this lnk might help you=
http://www.vetteweb.com/tech/vemp_08...ing/index.html

**Damage Inc.** · 03-16-2009, 03:20 AM

I'm not sure putting epoxy inside the intake would be a good idea. If it starts to flake off it's going right in to the valves/cyls...

I did see that article, thanks anyway.
If you look closely you'll notice some things.

The first pic, on the bottom of the page, is of what appears to be a LS2 intake but compare the runner shapes the one in the second pic. The LS2 is rounded at the top and the other is much flatter at the top, LS7.

The third pic shows just the bottom and the floor is completely smooth, like a fast and I imagine a LS7. LS2's have a bunch of ribs on the floor. Which is why I'm trying to find out if people are smoothing out the entire floor or will that make it to week and possibly colapse under high vacuum, such as engine braking with a manual trans.

Then if you get into the pics further you see LS7 on the cyl heads and the exhuast ports are a D shape.

In one of them he's working on the runners and it has the cathedral ports, LS1/2/6.

I think they just threw a bunch of photos together. Some LS2 Some LS7. The principles are all the same.
But I don't want to go through the trouble of making/finding a mandrel long enough to reach all the way to the back of the plenum only to have the intake implode. Now you see my dilemma.
I'll probably just do the runners and the front transition portion behind the TB opening.

**mark21742** · 03-16-2009, 04:54 AM

the other possible thought I had for the intake floor was pouring a layer of fiberglass resin in to level it....just a thought

**Damage Inc.** · 03-16-2009, 05:02 AM

I'm just not crazy about putting anything on the inside of the intake that could possbly came apart. Perhaps on the underside though.

**mark21742** · 03-16-2009, 05:14 AM

with the 6" bit (nonferrous metal bit) on a 90 ° you can get pretty far up in the runners, that's all my friend did to his, then he ran a sanding drum up into it to smooth out the spots he ground down.
I got the 3 piece bit set for around $50 through summit

**Damage Inc.** · 03-16-2009, 07:20 AM

I got a couple sets of mandrels, I was thinking of welding them together to make one about 12" long to get far into the plenum. I have a couple 6" bits so I don't think I'll have any problems with the runners.

Thanks for all the help
Thom

**mark21742** · 03-16-2009, 07:47 AM

Originally Posted by Damage Inc.

I got a couple sets of mandrels, I was thinking of welding them together to make one about 12" long to get far into the plenum. I have a couple 6" bits so I don't think I'll have any problems with the runners.

Thanks for all the help
Thom

if you feel up to it you should port and polish your heads too, I took ALOT of material out of mine and polished them all up, runners, chambers, valve guides and even valve seats. in my opinion the head work gave me more of a boost in power than the cam swap.
using the 90 ° it took about 5 strait hours of grinding and sanding......but even as sore as my hands and arms were after it was definately worth it.
great project for a long weekend!