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Breaking Ground: EFI Intake for Two-Valve ModularsReichard Racing pioneers the first aftermarket EFI intake for two-valve modulars From the August, 2003 issue of 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords By Steve Turner Photography by Chuck James, Steve Turner
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After the 4.6 modular engine debuted in the Mustang in 1996, the demand for performance parts was already ramped up. Those weaned on the ample availability of 5.0 bolt-ons were ready to turn wrenches on modulars. Unfortunately, in the early days, the Mustang's '96-'98 Two-Valve 4.6s were so weak, most enthusiasts who tinkered with the 4.6 owned Cobras with the Four-Valves. Eventually the GTs picked up power and aftermarket steam in 1999, but the engine family had been around since 1991, and the aftermarket was still worried about demand for major hard parts. So, here it is 2003, and we have nothing beyond blowers and bolt-ons for 4.6 modulars. Sure, Ford Racing Performance Parts now has GT and Cobra intakes and heads, but outside the Blue Oval, the aftermarket is dealing with the chicken-and-the-egg syndrome when it comes to parts availability and parts demand. Fortunately, there's always a pioneer to lead the way for the rest of us. In this case, said ground-breaker is Jim Reichard of Reichard Racing. Long known for whittling out billet bits--including some serious 5.0 intake manifolds--Jim decided to break the ice and produce his own intake manifold for the burgeoning modular market dominated by Two-Valve GTs. Horse Sense: As a reference for how much airflow potential is opened up by moving from the stock GT intake and throttle body to the Reichard Racing intake with an oval Cobra throttle body, Accufab rates the stock GT throttle body at 588 cfm, while it rates its own Cobra throttle body at 1,284 cfm. That's more than double the airflow potential. After sitting down at the drawing board for quite a long time, Jim decided to build a manifold that would directly replace Ford's plastic lower manifold. And, he'd offer a removable upper of his own. The removable upper allows for more aggressive applications to run an oval-bore Cobra throttle body, while milder setups can employ a traditional round throttle body. We were fortunate enough to receive one of the first production examples of the oval-bore version, which is ultimately destined to rumble atop our Livernois 5.0 stroker's ported heads and Stage 1 cams. Of course, we couldn't resist bolting on our 3g GT right away, if for no other reason than to give you an early look at how this beauty goes on. So, check out the photos and captions, and remember it fondly--like the first time we saw an aftermarket intake for the 5.0. One day, we won't be able to count all the manifolds available for the modular, but there's always something special about the first.  Retailing for around $1,400...  Retailing for around $1,400 on the mail-order market, the ReichardRacing Two-Valve intake manifold is available at a price not too far offfrom the cost of doing a complete Bullitt intake conversion. And thisintake has that boy-racer look you just can't get in a factory part.  Designed to bolt in place...  Designed to bolt in place of the stock plastic intake manifold, theReichard intake accepts all the factory gear, including the EGR, theIAC, the fuel rails, the thermostat, and the throttle cable. Thepowdercoating was a little too thick on our first-off-the-line version,but Jim is already working on refining the fit and finish details tomake this a drop-on piece.  If you're at all familiar...  If you're at all familiar with Reichard's billet upper intakes for TrickFlow and Holley lower intakes, you know they're designed with seriousrpm and airflow in mind, and it looks as though the 4.6 manifold followsthat tradition. It supplants the lengthy torque-producing runners of thefactory basket of snakes with short, direct runners from a modestplenum. This spells big power at the top of the tach.  The attention to detail on...  The attention to detail on this intake is nice. It was built to workwith the standard alternator, and it readily accepts the standard fuelrails and thermostat housing. We did have to enlarge a coupleintake-to-cylinder-head bolt holes to line them up, but it was no bigdeal. Jim should have this sorted out as produc-tion spools up. Ifyou're moving from a Bullitt intake to the Reichard, you will have todig up your old alternator and other plastic intake gear to make itwork.  As we said, we received the...  As we said, we received the oval-bore version of the intake because itwas the first available, and because this more aggressive applicationshould be better suited to our upcoming Livernois 5.0 stroker engine.For pure bolt-on combinations, Reichard offers another upper intakedesigned to accept a round GT-style throttle body.  For the installation of the...  