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Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
I'm not sure but I could have sworn I have seen that on a GM dyno engine when they were looking at doing them for the 350..
Could be a John L intake also.
Either way, GREAT find !!! Where did he get it from?!?!
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
Originally Posted by TTOP350
I'm not sure but I could have sworn I have seen that on a GM dyno engine when they wer looking at doing them 4 the 350..
Could be a John L intake tho also.
Either way, GREAT find !!! where did he get it from?!?!
this is part of the pm i got from him
The prototype, (or some called it aftermarket) intake is a TPI setup that is built by Lingenfelter, however still has the GM Part Numbers. The intake is larger than stock, the runners are larger, and then plenum is open. If you ran this with a stock throttle body, that would be the constriction, as the intake is supposed to be 30% more air flow to the engine. The guy I got it from, took it off a car he bought through Barrett Jackson. It was the White 1989 Corvette Prototype sold at Barrett Jackson. He took the car to Cali, but bragged way to much about what he had, so they would not let it pass smog and he just had to put the car on the streets. I bought this intake from him.
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
I'm betting thats the GM intake I saw before. Better grab that thing and fast. Try and get the vet heads to, bet they have some magic port work and or bigger valves..
Don't know why it wouldn't pass smog, unless he was a total wiener about it. One would think GM would have built it to pass smog.
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
Interesting about the point of losing nothing down low. I have found that to be the case myself with each improvement. Those are some stout numbers Lingenfelter came up with.
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
as much as id love to own this intake, the guy had it for sale on the corvette forums as well and those guys so far up upto a 750$ offer for the intake set.
i had originally offered him 4-450 bucks anything over that and i can go single plane intake or a miniram which would be even better so im passing on this
ill see if i cant get the part numbers and stuff off it from him just so they are posted in this this thread just incase anyone else happenes across one of these intakes
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
.. Although the tubes are much bigger diameter, appears the still long length still tunes for a 4500 or so RPMs HP peak...
.. For what that Concept 'Vette prolly sold for on B-J, I'm having trouble believing anyone would change anything on it... instead of buying a cheap ordinary 'Vette to chop up...
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
"Although the tubes are much bigger diameter, appears the still long length still tunes for a 4500 or so RPMs HP peak..."
Probably true for the 3rd harmonic wave. However if one had the right heads, camshaft and exhaust you could probably up that rpm range and tap into the stronger 2nd harmonic wave.
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
Is true that to take full advantage of the 2nd harmonic wave, you need to be 3% below the halfway mark, so lets say you have a 22' runner, the wave range 5340-6480= 1140, 1140/2= 570, 6408-570= 5910-3%= 5732. So peak would be 5732? I know theres a lot more to it then just that, like tapper and cross section but am I in the ball park when tying to take advantage of the 2nd harmonics for an intake design. I'm very good with casting composites and I want to make a set of runners and plenum for a TPI, does Pipemax give you intake spec's/ runner length suggestions?
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
I find for our stuff PipeMax is on the short side using the harmonics. Maybe it is more for a single plain with a carb. Here is the link to one I have found and it is pretty close to my results. http://www.bgsoflex.com/intakeln.html The least amount of taper the stronger the wave pulse. Just get the CSA right.
"I'm very good with casting composites and I want to make a set of runners and plenum for a TPI"
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
Hmmmmm, missed this thread.
That makes two and only two sets of these floating in public hands on record.
I have an identical set.
It has to be GM prototype stuff. Foundry casting symbol, part numbers all scream GM. Maybe Lingenfelter got his hands on them after the fact thru connections, but these have had to begin life at GM as test/prototype pieces.
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
. Almost looks like experimental parts for a BBC 454" TPI setup for oval port heads for F-bodies... would have been fun... except for 4000 RPMs HP peak...
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
Loveto get my hands on a set at the right price
Saw the guy on CF wanting a bunch also. Neat piece but not $750 neat imo
Wonder if it still has the crappy pinch area on the head side, never seen a pic of that end of the intake before. Great idea shoulda made it to production
Funnny how long the TPIs have been around and were still hacking away with these things
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
Originally Posted by cuisinartvette
Loveto get my hands on a set at the right price
Saw the guy on CF wanting a bunch also. Neat piece but not $750 neat imo
Wonder if it still has the crappy pinch area on the head side, never seen a pic of that end of the intake before. Great idea shoulda made it to production
Funnny how long the TPIs have been around and were still hacking away with these things
For all the crap it gets TPI is still awesome if built right.
