I wanted to post something by October 30th to make it an even month, but have been down with a knarly cold for the last week...my first in several years.
Getting better though, so on with the show.
The upper intake is slowly coming together. A die grinder and carbide burr were used to radius the flange holes.
Which produced slivers galore. I was picking them out of my hands for DAYS.
I should have/would have started with aluminum, but the flange was made before I had a TIG welder.
At least now there's this:
There is also a throttle body flange ready for the upper intake now. I opted to use a standard Ford 5.0 pattern for future convenience. The installed TB will be a more compact 65mm one from a 4.6L Mustang which necessitates an adapter plate. Billet again.
If anyone is wondering why I didn't just put both patterns in the steel flange, it's because the 4.6L bolt circle intersects the tubing that the flange will get welded to. I could have taken measures to seal them, but this flange is more versatile and can be used on any old 5.0 HO upper intake.
Turns out that the green blow off valve is a Taiwanese copy of a '90s-era Turbosmart Type II. They are still going for only $16 apiece otd, so I bought two more, one silver and another green. Might get a few other colors later...
The original green one has been modified extensively. The spring force was really high even with the adjuster backed off all the way. Replacement springs in other rates are hard to find and cost prohibitive, so I improvised by making a billet top hat that increases the installed height and thus, lowers the installed force. It will take some fine tuning to get it right for the peak vacuum my engine makes, but at least now that adjustment is possible.
The outlet hols have also been opened up into large slots for less restriction. I might make the ends more rectangular so there isn't an ugly silver/green border on the cuts.