My Custom "True Cold Air Intake"**Pics**

[LTDMan83]

Finally got a digital camera to show pics of my True CAI and Billet Coolant Tank.Custom as in it was made specifically for this car.I have only seen one other True CAI on a Box on teh intarweb,it was on a TC and the dude had fabb'ed it entirely himself,and built a custom box outta wood.This one pretty much anyone with $40,a Hacksaw,and a few sheet metal tools can make.The Aluminum Elbow Pipe,Mounting Plate,and Coupler all came from a cheap $20 Mustang WAI I bought off of eBay.The entire CAI,from TB to Filter consists of:


Stock Rubber TB Elbow
20in Piece of 3in Steel Exhaust Pipe
3in to 3 1/2in Blue Coupler
3 1/2in Aluminum 90deg Elbow Pipe (pre-mandrel bent)
Bracing/Mounting Plate
3 1/2in Cheap Cone Air Filter
11x7 Piece of Sheet Metal (Bent to form a Half Box)


It definitely made a "seat of the pants" difference in mid-rpm power and throttle response at cruising speed.Maybe my engine is a freak,but I could actually feel the difference over the stock airbox,in the upper rpms.The Billet Coolant Tank Looks nice (allthough not cheap) and mounts very securely on the shroud,without interfering with anything.All in All it was definitely worth it,even on teh lopo.


Love it?,Hate it?,Think its Rice?See some way to improve it?Let me know,I'm allways open to suggestions.

[88Vic]

Looks great mang. I've never seen a pic of your engine before (or the rest of the car for that matter), and I gotta say that the upper intake looks badass painted black with the face plate painted red. Good job on the intake. Does it actually help with mileage or power, at least any seat of the pants difference?

[Dave84]

cool, u got pics of the rest of the car?

[monterey1962]

Very nice. Gives me an idea of how to do the "box" portion of my CAI.

[91LTDProject]

awesome. i'm pretty sure when i install my air intake on my 88, i'm gonna build a wooden box to house the filter, since wood is light and easy to fab, and can be covered with whatever you want. in the other thread with the modified integra intake, i installed it with the intention to eventually box it, just never got around to it. next one will be true CAI. If the wood dosent work, I was thinking of trying to make something up with the old air box to act as the filter box for the CAI

[gabegt90]

cool what's that metal thing by the radiator

[87mefull]

Nice setup, I had a similar setup on my car using the same tubing once but I ended up going back to stock. My car was 6-7 day a week, 30-90 mile a day daily driver so I was afraid I would soak the filter or suck water into the engine from a big puddle (PA road do not drain worth a shit).

Its worth a 1-2mpg gain in light cruising although your mileage will decrease significantly if you have a lead foot do to the fact more air is being sucked through. I don't know about a horsepower or torque difference but I do agree the lopo will pull a little harder at WOT especially with an HO intake and a CAI.

Don't you love how it sounds like a supercharger with a blow off when you start it until its warmed up? I had people ask me all the time if it was a supercharged panther and how I did it.

[LTDMan83]

Thanks for the compliments mangs.I will have pics of my car up as soon as I get the time to be able to detail her.

Here's a few closeup pics of the billet radiator overflow can.

[85crownHPP]

how much did that shiney thing set you back? it does look pretty cool there, sort of mysterious.
on the CAI

[1987cp]

Looks nice! Where'd you get that blue coupler thing?

[Lincolnmania]

wheres the washer juice thingy?

[Mr. Land Yacht]

oooh wow!
that's THE BEST CAI I have ever seen on a Box...
it's as far away as possible and gets airflow from the bottom...sweet!

[LTDMan83]

Thanks Mr land yacht!

The Billet coolant tank set me back about $45 from jegs,which is the cheapest one they had.Could have got the polished version for $60,but I'm not going that high end with my engine bay,most everything is gonna be painted black or red.

The Blue Coupler thing came with a cheap Rustang WAI kit I got off of eBay,but I'm sure you can buy those couplers separate at any performance store.They are the same type used to connect Turbo Pipes on Diesel motors.

The Washer Juice Thingy is gone until,A:I find one that works,and B:a remote location outside of the engine bay to mount it,(I was thinking about the bottom inside of the fender behind the bumper,like how the evap can is mounted on the passenger side),I will also have to extend the wiring and washer fluid hose.I will get it done though,I'm tired of having to wash my windows by hand all the time.

[91gmblack]

I like it!!

But I might try a variation:
How about using your pipe setup but, instead of using a fabbed 1/2 box and cone filter, use the stock air filter and stock filter box?

I like this way because the filter is more protected from debris below.
I would also seal off the oval side hole in the stock box and drill a lot of little hoes in the bottom of it to allow air flow while still protecing it from junk on the road.

What do you think?
91gmblack

[1987cp]

The Washer Juice Thingy is gone until,A:I find one that works,and B:a remote location outside of the engine bay to mount it,(I was thinking about the bottom inside of the fender behind the bumper,like how the evap can is mounted on the passenger side),I will also have to extend the wiring and washer fluid hose.I will get it done though,I'm tired of having to wash my windows by hand all the time.

At least as of a few years ago, AutoZone had a universal washer reservoir that I used while I was experimenting with a long 3" intake tube on the Merc. Cost about $25, wasn't hugely elegant but it worked pretty well until I decided to get a new stock unit.