For the installation of the Reichard manifold, we headed over to CoastalChassis Dyno in Tampa, Florida, where owner Sam Lippencott and JohnnyMoretti did the dirty work in their ultraclean shop. Using an electricimpact, Johnny zipped off all the bolts while Sam disconnected theelectrical connections.  With the wiring harness unplugged...  With the wiring harness unplugged and the fuel rails disconnected, itwas a relatively straightforward job to remove the remainder of thebolts and lift off the stock plastic lower intake. That's right--we saidplastic. This intake is a great torque producer, but its constructionhas proven a liability on nitrous and big-boost applications. Heck, it'seven failed in stock cars. That shouldn't be a problem for the robustReichard piece.  We mentioned the Reichard...  We mentioned the Reichard manifolds are designed for highly evolvedTwo-Valves, and here's why. You can see the stock lower manifold'srunners curve around to fill the engine's valley and could be measuredin feet. By comparison, the Reichard manifold's runners are downrightstubby--about 3 inches long. This is the difference between a torqueystreet car and a high-rpm race car.  Once the stock intake is removed...  Once the stock intake is removed , it's a simple matter of hoisting theReichard intake onto the bench and swapping over all the stock sensors,valves, injectors, fuel rails, and the like. We found the powdercoat wasslightly thick in the injector bungs, and we had to improvise a mountingspot for the EGR pressure valve, but these were minor concerns.  Since we stepped up to the...  Since we stepped up to the oval-bore intake, we didn't want to scrimp onour throttle body. As such, we opted to use Accufab's Cobra ovalthrottle body. Of course, the factory Cobra throttle body gasket ismeant for a dual-blade throttle body, so Sam held the gasket in placewith a couple screwdrivers, then trimmed the gasket to fit oursingle-blade unit.  Sam is a stickler for keeping...  Sam is a stickler for keeping his shop squeaky clean. His epoxy-coatedfloor likely gets vacuumed more often than our home carpet. It seemsevery time we turned around Sam was whipping out a vacuum. When it cametime to remove the dust from Associate Editor Johnson's "yard," Samwhipped out this cordless Craftsman unit to do the deed.  We made sure to order all...  We made sure to order all new gaskets from our local Ford dealer, as weweren't sure the stock stuff could be reused. Fortunately, Ford usesthese trick intake gaskets with O-ring seals, so no scraping of the headsurface is required. Just pull off the old gaskets, wipe off the head,and drop the new gaskets in place.  Don't forget to install the...  Don't forget to install the coolant bypass hose before you drop on theReichard manifold. This piece isn't included, so grab a 1.5-foot sectionof 5/8-inch heater hose and trim it to fit.  Despite running into some...  Despite running into some minor first-production-run bumps, we decidedchanging a 4.6 intake manifold is actually easier than swapping an EFI5.0 intake. That's great news for the future of modular hot rodding.Here Johnny and Sam drop the Reichard intake into place.  After lining up all the intake...  After lining up all the intake bolts, Johnny torqued them in aninside-out pattern to 22 lb-ft. Don't put too much muscle into these oryou'll ruin the threads in the cylinder head.  With the intake secured and...  With the intake secured and all the connections made, the last step wasto install our Accufab throttle body. Reichard set up the intake to putthe throttle body in the same location as a '99 Cobra. This means thestock linkage will work, and you just have to rework your Mustang'sinlet tract.  To make our supercharged combination...  To make our supercharged combination work, we ordered '99 Cobra ductworkfrom ATI-ProCharger for our P-1SC. The alignment was just right, but wedid have to relocate the bung for the breather. This meant Johnny had tobreak out the welder and move the bung from our original tubing to the'99 Cobra pieces. No big deal--as long as you can weld.  Here's the finished product....  Here's the finished product. It sure upgrades the looks of our Two-Valveand gives it that racy cachet. But, you probably want to know about thepower. Well, even though we knew our combination wasn't ideal for thishigh-end intake, we did run it on Coastal's Mustang dyno. The resultstold us our stock heads, cams, and exhaust manifolds were restrictingour performance potential. The intake lost bottom-end torque and power,and it was practically a break-even at the peaks. To do this intakejustice, however, we really needed a modified engine and more rpm. We'llbe curing that in the near future, as we plan to install this intake onour Livernois 5.0 stroker and run it with Steeda's new off-road TechTransfer calibration. We'll also be testing the round-throttle-bodyversion on a naturally aspirated combination, so stay tuned for more onthis pioneering intake manifold.
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