project: budget intake
by bassthrive » Thu Jun 23, 2005 4:34 pm
Inspired by another member who modified his ebay short ram into something resembling this, I set out to replicate it, without spending more than $10.
I got this 3" steel tubing from my local muffler shop (2.75" dia. for exact fit on stock rubber couplers). The 5/8" nipple was bought from the auto parts store. Cut to 5" long, I center punched and drilled a 5/8" hole in the middle of the pipe.
JB weld is the coolest. Was actually able to thread the nipple into the hole slightly, but the weld makes it secure and permanent. I let it dry overnight...
...then painted with three coats of engine enamel. Look at it! Like a ripe piece of metal fruit hanging from the vine, ready to be picked. (paint fumes rock)
Trimming the excess fat was a liberating experience. Easily removed a couple screws on the driver's side splash guard to get the big white tub out. Behold the parts of the buffalo the Indians didn't use.
After putting it all together I was left with this.
Closing Remarks
Project cost
One foot pipe.........$3
JB weld.................$4
Nipple...................$3
Turns out I bought too much pipe - reason being I was planning on extending the intake lower in the fender well, but upon removing the primary resonator I found that the piping coming from the airbox was sufficient.
First impressions
No louder than stock when cruising. Very mellow and civilized, untill you get on the throttle. This thing has a sweet, sweet roar now. Butt dyno says the same if I were to spend ~300 on a CAI. One to two placebo horsepower at best, slightly livelier throttle response, yada yada... IMO the project is fully worth the minimal cost and hour or so of real work (rest of the time was spent waiting for jb weld and paint to dry). I did not alter any stock pieces, I simply removed one resonator and replaced another with a better flowing design, so this is completely reversible. Some people may run into trouble finding a drill bit. I was lucky enough to have bits around the garage already but if you have some crappy wood bits you can use those, just keep it lubed, set the drill to high and dont push down hard.
- Paul
I got this 3" steel tubing from my local muffler shop (2.75" dia. for exact fit on stock rubber couplers). The 5/8" nipple was bought from the auto parts store. Cut to 5" long, I center punched and drilled a 5/8" hole in the middle of the pipe.
JB weld is the coolest. Was actually able to thread the nipple into the hole slightly, but the weld makes it secure and permanent. I let it dry overnight...
...then painted with three coats of engine enamel. Look at it! Like a ripe piece of metal fruit hanging from the vine, ready to be picked. (paint fumes rock)
Trimming the excess fat was a liberating experience. Easily removed a couple screws on the driver's side splash guard to get the big white tub out. Behold the parts of the buffalo the Indians didn't use.
After putting it all together I was left with this.
Closing Remarks
Project cost
One foot pipe.........$3
JB weld.................$4
Nipple...................$3
Turns out I bought too much pipe - reason being I was planning on extending the intake lower in the fender well, but upon removing the primary resonator I found that the piping coming from the airbox was sufficient.
First impressions
No louder than stock when cruising. Very mellow and civilized, untill you get on the throttle. This thing has a sweet, sweet roar now. Butt dyno says the same if I were to spend ~300 on a CAI. One to two placebo horsepower at best, slightly livelier throttle response, yada yada... IMO the project is fully worth the minimal cost and hour or so of real work (rest of the time was spent waiting for jb weld and paint to dry). I did not alter any stock pieces, I simply removed one resonator and replaced another with a better flowing design, so this is completely reversible. Some people may run into trouble finding a drill bit. I was lucky enough to have bits around the garage already but if you have some crappy wood bits you can use those, just keep it lubed, set the drill to high and dont push down hard.
- Paul
Last edited by bassthrive on Fri Jun 24, 2005 10:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
- Paul
y2k(1MZ)dWp
cpe mafci / apexi ws / tein s-tech + tokico / trd rsb
y2k(1MZ)dWp
cpe mafci / apexi ws / tein s-tech + tokico / trd rsb
- bassthrive
- SolaraGuy Marklar
- Posts: 1778
- Joined: Sun Jun 02, 2002 8:39 pm
- Location: Orlando, FL
