Van's Baffle kit w/ Sam James plenum

lostpilot28 · #1 06-21-2008, 04:45 PM

I started digging through the forums hoping to find some detailed info on what others have done with this setup.

I'm getting ready to start on my baffles, and I was wondering if I just "cap" it as a last step with the James plenum. I've heard that the Van's baffle kit needs very little modification to fit the plenum properly, but what are those mods?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Radomir · #2 06-21-2008, 06:37 PM

Front inlet ramps.. the aft side is pretty much same (leave off that one little bracket on middle aft...) so the only "challenge" is front inlet ramps..

Oh yeah, they won't be as tall.. you'll trim them a lot more than going with stock baffle seal material..

lostpilot28 · #3 06-21-2008, 10:36 PM

Thanks Radomir...I hope that's it...sounds pretty easy. Why do so many people have trouble getting the baffles to fit?

yakdriver · #4 06-21-2008, 10:38 PM

Yep, everything fits great with just a few mods to the inlet ramps. Don

aparchment · #5 06-23-2008, 01:29 PM

Pictures would be great guys!

Radomir · #6 06-23-2008, 02:27 PM

I've got some here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/n777ty/Baffles

nucleus · #7 06-23-2008, 03:09 PM

Basically it is about trimming the baffling down so the plenum sits nice and low in the engine, then tying it down, and making airtight connections to the inlet rings. My example is likely different than yours because I adapted a James angle valve plenum to a straight valve engine. First I cut the plenum down so it fit inside the plenum:

Then I marked the baffling and timmed the baffling down:

Then we fiberglass a lip that went over the baffling and drilled holes through both that lip and the baffling with nutplates on the inside side of the baffling for mounting screws.

I ended up needing to build in a bulge for the fuel divider on the top of the engine.

Now I am finalizing the connection to the inlet rings.

I have more pictures in threads here and here.

Reminder: James uses polyester based resin, not epoxy. Old school!

I hope that helps,

Hans

lostpilot28 · #8 06-28-2008, 10:16 AM

Thanks for everyone's reply...but I have a few new questions.

The Van's baffling kit is going together pretty well. I have the back and sides done (still need to trim them down for the plenum, though). I can see that I'll be trimming off at least 2 inches all the way around.

Here are my new questions:
1. The bracket that mounts on the engine case (aft) and connects the 2 aft baffling pieces together...is it still required with the plenum? I'm thinking that after I trim it down, there won't be enough baffling material to get but maybe 1 bolt connected.

2. The Plenum itself seems a bit long. Mainly, the intake holes on the front touch the aluminum rings when i have the bottom cowl in place. This is a shorty cowl, so I'm thinking I should trim the plenum holes back an inch or so. What do you think?

3. Oil cooler area. The plenum (aft left) has a "tab" that fits in the recess that goes back about an inch for the oil cooler. Did that make sense? The plenum is a little short and doesn't go all the way back into the oil cooler recess. Maybe 1/4" or so gap. How does that get covered or filled in?

Thanks for all your help.

osxuser · #9 06-29-2008, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nucleus

Basically it is about trimming the baffling down so the plenum sits nice and low in the engine, then tying it down, and making airtight connections to the inlet rings. My example is likely different than yours because I adapted a James angle valve plenum to a straight valve engine. First I cut the plenum down so it fit inside the plenum:

Then I marked the baffling and timmed the baffling down:

Then we fiberglass a lip that went over the baffling and drilled holes through both that lip and the baffling with nutplates on the inside side of the baffling for mounting screws.

I ended up needing to build in a bulge for the fuel divider on the top of the engine.

Now I am finalizing the connection to the inlet rings.

I have more pictures in threads here and here.

Reminder: James uses polyester based resin, not epoxy. Old school!

I hope that helps,

Hans

I don't have any answers for the OP but Hans, are you using Polyester/Vinylester resin? I thought that you couldn't use it with Carbon? Maybe I'm wrong.

lostpilot28 · #10 06-30-2008, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lostpilot28

Thanks for everyone's reply...but I have a few new questions.

The Van's baffling kit is going together pretty well. I have the back and sides done (still need to trim them down for the plenum, though). I can see that I'll be trimming off at least 2 inches all the way around.

Here are my new questions:
1. The bracket that mounts on the engine case (aft) and connects the 2 aft baffling pieces together...is it still required with the plenum? I'm thinking that after I trim it down, there won't be enough baffling material to get but maybe 1 bolt connected.

2. The Plenum itself seems a bit long. Mainly, the intake holes on the front touch the aluminum rings when i have the bottom cowl in place. This is a shorty cowl, so I'm thinking I should trim the plenum holes back an inch or so. What do you think?

3. Oil cooler area. The plenum (aft left) has a "tab" that fits in the recess that goes back about an inch for the oil cooler. Did that make sense? The plenum is a little short and doesn't go all the way back into the oil cooler recess. Maybe 1/4" or so gap. How does that get covered or filled in?

Thanks for all your help.

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?