NewOldSchool

I'm going to the junk yard on half-price day and am looking forward to grabbing a larger throttle body for my 92 Plymouth Acclaim V6, but I need to know which vehicles have the TB that I need. The yard is over an hour away and is huge. That's why I need to make lists before I go.

Are there other parts that I should grab while I am there, either for upgrades or maintenance? I know there are cams I can use from something, and possibly an entire head, and generally any obvious bolt-ons that I come across. I'm not as familiar with this car as I am with other platforms/drivetrains.

On a side note, I am going to get a Dodge Spirit grill because I think it looks better than the Acclaim grill, and also some clear turn signal covers. I like the LeBaron's headlights/nose, but I would have to change out the entire fenders for those.

Which wheels would look nice that fit an Acclaim? They are just $30 at the junk yard. Thanks for all your help. I'll know this engine inside and out before too long.

RacerHog

Sky is the limit... Just get parts... or a Parts car .... Woo Hoo... just my 2 cents

NewOldSchool

I agree with the value of a parts car. I have a couple for a couple of other projects and they have more than paid for themselves.

My haul from the junkyard, excluding parts for other cars (including a CAI with filter for $7 and a performance exhaust pipe for $5), includes a TB from a 3.3 V6 which the original TB can nearly fit inside, a Dodge Spirit grill, clear turn signals, a nicer headlight, some nice speakers, a couple of spare doors, and a better trunk lid.

I'm going to port the TB an additional mm and port-match the intake manifold. Since I have to remove the manifold for the port-matching, I'm going to go ahead and P&P the intake manifold.

Is there anything else I can do while the intake manifold is off?

RacerHog

Let us know how things work with the porting. I do know the porting on the throttle body work well on the later stuff. Like the Durangos, but i'm not sure about the earlier stuff????

NewOldSchool

As it turns out, the intake manifold did not need port-matched, as apparently they used the entrance size for the larger TB and simply used a smaller gasket for the smaller TB, so I just had to trim the gasket.

I decided to go ahead and go all the way down to the head gaskets since one of them is suspect anyway... just to be safe, and it gives me an excuse to do some additional porting.

I'll see if I can remember all of the measurements. The head exhaust ports were 4 mm smaller than the manifold's ports, so I ported them 3 mm to be just 1 mm smaller as well as made some smoother transitions on some of the curves.

The pipe that connects the two exhaust manifolds was also 4 mm larger than the manifolds where it connects, so I ported them 3 mm as well.

Where the upper intake manifold meets the lower intake manifold, there was about a 3 mm difference, so I matched them within a mm and smoothed some curves.

Here is something people might not know... The gasket where the intake manifold meets the head overlaps at the injector tip, causing a ledge that appears to interfere with injector spray or at least airflow (evident by the amount of build-up beneath the ledge around the injector tips). I trimmed the gasket at that spot and even angled the edge to further match the potential angle of injector spray.

I did not do extensive head work, but the valve guides and seals all look good, as well as the piston clearance in the cylinders. I also did not go inside the upper intake manifold, where it looks like it could benefit from eliminating some unnecessary bulges.

The majority of the engine is now blue and black, matching the body. I suppose I owe some pictures of everything now, so I will add a ride thread soon. I have an engine to reassemble in the meantime. With the larger TB, all the minor porting, replacing a catalytic converter that is most likely partially clogged, possibly increased compression, and maybe some additional exhaust work, I think there might be a noticeable improvement in performance since the last time it was driven.

RacerHog

Blending and matching can go a looooong way.....