The Purp's saga continues this month as Pro Fab Performance secures our freshly painted VFN hood, and makes room for a taller intake. Rewinding for a second, last month we made a trip up to North Deland Auto Body to smooth out the body and receive a few coats of Matrix's version of GM Spice Red Metallic (from the '05 GTO). Before we did, though, we had to figure out how we would be securing the VFN Sunoco hood. While at first we were inclined to go the full lift-off, pin-on route, having hood struts is particularly nice for those of us that don't travel with a full race team. Several of Pro Fab's X275 builds have used Aerocatch fasteners, and we've always been a big fan, so this was an easy solution for a sleek set of hood pins that would save weight. Prior to paint, Matt Larue made the careful cuts in the hood, and once back in our possession Matt would have to screw the top piece to the hood and install the pins onto the radiator support.
As this year has progressed, the LSX Real Street class has become even more competitive and we are going to have to step up our game on The Purp. The stock LS7 intake we had previously intended to run was certainly not cutting it. A call was placed to Mast Motorsports, who had acquired Performance Inductions a few years back and has been reproducing several of its products including the badass two-piece, CNC ported single-plane intake that helped our 451 LSX from Late Model Engines make 720 horsepower on motor. Now we'd have a fighting chance! To mate to the intake, we called up Holley for a 4500 Dominator-style billet four-barrel throttle body that flows 2,000 cfm. The thought of all that airflow makes us all warm and tingly. But before we fire up the LME 451, we'll need to replace the valley cover, since we have no need for the vacuum port (for crankcase ventilation) given the Moroso vacuum pump installed a few issues back. Thankfully Hamburger's Performance Products has a new solution to accommodate us, a red anodized piece of 6061-T6 billet aluminum that is .480-inch thick and seals with the factory O-ring. Follow along as Pro Fab gets out the cutoff wheel and does work. Final assembly is getting near.
1 Mast Motorsports' two-piece...
1 Mast Motorsports' two-piece CNC machined cast intake is easily the best class-legal intake on the market, especially for LS7 heads. We went with the 4500-style flange (PN 501-008) to use a large Dominator throttle body for the most airflow. Previous testing showed our engine capable of 720 hp naturally aspirated with this intake, which is stout for a street engine. We hope to make changes throughout the project to make it more race-ready, and this intake should be able to grow with the combination.
2 The two-piece intake is...
2 The two-piece intake is designed in CAD, CNC machined, ported and hand blended to a mirror finish. Long, straight runners are designed for maximum velocity and airflow, which is a nice blend of lower RPM torque and peak power.
3 Holley carries two Universal...
3 Holley carries two Universal 4-BBL Billet throttle bodies, the higher flowing of course being this Dominator style 2,000-cfm unit (PN 112-538). Each opening measures 2.25-inches and is CNC cut from billet aluminum and smooth as glass. We are anticipating zero intake restrictions with this setup.
4 To seal off the crankcase,...
4 To seal off the crankcase, we also decided to dress up the top end with Hamburger's LS Lifter Valley Cover (PN 1103). Since we had no use for the vent on the factory cover, this was an easy solution that would also look killer under the single-plane intake. It is milled from a solid chunk of .480-inch-thick 6061-T6 aluminum, which has been anodized Hard Red.
5 Matt Larue of Pro Fab throws...
5 Matt Larue of Pro Fab throws caution to the wind, using the cutoff wheel to make room for the new intake. Cuts were made along the bottom edge of where the windshield will eventually seal to the frame. This area originally held the windshield wipers and plastic shroud, which will no longer be of use to The Purp.
6 Cuts also need to be made...
6 Cuts also need to be made on the under side of the cowl, which can be tricky. Notice the welding jacket over the engine. Take caution here as sparks tend to go everywhere.
7 It was time for the moment...
7 It was time for the moment of truth…and thankfully the intake and throttle body fit.
8 At this point Matt went...
8 At this point Matt went back through to clean up a few of the cuts and make some additional room, which will be helpful when working on the car. We will also have to go back in and weld something over this area later on for aesthetic and safety reasons.
9 The bracing under the hood...
9 The bracing under the hood also had to be cut in order to clear the intake and throttle body. The fiberglass slices fairly easily though it makes a mess and smells funny. Nothing a little blast of air can't fix.
10a In our last installment,...
10a In our last installment, one thing we left out was the installation of the hood pins. Like several of the extremely fast machines we've seen come out of Pro Fab...
10b ...we elected to use some...
10b...we elected to use some Aerocatch fasteners we got off eBay. Be wary of Chinese knock-offs. It takes some work to get them perfectly oriented on both sides (to match each other)...
10c ...but eventually Matt...
10c ...but eventually Matt got it right before drilling and carefully shaping the openings.
11a Fast forward to present...
11a Fast forward to present day, with a fresh coat of paint Matt test fit the latches before finding the location for the pins.
11b Then the radiator support...
11b Then the radiator support was drilled to install them and access holes were cut so that he could reach them.
12a The pins had to be cut...
12a The pins had to be cut because they were too long, and hit the bottom portion of the radiator support. Finally the nut was screwed on the bottom side to mount it, using a flathead screwdriver to keep it from moving.
12b A screwdriver is also...
12b A screwdriver is also useful in tweaking the pins to fit into the latches just right.
13a And finally the top piece...
13a And finally the top piece of the Aerocatch latch was drilled into the hood to secure it. The supplied screws are on the short side for a fiberglass hood, and did not go all the way through.
13b Matt recommended changing...
13b Matt recommended changing these out at some point. Here you can see how these high-tech latches work, when the tab is folded down the slider goes through the pin. We are now one step closer to getting this car running, and looking good in the process.