Samco intake duct

[Aurora40]

Ok fellow group-buyers... How the hell does this thing go on? It's easily an inch longer than the stock accordian duct. So it won't collapse, seems too long, and the pieces it attaches to are fairly rigidly in place. What's the secret?

Do I have to loosen the air box to do it?

[tomtom72]

Bob, I always loosen the air box. That said, my samco duct is way too long and it looks like a little prudent trimming is in order for me to get the right lenght on it.

I also fabed up the same HVAC duct to insert as I did in the OE duct..but that's a pia to get it in the samco duct. Used a bunch of "wire eze" and much cussing!

Tom

[Aurora40]

Hey Tom, I believe the Samco is laid over a metal frame. So it really shouldn't need any internal bolstering.

I'm hesitant to trim the thing, though... I don't want to mess it up or trim it short. But it sure is long. Is yours actually installed? Or did you just test-fit it and find it too long?

I hate loosening the air box, those things are so cheap. The screws never line up well, and if you tighten them too much (easy to do) they start to smush things and crack the plastic. That might be reason enough for me to be interested in the SLP claw, the fact that it is metal and thus non-smushable.

[Z Factor]

I have not gotten mine yet so I do not know how it will fit. I do remember someone with an LPE that needed to trim theirs down a little years ago, so I suspect we will have to do the same.

[tomtom72]

Hi Bob, No mine is not "installed". I just completed my internal ducting and a test fit. I found that I could get away with just trimming one end if I want. The end at the air horn is too close to the A/C pulley for my taste and it disturbes the fit of my stock A/F housing, also. The bolts don't line up like they do w/the stock duct. I'm not sold on the rigidity of the duct, although it is better than the stock duct...I already put in the insert anyway.

Funny you should say that about the OE duct & A/F housing. Mine was a bit hard to r & r, the bolts didn't line up properly. I took it out of the car and found that the "ears" were not flat. I did a little re-manufacturing to "square" up the housing too and the "ears" and now it works like a dream. I suspect that they are a bit flimsey and if not careful I could have easily bent the metal?? Mine works fine after my backyard fix'in on it...smooth engagement of the hold-down screws after I made sure the ears were centered to the screw bosses...my little rat tail file took care of that! Over-all I have to think that I could have bent it up myself because the A/F was the one from BG I think. It was not very far "out" of alignment & just needed some tweeks...I had to use a metal straight edge and flat edge to see the "wave" in the metal.

Anyway, I kind of expected to have to "adjust" the Samco duct to lenght. It cuts easily with a utility knife + new blade, I guess an Exacto knife would be better or a scalpel. You get a nice clean edge after trimming...just don't use a metal sniper, like the ones for HVAC duct work, they leave a raged edge. The ut knife works fine though! I also expect the hoses may need the same treatment...I haven't got that far yet. I'm more than willing to be the test subject on the duct if you want to wait on yours till next week. I can't do mine today(2/18/06) cause me & the Z are going on a run to Kerbeck's to witness a C6/Z51/vert delivery to one of our crus'in buddies @ CF/NEevents.
Anyway I figure alittle off both ends and a bit of "on-off-trim, on-off-trim", etc will make a perfect fit. It shouldn't take long &/or be a PIA. I think the hold down screws will tell me when I have it just right!


Tom

[Aurora40]

Well, as I sat there looking at the wavey edge of my intake duct, and the blood from my thumb all over the utility knife blade, I couldn't help but think it's a little ridiculous that I have to trim a $450 hose set that is custom made for our cars.

I still haven't trimmed it enough, and I can't get the edge perfectly straight. It isn't ragged, just a slight bit wavey (I used the clamp/bracket as a guide too). I am thinking worst case I can have the clamp sit slightly over the edge so that you don't see the wavey edge of the duct.

I will try to contact Samco tomorrow and see what they have to say about it. If the coolant hoses need trimming too, I think you'll see a nice new hose set showing up on eBay...

