thoughts on breathing - long

[Colin <cwass99@home.com>]

Hi,
     I've been thinking about how to improve my 8v breathing and I figured I'd
better get opinions before I did something permanent and annoying.  There are 2
basic problems to breathing on my stock CIS system and they each attach
directly to the air box/fuel distributor assembly.  The first is the teeny
little pipe that lets air in.  I removed the nasty little valve that was there
and re-ran the hose directly from the box to the connection in the back of the
air dam (yes, it stretched that far without difficulty and stays put). 
I was thinking, though, that this needs to be improved upon.  My first thought
was to 'swiss cheese' the box, but then I had a better idea.  If I were to get
a 2 inch floor drain and cut an appropriate hole in the bottom of the box, I
could attach a second pipe and run it to the grill for a bit of a ram air
effect.  Done correctly and carefully, it should look quite neat and tidy. 
I've also considered cutting off the hose connection originally there and
replacing it with a 3 inch bit of pipe.  Again, it should be simple to make
this look quite appropriate.  Any thoughts or comments?
     The second breathing problem I see needing addressed is the pipe that
joins the air box to the throttle body.  If you look closely, you'll notice
it's somewhat skinnier in the middle than on the ends.  I've seen a couple
advertised replacements for this and they all seem to be based on somewhat
flattened 3 inch piping with a 48 degree bend on one side to make it fit. They
also seem to be based on copper pipe.  My thought was to use 3 inch abs pipe. 
Does anybody know if this stuff can be bent?  I would guess liberal use of a
propane torch would be helpful here, but I'm open to suggestions.  I think
staying with black abs would look most like the stock piece there now which is
important when you're building a sleeper ;)  Besides, I don't have a pipe
bender that will take 3 inch copper and I don't like the idea of paying lots of
cash for something I should be able to build myself for under $10.
     I see both those things as extremely simple and inexpensive things that
should improve the air flow into the system substantially.  My biggest concern
is that opening up things that much might be more than a basic CIS system can
stand.  I'd appreciate any comments on this.
     The whole point of this exercise is to make sure I have decent airflow for
the bigger throttle body I'm going to try and get from the wrecker's this
week-end.  Any thoughts on which TB's I should be looking for?  I'm also going
to try to get a spare intake manifold for my engine to do the carving on to fit
the new throttle body.  Worst case, I go get another and try again if I screw
it up.
     I appreciate any thoughts or comments (except on spelling or grammar...;)).

Cheers,
Colin


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