Welded AWIC / intake manifold

[blackdogvan]

Anyone here have experience grafting an AWIC directly to an intake manifold? On the vanagon I have the space & want to reduce piping & connections. Leaks suck. Another issue i've identified with my setup is the proportionally large intercooler slows down the airflow enough that the tiny bit of oil from my CCV can over time start to accumulate there. If it didn't have the low spot & was above the manifold it would just burn off as it wouldn't be able to pool. My plan is to take my existing intercooler & cut off one side, cut down my Passenger Perfomance knockoff intake & make them one.

The Bits:



The Real estate:



I plan on getting a pal who's a professional welder to tig it together with the manifold bolted to a head. Hopefully it doesn't warp too bad but I imagine a flat file of the mounting face will be required at the end. A few supports too as it'll have some mass filled with water. Maybe to the valve cover studs.

Anyone tried doing this with good success?

[RabbitJockey]

a guy i know with a tdi vanagon has a similar setup,  can't quite remember how he plumbed it tho, but i think it is tucked back in the cubby hole there back between the inlet tube and the intake manifold

[camboscams]

That's an awesome idea! I'll be curious to see how well this turns out. This setup will be nice to help eliminate some intercooler piping! keep us posted

[blackdogvan]

This Merc build is my inspiration.

[camboscams]

That is beautiful! fare bit of work sitting there

[blackdogvan]

I'm thinking this will be the perfect manifold to start with after a visit to a acid tank.

[camboscams]

I wonder if their would be any benefit with the long runners and the somewhat duelish chambered intake? 

[Syncroincity]

I like it... definitely save you some real estate in there.
Or just drill & tap your low point for a petcock to drain the oil periodically.

[truckinwagen]

when I was still looking to put an eaton on a VW I was gonna take one of those manifolds and weld a nice flat piece of aluminum on the opening with the ports and bolt holes cut in it.

certainly a good place to start for custom manifolds as long as you have the real estate under it

-Owen

[theman53]

I really like the idea and would certainly do it if I had a TIG welder.

There is an adaptor for an arc welder to turn it into a TIG. You need the bottle and the adaptor. Called Scratch Arc or somehting like that. They are around 120.00 up here.

[truckinwagen]

I would rather get a spoolgun for a mig, can do lots of stuff with it(acts like a mig) whereas a scratch start tig is a real pain compared to a real tig setup

-Owen

[camboscams]

Any update on this project?