[Z Factor]

Originally Posted by Aurora40

Well, as I sat there looking at the wavey edge of my intake duct, and the blood from my thumb all over the utility knife blade, I couldn't help but think it's a little ridiculous that I have to trim a $450 hose set that is custom made for our cars.

I still haven't trimmed it enough, and I can't get the edge perfectly straight. It isn't ragged, just a slight bit wavey (I used the clamp/bracket as a guide too). I am thinking worst case I can have the clamp sit slightly over the edge so that you don't see the wavey edge of the duct.

I will try to contact Samco tomorrow and see what they have to say about it. If the coolant hoses need trimming too, I think you'll see a nice new hose set showing up on eBay...

When I had heard of the necessity to trim LPE Air Ducts years ago it struck me as a little strange as well. However, people did it in a manner to have a straight edge and most of the Air Ducts you see look clean. I can't say this for certain, but believe the guy I spoke to back then used a Guillotine style paper cutter. What ever you do, trim too little rather than too much for obvious reasons. Take your time and repeat the process if needed rather than wind up with one that is too short.
Having said that, I imagine there should not be the need to trim the coolant hoses from your kit.

[TommyL]

Ok guys...I had to trim one I purchased from Lingenfelter meny years ago, it fits perfect. If you take your time and as said above trim a little, fit it, trim a little, fit it, until you get it just right you will be very happy with the results. The best way is to use the plastic air filter housing as your guide to cut it with a sharp knife-its very easy to cut. Install the new duct onto the horn then install the filter housing completly with screws (leave yourself 1/2" extra on the horn incase you cut it too short) trim it using the rounded edge of the plastic housing as your guide. If you don't want to use the housing as your guide then use the hose clamp (installed over the duct and filter housing)...after marking it with an ink pen. Using the housing as your guide will give you a perfect fit but the duct and hose clamp may be a little difficult to install onto the horn beacuse of the A/C pully. Take your time it will fit.

Using the plastic air-filter housing is what I recommend as the filter housing-horn is not a perfect match, every vehicle may be slightly different and you will find the cut end towards the filter housing will be cut on a slight angle to fit it properly.

Hope this helps.

[tomtom72]

Hey that's a good idea, Tom!!! Thanks!

I think that the cooling hoses will need to be trimmed also, Bob. I eyed the ones from the I/H outlet pipes & they look close but no way to tell without lining them up on the hoses that are there.

Bob, on the trimming operation. I screwed a piece of hardwood down to my work bench for a flat level surface to work from. I had some oak 1" x 12" fragments laying about. I used a floor square to do lenght measurements and marking with painter's tape on either side of my marks. I know that this is not correct saftey but if you peirce the duct and then pull the utility knife towards you slowly you won't get wounded. I bury the knife to the hilt and to the slope of the nose. Stuff cuts easily enough with minor pulling on the knife. I'm not saying that it isn't a PIA by no means! My first cut took a wave because I didn't use the tape on both sides...but I only did a 1/4" wide trim just to get a feel for the material & method. I did another 1/4" too fix the wave...it isn't perfect I'm sure but it looks straight to the eye...after I did the two pieces of tape to give me my guide line. Second method worked much better, with the two tape method. Just like the commercial painters use the tape trick when they stripe a building's basement walls...3" stripe uses three strips of tape & pull the middle tape off and paint that area & that's your stripe.


Tom

[Aurora40]

Well, what I did was put the clamp around the hose and snug it up. Then I put the blade in the duct and had it run against the band. This made it fairly even, but there are still slight waves to it. I'm not sure how doing it by hand I could get it without the waves. Maybe I'll dremel them down, but that might turn out worse.

For now it fits on. I need to shorten it still, though. It's buldged out over the airbox in order to keep it off the A/C pulley:



As an aside, I had also ordered new duct clamps before the Samco stuff arrived. My original ones were rather streaky colorwise. The black was removed a fair bit from them. Oddly the new ones were unpainted. So I cleaned them with mineral spirits and painted them with the same low-gloss high-temp black I used on the oil filter. They turned out very nice, the matte black looks better than the semi-gloss finish on the originals.