It's been done and posted and in magazines, but people still don't bother to build it around what is. 400hp and 400-500 ft lbs is a hell of an engine anyway you slice, SBC, TPI, LT1, LS1 or even SBF.
For $750 you can barely buy an inferior TPI intake and runners and still have plenum work to do. Next best is FAST setup pushing about $1k a set.
I got the thing home the other day, my brother brought it over when my Dad and he brought over the swing set for my boys. I didn't have time to do anything except help unload the swing set and get the intake and my heads into the garage before I had to go to work.
I will be taking pictures and updating the main intake threads here with new pics, part numbers and links to the very very few other threads that I found with any information whatsoever.
Main thread I started to document my prototype intake at: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/hist...n-intakes.html
This is the thread that will be updated in the future with part numbers, pics, etc. as well as any links/info I have found(not much)
Last edited by 3.8TransAM; 06-29-2014 at 01:20 AM.
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
Very little information out there on these intakes. I updated my thread on this same intake as well. Including this one there are 2 confirmed complete setups and one with base and runners only.
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
Found this thread and felt that it was a better place to post the details of this intake, as I have seen them. I have virtually the same picture that TTop350 took, I took it for the same reason that I suspect he took it, and my reaction was about the same as Tuned Performance's...."Dang!"
I had to make gaskets for the runner-to-base and the runners-to-plenum. I decided to use the "punch-outs" for the runner holes, to measure the area of the runners going into the base. They're obviously hand-worked and so there are variations, but measuring 8 holes, I settled on averages that I felt pretty good about. On average, the ports are 2" tall, 1.6" wide, have flat sides between upper and lower .8" radius top and bottoms. That works out to a 2.01" sq circle, plus a 1.6"x.5" rectangle in the middle of it, for a total CSA of about 2.81" sq. IDK how that compares with a TPIS BigMouth or a First, but my stock TPI base is less than 1.5" (gasket hole is 1.5, but then the runner in the base, tapers down) and ends up looking to be a little more than 1/2 the area of this prototype intake.
Due to the size of the runners, both in the base, and in the bolt-on runners, things get real tight, real fast, during assembly. I found that basically, the fuel rails/injectors, runners, gaskets, and some of the bolts, all need to drop onto the base at about the same time. Runners won't fit under the rails....rails won't fit under the runner flanges. The small cap distributor won't fit in the "right" orientation, it has to be installed with the plugs at the base, facing rearward. Pics of those idiosyncrasies for your viewing pleasure.
Last edited by Tom 400 CFI; 11-14-2023 at 10:50 PM.
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
Note the elevation of the roofs of the runners in the base manifolds comparing them to where the number two is. The roof of the stocker is actually slightly "sunk" compared to the pad where "2" is cast....obviously on the prototype one, it's raised a cm to1/2" or so above that pad. I think the Prototype was simply a standard base casting with the roofs manually raised for the casting mold and then ported out. Aside from the runner roofs, everything else is exactly like a stock base.
Last edited by Tom 400 CFI; 11-14-2023 at 10:56 PM.
Re: is this actually a lingenfelter prototype tpi manifold and runners?
Same. I'm keen on seeing the numbers. THIS WEATHER is not cooperating, though!
One thing that I wonder about is the CSA of the runner for 2-3 inches before the head. If you look at the side by side pics of the two (stock and prototype) intakes, you can see where the runner roof starts to taper up, about 2" or so from the inj bung. From that point, to the head flange, the runner is the same as the stocker, other than hand porting that's been done to it. So IDK if that's going to limit it? Or what. That one spot is probably not more limiting than the head? But IDK.
Anyone know how the CSA that I measured, compares to the FIRST and a TPIS Big Mouth?
EDIT: it looks like the CSA of an un-ported FIRST is1.75" ID (what I found w/a search, here) = 2.4" sq.
Last edited by Tom 400 CFI; 11-16-2023 at 09:10 AM.
01-01-2012, 04:01 PM
