Manifold Manifolds (Turbo Explorer Content)

[FluidMotorUnion]

For the record, manifold doesn’t just mean what it does in the automotive sense, it also means “many.” Just so you know we’re not repeating ourselves.

Today, we return to the tale of the turbocharged Ford Explorer. Craig’s been hammering away (well, welding away) at the manifolds since we last discussed this interesting custom build, and progress is definitely being made. Making manifolds from scratch isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but we’re willing to put in the effort so long as everything comes out as gorgeous and functional as we want it to. And so far, we’re living up to our lofty expectations. The manifolds didn’t look like much when we started…



…But after a little bit of elbow grease and tungsten…




…We’ve got two manifolds. Well, the main meat-and-potatoes of the manifolds, at any rate.






You know us; it wouldn’t be a blog about welding without at least one good picture of our craftsmanship.



Now, after a little bit of test-fitting to make sure everything’s clearing as intended…



…We’ve got the manifolds back on the welding table to prepare the ends to mate up to the turbochargers.



And one more weld shot for good luck:



Craig’s in the zone right now, so look out for another update soon!

[cobrawannabe]

Simply gorgeous. Now, unless I'm mistaken, the Romeo engine did not have split exhaust flanges from the factory. Why the decision to divide and conquer?

[FluidMotorUnion]

Simply gorgeous. Now, unless I'm mistaken, the Romeo engine did not have split exhaust flanges from the factory. Why the decision to divide and conquer?

It's the Modular V8, and I'm not too sure on your question. Split exhaust flanges? Do you mean the method of connection from flange to flange?

[cobrawannabe]

Yeah, modular 4.6 is the "Romeo" in Blue-Oval fanatical terms :lol: I'm talking about the exhaust manifold flanges to the heads. On the stock manifolds, the same flange is used for all four exhaust ports on each side, rather than two flanges that cover two ports each. Is there a specific reason you decided on running two flanges on either head as opposed to the standard single, full flange? It's semantics, really, I'm more curious than anything else.

For reference, a stock piece looks like this:

[FluidMotorUnion]

Yeah, modular 4.6 is the "Romeo" in Blue-Oval fanatical terms :lol: I'm talking about the exhaust manifold flanges to the heads. On the stock manifolds, the same flange is used for all four exhaust ports on each side, rather than two flanges that cover two ports each. Is there a specific reason you decided on running two flanges on either head as opposed to the standard single, full flange? It's semantics, really, I'm more curious than anything else.

For reference, a stock piece looks like this:

If I had to wager, it's because a piece that long can't fit inside our current 3-axis CNC mill.