Hey Everyone,

I have an Eddy 7111 Performer RPM intake that was going to go on my engine. I did a mock up before installing the intake just to check that all of the factory brackets would bolt back up. To my disappointment the A/C bracket that comes over the top of the valve cover will not line up. The alignment of the bracket to the intake manifold is off. The Eddy intake has the bolt hole I'd say a good .050 to .060 too far to the center of the intake. It needs to be more outboard. I set the factory cast iron intake on and it lines up fine, no issue. So it is definitely an issue with the Eddy intake. Has anyone else had issues with the A/C bracket alignment? Has anyone tried to put their A/C back on after an Eddy intake install? Or any aftermarket intake for that matter? I know, the idea of performance and A/C comfort don't usually go together. Why do I want to put my A/C back on? Well the simple answer is I like my A/C when it gets hot. I'm a wimp, what can I say.
I daily drive this car as much as possible. Lately it is becoming far too common for temps to hit triple digits here for extended periods of time. No A/C means no drive.
If it had been the alternator bracket, I'm sure I could have massaged it into position. Not going to massage the cast iron A/C brackets. So just curious what others experiences have been. I plan to call Eddy to see what they have to say about it. They claim in their instructions that factory A/C will mount.

 

They lied.

I threaded an aluminum bolt into the hole, bottomed it, ground it flush, and then drilled and tapped the intake in the proper position to mount the A/C.

 

Well that's disappointing, but I like your fix. I have not been too impressed with Edelbrock lately. I bought a set of heads for my Challenger from them and their chamber cc's were all over the map and none of them even close to what they advertised. Of course they were all bigger. The factory exhaust manifold would not bolt up either. They kinda suck.

 

... and depending on your build, the performance gains are barely worth the effort.

 

I think I may have found what the issue is. Notice the angle of the bracket when sitting on the Eddy compared to the factory. Also notice the height difference of the boss between the Eddy and factory. The factory is well below the edge of the valve cover and well above it on the Eddy. Will that height difference bring the hole into alignment? Possibly, considering the arc of the bracket as it lowers. Not sure how I would bring that boss down or if it could even be brought down enough to be at the correct height. This is really a pathetic failure on Edelbrock's part.

 

I didn't have that boss height problem with my Performer 455.

 

Yeah, the more I think about this, the more it's a no go. I seriously doubt that I could machine this low enough to be correct without breaking into the runner. Trying to rig this with the height difference is going to cause the compressor to be out of alignment and create belt issues. This is really starting to leave a bad taste in my mouth about Edelbrock. If they wanted to just say "no A/C" with tis intake, that would be fine, but to pass off something that they should know will not fly is just B.S.

 

Maybe buy an extra AC bracket and then grind the bracket side.

 

I have a 7111 intake on my 350 and was able to install the AC bracket. Unfortunately it was many years ago so I don’t remember all the details of installation.

Have you tried lining up the top bolt first? Then look to see if the mount on the head stud needs to be shimmed (if there is a gap).


edit:
I looked at mine and there is a washer under the top bolt head. This leads me to think I may have drilled the hole larger so the bolt would line up. Sorry I can’t remember exactly.

 

Maybe elongate the hole so the bolt lines up.

 

I don't know guys. I'm wondering what other issues may rear their heads. At this point I can get my money back on the intake. If I touch it, then it's mine.
If I go back to the cast iron I'll lose top end. Maybe gain some low end, maybe. With the other changes I've done to the motor, I'll still like it better than what I had. Think I'm going to stay with the cast iron. Disappointing, but I think discretion is the better part of valor this time.

 

I wouldn't give up that easily. As mentioned earlier, I'd shave the boss on the A/C bracket so that it is flush w/ the boss on the intake, then if necessary, elongate the bolt hole on the A/C bracket so you can bolt it down to the intake as intended. That way you are not machining the intake.

 

I disagree. The RPM is a good intake for a wide variety of combinations. Had one on my small block mule and made 425 pretty easily. Also used one on a modified 403 that made nearly 500, worked well on that too.

 

Kevin,
I have a 7111 here at the shop and it really does not look like there is any danger of getting into the intake port by simply cutting the top of that boss down .050" or even more. There is plenty of bolt thread depth. I took a quick measurement if it helps you at all. Its not real precise because I am measuring to the rough casting but it might give you an idea. The manifold I have has been modified for EFI thats why it might look unusual.

Cutting the boss down is a pretty simple job on a milling machine but you could do it by hand with a die grinder and be close enough.

 

Thanks Bill, but if you look at my pictures of the factory cast iron and compare it to the Eddy, I think that boss would have to come down anywhere from 0.375" to 0.500". Bare minimum 0.250". Use the valve cover edge as your reference point and notice the difference. I'm fairly certain you would be in that runner. I think the only realistic way to do it would be to take some off of the intake and the rest off of the A/C bracket. Intake I'm sure could be fixtured fairly easily. The bracket? I have no idea how you'd fixture that bad boy. Either way, I'm not really willing to cut into anything on just a maybe. I'll get a refund and put the cast iron back on. It will still run good. It is built very close to W-31 specs. Maybe even a little beyond. A little disappointing, but it will still move the fun meter.

 

I guess your picture is deceiving. It does not look like you have that much room between the bracket and the valve cover. I have a stock 307 intake at the shop to compare it to but I don't know if that is the same as the earlier 350 ones. The only heads I have to bolt it to is a set of Edelbrocks.

Ill look again tomorrow but I think on the manifold I have you could almost completely remove that boss and still not get into the intake runner. If you look into the runner it is much smaller than you think.

I need to make sure anyway because the car this engine is going in has AC but its a newer Riviera and it does not have that big cast bracket. I will look at my Wifes car to be sure.

 

I just went out and measured from the factory boss on the cast iron to the rolled flange on the valve cover. It is 0.500" or very close to it. The boss on the Eddy is above the rolled edge of the valve cover. It may be as much as 0.625". That's an awful lot of material. It is deceiving. Well I hope you don't run into the same issue with what you have to do. Keep us posted though.

 

Are you using the head stud with the nut on the lower mounting end of that bracket?

 

I'm not sure what you are asking. Are you asking if I have the nut that should go on after the bracket, on before the bracket? Or are you asking if I have the correct studded head bolt in that location? To try to answer your question, I have everything mounted as it was from the factory.

 

Kevin,
Yours must be made different. I just bolted mine up the the Edelbrock head and it looks like the boss is practically level with the valve cover with no valve cover gasket. I put a .030" shim between the intake and the head to make up for the intake gasket. Also in your first picture it almost looks like the intake is not sitting down on the head all the way ? Might be an optical dillusion

 

The head stud with the nut. I was thinking if the nut were not the correct height, then the bracket would sit offset at the upper intake bolt flange.

Another thought is can you add some washers on top of that head stud nut, to raise the bracket and maybe make the intake bolt flange align better?

 

these intakes are known for that hole being off.Hard to believe edelbrock has never corrected this.Heres how i solved mine and use M/T valve covers.

 

Yeah, Edelbrock pissed me off for the last time today. They played the word game and then hid behind their 90 day warranty. I'm done with their false advertising and deceptive practices. They only care about making money at any cost. They have no integrity and are a horrible steward of hotrodding. They've made their last buck off of me.

I like your fix. Since I'm obviously stuck with this intake, I will definitely toss around ideas to see if I can find a reasonable workaround. GM knew these compressors needed a stout mount or else they wouldn't have designed it as they did. It looks like overkill, but I'm betting it's not.