If you remember a couple of weeks ago, I posted about the Brodix HV2001 port mis-alignment to my AFR 305 heads.

And remember that I said that the Edelbrock Victor 454R aligned perfectly.

Brodix had me send the manifold back with the AFR gasket so they could see what I was talking about, and figure out if the manifold that I had bought might have had casting problems.
Well, all of their manifolds turned out to be the same. And Brodix basically said their manifold does indeed fit their heads, but won't fit mine. They did say that they had a pair of AFR 335's there, and the match was good.

Gads. I didn't see anything in the liturature that said "only fits our heads". In fact, we got the recommendation on this manifold form the designer at HVH. HVH btw does the designs for Brodix.

So the saga continues....I thought this would be simple.
Brodix did offer to weld up the misaligned sides of the runners and let us port match accordingly. I didn't ask what that would cost.
And they offered to give us back the $$$ for the manifold plus the shipping cost back to them if we decided to go another route. VERY nice offer.
We like the plenum design on their manifold. So I need to talk to my builder and see what he thinks....he actually bought the manifold.

The Weiand 7522 looks decent......has the extended runner dividers, but what makes me think it's port alignment will be any better?

Dart has absolutely no information on their web site. NONE!

Question: Am I the only guy who looks at port alignment? Anyone else with AFR 305 heads see the same problem? I simply can't beleive it's a fault of the heads.

This is driving me nuts, this car should have been running months ago.

One more thing....why don't we use the Edelbrock? Because the one I got was hacked for angle milled heads, and as long as I had to buy a new one, we thought it would be interesting to try someone elses product.
These are all dominator manifolds.

Ron

Don't let anyone sell you short on port alignment. It's critical and we can actually measure the difference in the dyno room. You want to see between .015"/.030" of the head port outside the intake runner. The best and easiest way (actually perfect) I find to set all it up, is lay the intake gaskets in place on the heads (with heads on block with head gaskets in place) and mark the intake gaskets right through 4 tiny (1/8") holes that I pre-drill at the corners of the intake. I drill right through the gasket, until the bit touches the head. This allows me to come back later and use "cleco buttons" to mount the intake gaskets back on the intake as if it was still bolted in place. This is the ONLY true way to do a gasket match, there is no other way as accurate. It sounds like a major operation, but it actually takes me about 1/2 hour (not counting the grinding) to lay an ass'y out. I don't use the particular brands/part numbers you're working with, but that doesn't matter. I just finished using a number of Edelbrocks #2927's and the Pro-Topline alloy heads (when I can get them). The engines I've tested (540 - 9.75:1 CR - 93 Octane - Comp Cams Hydraulic Roller) all peak around a 6000/6100 RPM range. The horsepower and torque numbers are staggering. If you want to e-mail or call (631-884-3278), I'd be happy to give you the numbers. I hope this helps you. Thanks, Gary @ "The Performance Engine Shop" in N.Y.

Yep, 2927 Edelbrock gave me 27 extra hp as compared to the Brodix and a Dart intake. No problems fitting on my AFR 335s

Gosfast.......
The problem I had, is when looking down the runners, I can see about 1/8" of the head intruding into manifold port. Off in the wrong direction. Problem is, this occurs on only one side of the port. On the other side, the manifold overhangs the port.
So in order to port match, I would need to grind on the head. This isn't right....nor is it going to happen.

BTW....I like your method of locating the gasket to the manifold.

In the past, I have actually "made" a gasket from the appropriate thickness of cardboard, one that fits the head ports perfectly, glued it to the heads just at the ends, then put glue on the manifold, set it in palce and bolt it down. Let the glue setup, then remove the manifold. The gasket sticks to the manifold and shows exactly where the head ports are.

In this case that would have shown the head overhang into the manifold ports. But w/o welding on the intake manifold, can't get a match.

70SS540....others here have suggested that my 498 isn't enough engine to use the Super Victor......2927. Maybe I ought to consider it.

Ron

ttt

An update:

Brodix has offered to weld up their manifold, FREE OF CHARGE, so that we may port match it to the AFR heads.
Or, if they find that their high port oval intake matches reasonably well, to port match it to my AFR gaskets. (Same plenum and top as the sq. port manifold I bought.)

This is service above and beyond the call of duty. I am totally impressed. So if you have a chance to do business with these folks, do so. I doubt many other manufacturers would bend over backwards like this.

Ron

I couldn't begin to tell you the amount of welding we've done in this area, hours and hours. However, in the end, we "see" the difference in the results.
I'd make one more quick point, some intake manifold port/cylinder head port combinations are just totally wrong. In other words, either the head or the intake could possibly be the wrong choice for the engine. Without seeing your set-up I can't know. One major problem in this whole "mess" is when you're dealing with a dozen different vendors, you have a slim-to-none chance of anything or everything fitting properly (I actually think it's OK because it tends to keep us busier, you know, more work). We've been "yelling" for years for intake manufacturers to keep the ports on the small side (up to maybe an inch or so into the port) so we can do the proper fitting. The reason it's not gonna happen is because it'll be reflected in the flow numbers, which most times are somewhere out in left field anyway. Thanks, Gary.

Here is a breif description of the important parts:

Heads are AFR 305CC with the CNC chambers and bowls
Cam is 260/266 .667/.677 110Lobe sep, Solid roller Comp XR custom
Bores have been relief ground at the tops to unshroud the chambers
CR is approx 9.5:1
CID is 498
Carb is a Quick Fuel 1050 Dominator
The manifold is a Brodix HV2001 (might also try a Edel 2907 if dyno time allows)
Headers are 2 x 33 Hooker Comps (not equal length)

Thanks for the reply.

Ron