In our last installment, you may recall RaceKrafters swapped out the refurbished stock LT1 heads and small Comp Cams bumpstick for the Edelbrock Performer LT1 heads and cam package. At which point, we retested the Edelbrock Air-Gap intake manifold and 52mm throttle body, which got us to a grand total of 393 horsepower and 393 lb-ft of torque. But like eating at a French restaurant, this tasty meal didn't come close to satiating our appetites. So for this go-round, we figured we would stop off for a snack before grilling up a big juicy steak in our final installment. Before moving on, we were hell-bent on wringing every ounce out of the current Edelbrock combo, and even comparing a ported Air-Gap intake to a ported stocker.
Before I arrived at the Lancaster, Pennsylvania shop, RaceKrafters went ahead and ported the openings of the intake runners on the Edelbrock heads to better match the gaskets and intake manifold runners. The smoother transition was carried over to the Edelbrock intake as well, and taken all the way up the runners to the plenum-and any excess casting flash was removed. At the same time, RaceKrafters also used its own proprietary methods of prepping a stock LT1 intake, which included porting the runners and smoothing the throttle body opening using a special military-spec filler that is resistant to gasoline and virtually any type of corrosive agent likely to be found in an engine-including methanol. In the interest of eliminating any weak links or cause for doubt, we decided to throw an Edelbrock 58mm throttle body (PN 9310) and Summit Racing 1.5-ratio aluminum roller rockers (PN SUM-G6935-16) into the mix. With an increase in airflow and decrease in valvetrain friction and weight, we were sure to drain the last bit of power left in this combo. Enjoy this snack in anticipation of a big meal to follow.
 While in Part II we simply...  While in Part II we simply bolted up Edelbrock's Performer LT1 heads to the Air-Gap intake, this time RaceKrafters took the liberty of hand porting the intake runners one inch from the surface of the heads (matching them to the intake gasket). If you recall, these heads came from Edelbrock with some very minimal CNC work that protruded only a half-inch from the opening. But our hypothesis was that an uneven transition from the intake to the gasket to the heads caused a restriction in flow. |  Additionally, RaceKrafters...  Additionally, RaceKrafters port-matched the runners on the intake manifold and removed the rough cast finish, as well as excess casting flash, all the way into the plenum. |  Since we had also hypothesized...  Since we had also hypothesized that perhaps the intake manifold was better suited or designed with the intent of using a 58mm throttle body, we called Edelbrock to replace the 52mm with its larger cousin (PN 9310, $399). Without measuring or looking at the engraving on the throttle blade, you couldn't tell the difference between them. But we wanted to see if the dyno could. |
 The bottom plate for the IAC...  The bottom plate for the IAC and coolant is transferred over from the 52mm throttle body, which was originally from the stocker. |  After baselining the Edelbrock...  After baselining the Edelbrock ported intake and matched heads, the 58mm throttle body is affixed using its supplied Allen head bolts and gasket. |  These beefy, full-roller-tip...  These beefy, full-roller-tip aluminum rocker arms are from Summit Racing (PN SUM-G6935-16). They are made from high-strength extruded aluminum and are heat-treated for reliability. Though they are still the factory 1.5 ratio, we expected to see a few ponies due to the reduction of valvetrain weight, deflection, and friction. With a higher-revving cam, these gains would be increased exponentially. And at $250, they are quite affordable. |