Intake #3890490 Performance Question

[chevyaddict]

Howdy all;
Apparently my 68 has this intake manifold on it..... and I was surprised to find that right now there is one for sale on ebay for $800 and also that these came stock on some 66 & 67 vettes.... so I'm guessing this is a valuable manifold. My question is, how is its performance? I was thinking about putting an extra Torquer II manifold that I have laying around on this motor instead to try to get more midrange out of it as it seems its choking off a bit at the upper range with this 3890490 manifold... however, perhaps this manifold is top notch and I shouldn't change a thing. Any thoughts on the matter?

 

[Tom Bryant]

It's the L79 327/350 horse intake. It has a lot of value to restorers building a NCRS correct engine. On a non-original street performance engine today I'd pick a RPM Air Gap over the 327 manifold. It's still a very good manifold if you already have one but it's a 40 year old design. Not worth the 800 unless you need it for judging.

The L79 with this manifold made 350 hp at 5800 rpm and the torque was 360 @ 3600 rpm. That was with 11:1 cr and a cam with 222 duration and .447 lift. The engine is really sweet between 3000 and 6000 rpms.

I'm not sure where the Torquer II is designed to operate. There might be a dyno chart on the Edelbrock site that you could use for comparison. Personally I don't see you picking up a whole lot of performance by changing to the Torquer II. However, if that one on Ebay sells high I'd consider swapping out for the Torquer and turning the L79 intake into cash for other Corvette projects. Plus you'll make some restorer happy.

Tom

 

[Kid_Again]

I have a Torker II on my '65 327 and would not recommend it for a naturally aspirated engine, especially for the street. You're used to driving a dual plane medium rise manifold which performs really well from ~1500 rpm up through ~5500 rpm and gives you your torque at the lower range. The Torker is the opposite design, single plane, very low rise which means you will definitely feel soft pulling away from a stop light. The Torker will really kick in at about 2500 and up.

I had to go to the Torker II because I needed the hood clearance that I lost with the Vortech supercharger. When I tested the car just before hooking up the blower (regularly aspirated, with just the new manifold), I was REALLY disappointed. Since I added the blower, the runners do fill more quickly and that has made a big difference.

Me? I'd keep the stock manifold and sell the Torker II because you will NOT be happy with the new manifold on the street and the original design is still pretty darned good for the street, IMHO.

 

[chevyaddict]

I have a Torker II on my '65 327 and would not recommend it for a naturally aspirated engine, especially for the street. You're used to driving a dual plane medium rise manifold which performs really well from ~1500 rpm up through ~5500 rpm and gives you your torque at the lower range. The Torker is the opposite design, single plane, very low rise which means you will definitely feel soft pulling away from a stop light. The Torker will really kick in at about 2500 and up.

I had to go to the Torker II because I needed the hood clearance that I lost with the Vortech supercharger. When I tested the car just before hooking up the blower (regularly aspirated, with just the new manifold), I was REALLY disappointed. Since I added the blower, the runners do fill more quickly and that has made a big difference.

Me? I'd keep the stock manifold and sell the Torker II because you will NOT be happy with the new manifold on the street and the original design is still pretty darned good for the street, IMHO.

Well, I usually keep extra parts because I have so many cars... I may sell this corvette manifold though for just that reason. This manifold feels great at low end but it feels like it levels off too soon for my taste. I know the specs on the Torker II and knew when it would kick in. Was just hoping to hear that overall it would give me a little more oompf than the current one but so far with these two post I'm guessing I'm not gonna get what I'm looking for. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Eclov3]

3890490 intake

If you are looking to sell your manifold, please let me know. I'm finally rebuilding the engine in my 67 coupe after 20 years and am looking for some parts to bring it back to a more original state. The previous owner modified things like headers, intake, carb, etc. My car is actually a 300 hp car but I want it to resemble a 350 hp car.

Thanks, Ed
eclov@earthlink.net

 

[JohnZ]

If you are looking to sell your manifold, please let me know. I'm finally rebuilding the engine in my 67 coupe after 20 years and am looking for some parts to bring it back to a more original state. The previous owner modified things like headers, intake, carb, etc. My car is actually a 300 hp car but I want it to resemble a 350 hp car.

Thanks, Ed
eclov@earthlink.net

Ed, you're responding to a thread that went dormant six years ago. :eyerole