They can be done right and they can be done wrong. Part of why I said "it might be worth getting a vacuum block". The beauty of the vacuum manifold is that when you make changes to your setup, you don't necessarily have to run all new lines, worry about removing tee's, etc. They exist because they can make things easier, cleaner, and/or more convenient. A vacuum manifold also won't degrade with years of use like a plastic tee can (sure, they could be using a metal tee, but most people seem to spring for the plastic ones. Again, "might be worth it". Just a suggestion.

 

Very true.
I will do the same then. If it's not needed, why bother.

I would assume you have the lower intake manifold mounting bracket though, correct?

 

No but I won't tell you it's not needed. Others have told me that it isn't and it hasn't caused me any problems so I haven't worried about it but the part would appear to add a significant amount of support to the IM assembly to help distribute the load from the supercharger. If I stumbled across one I would probably use it but if you can't find one don't sweat it.

 

Very interesting.. I think I'll try to source one still.
Did you re-drill your Cylinder head for M8 bolts/studs?

 

Not a site I have every used but.. "OEMcats.com" seems to sell them, 7OH, 33.65 USD

 

When I was still using L61 head I never did drill and tap out my head to use M8 bolts but I did purchase the appropriate length shoulder bolts that had 8mm shoulder with 6mm threads so the manifold would be aligned correctly. I now have an LSJ head.

 

You think H/E mounting brackets are essential for a stock LSJ H/E? Can't source them without spending hundreds...
Wondering if some light fabrication and some zip ties would do the job?

 

I made my own brackets for the heat exchanger with a cut-off wheel and a bench vise to bend. I think I put the flat pattern up in my build thread along the way. You can look there but I'll see if I can dig it up.

 

Awesome. I'll give it a shot without them then, I'm sure there will be a bit of room to get creative..

 

I basically mounted mine with a simple bracket off of the front crash bar.

 

Dug up pictures and flat pattern for bracket from my build thread

 

Awesome,
Got a dual pass end plate and a heat exchanger on order now. Should have something to do now when the world falls apart

 

Thankyou, this is perfect!
I will get a friend to start fabricating these brackets right away

 

do you remember what gauge metal you used?

 

1/8" Aluminum is what I used.

 

Decided to tear my car apart today.. Dual pass end-plate should be here this week.

Went ahead swapping the cores,

and decided to gives thing's a quick fresh coat,

 

Regarding bending the tubes on a stock lsj heat exchanger...
Would it not be easier to just cut them off at the base?

 

Think I may just cut them off at the base..

 

The reason I didn't just cut mine off is that I was concerned the hose might not seal well without the bead rolled into the tube like it is stock. Bending the tubes without kinking them is a challenge though.

 

Well its definitely not pretty, but I figured out how/ where to bend the tubes. Hopefully should have it mounted now by the end of the day ..

 

End-plate finally came in, Everything's back together after a long evening. Car ate a decent amount of coolant, everything seems full, spilled lots of coolant
Ready to test her out tomorrow!

 

Got the system completely bleed this morning, took a little trial an error but alas its all done!

Being an auto with AC, everything was super tight.. Broke a sweat slipping the belt back on the blower yesterday, literately took me a solid 15 minutes.
Lot of 'firsts' for myself, Had a hell of a time routing all the hoses between the endplate and my front frame.

All in all, pretty darn Happy! !

 

Congrats man. Glad it's all working for you

 

Do you recall the dimensions of the shoulder bolts you ordered JD?
Measured the M8 bolts supplied in the phenolic spacer kit, looks like they are about 79mm and 29mm in thread length.

Looking at these off McMaster;
6x 8 mm Shoulder Diameter, 20 mm Shoulder Length, M6 x 1.0 mm, thread length 11mm, overall length 31mm
2x 8 mm Shoulder Diameter, 70 mm Shoulder Length, M6 x 1.0 mm, thread length 11mm, overall length 81mm

 

I think I posted it in my build thread when I bought them. I'll see if I can find any records.