On Wed, 31 May 2000, Michael Clark wrote:
> The MPI/M1 manifold landed on my doorstep this morning....
'Tis a thing of beauty, is it not? :-)
> Also has anyone been successful in installing this intake WITHOUT
> grinding the AC compressor corner by using a non-mopar water neck? I
> read a post in the archives that said a chevy o-ringed water neck
> worked well, and that a low profile chevy neck or even an angled neck
> would probably work without grinding the compressor.
I haven't actually gotten a low profile chevy neck and tried it out,
but I've made countless measurements in that area and I've looked through
catalog after catalog for water necks, trying to find a way around
grinding on the A/C compressor. I also did a great deal of research
trying to design a way of moving the compressor over slightly.
Unfortunately, I think the only way around the problem is to design a
completely new accessory bracket. (read: cost prohibitive) The problem
with the water neck isn't just with the neck portion itself, but with the
base plate. The A/C compressor would hit that base plate as well, so
even if you have a water neck that angles away from it, it still
contacts that base plate. (I believe the compressor even interferes
with the MPI itself, slightly.) When I discovered that a different water
neck wouldn't solve the problem, I looked into moving the A/C compressor
over slightly. Unfortunately, due to the design of the accessory
mounting bracket, if you move the compressor over, you also have to
move it up, since the bracket is scalloped to accept the cylinder of the
compressor. That wouldn't nescessarily be a bad thing except that due
to the amount the compressor has to be moved up, there isn't enough hood
clearance. That was the case on my Gen II, and Bob Tom was kind enough
to take a look at his Gen III for me, and from his report, there isn't
enough clearance there either. Maybe the Ram has the clearance, but I
can't justify the prototyping expense just for that one application.
(I'm just barely able to break even with these MPI kits as it is.)
So, to make a long story short, no, I don't see any economical way
of getting around grinding off the corner of the A/C compressor,
except for removing the A/C altogether, of course. I'll maintain an
open mind on the subject though, so if anyone has any ideas, I'd
certainly be willing to explore them.
-Jon-
.--- jon@dakota-truck.net -- or -- stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu ------------.
| Jon Steiger * AOPA, DoD, EAA, MP Race Team, NMA, SPA, USUA * RP-SEL |
| '92 Ram 150 4x4 V8, '96 Dakota V8, '96 Intruder 1400, '96 FireFly 447 |
`---------------------------- http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/ ---'
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