PI Maniford upgrade

Booboo

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I want to do a PI manifold swap on my 1997 GT. I am down on work and income so I am on a big budget. I was thinking of getting one from the local junk yard. I just need to know what to look for. There are lots of cars with a 4.6l at the yard.

I also plan to change the cams. Should I just grab the cams off the same engine I take the manifold from or is there a better option with a new camshaft. I am OK spending a little more money to get the best camshaft for this setup.

The only other mods right now are a throttle body and 2.5" exhaust.
 

96blak54

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Any pi manifold will work. The water channel crossovers are the only differences. There are 15 different variations throught the pi manifold life cycle, all of them being water channels. All of them will work. You may need to do a little work getting it setup for your car.

Im not 100% positive if the 97 mustangs came with 2 water temp sensors, one for the gauge and one for the computer. I know for certain the 96 did, but if the pi intake that you score has only one place for 1 sensor, dont worry you can always add another by drilling and tapping the hole. All the water channels have 2 areas for a drill and tapped location. There is one variation that did come with 2 drilled and tapped places, but that intake in particular came in a service late model E150. And has an upper plenum welded to it. No upper plenum can be bolted on, but the water channels can be swapped. Best just to drill and tap what you got.

Their is a pi manifold swap thread somewhere. I suggest you check it out.
 

PinkieT

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When in the boneyards look for Ford markings on the manifold. Avoid aftermarket manifolds like Dorman makes - they work, but are more restrictive than the factory intakes and using one will not add any power.
 

96blak54

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Screenshot_20221001-111136_DuckDuckGo.jpg

The intake on the left is a stock pi. The intake on the right is a stock npi. Easiest way to identify either while searching a bone yard, look at the 1st port runner directly behind the water channel. The pi 1st port runner will be to the right on the #6 cylinder.
 

apsmith49921

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If you're going to pull the cams too just snag the whole top end
 
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Booboo

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I got sidetracked on this project. I had an option to buy a longblock with TFS heads on it. That didn't pan out so I am back thinking about this.

I now plan to pick up the PI heads from the junk yard too. A local machine shop tells me they can rebuild and C&C port them for about $1200. Is this a good idea? If so I want to choose the right camshaft, agressive but still streetable, recomendations. What kind of power can a set up like this make?

Or would it be smarter to just pick up a set of new TFS heads.
 

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