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Flared aluminum intake trumpets.


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I recieved an email asking about the intake trumpets on a Cobra I built, so I decided to post a short how-to. Now, if you have, and can use a lathe to turn these, great. But if you are a mere mortal like myself, here's a quick and easy method for ya.

You will need some aluminum tube, a sharp knife or small tubing cutter, small hammer, an anvil of some sort, and a small punch.

flare-1.jpg

First, cut the tube to the desired length. Mile-high stacks might present a problem, so keep it reasonable. I use a larger X-Acto knife with a curved blade for this.

flare-2.jpg

flare-3.jpg

After cleaning any flash from the cut, place the tube upright on the anvil, and place the punch in the end. Give several light taps untill you have the desired flare, and it is flared evenly

flare-4.jpg

flare-5.jpg

And here is the finished trumpet.

flare-6.jpg

If you're after a polished look, try polishing a longer piece of tubing, then cut to length and flare. To avoid any marring on the inside of the flare, you can try polishing the punch. Hope y'all find this useful,

Brian

Edit: Moved pics to new server

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The ones I made were for a road racer, so they were short. I really don't know how long they can be before things go south. If you want to make longer ones, try cutting to the desired length, then slipping it inside a slightly shorter piece of tubing the next size up. That might keep it from bending or kinking in the middle.

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Now that I think about it, a better idea for longer stacks would be to mill a piece of hardwood - mill the thickness fo the wood to the length of the stacks, drill a hole for the tube, and use a counter sink to allow room for the tube to flare.

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Now that I think about it, a better idea for longer stacks would be to mill a piece of hardwood - mill the thickness fo the wood to the length of the stacks, drill a hole for the tube, and use a counter sink to allow room for the tube to flare.

Now that's brilliant. Thanks.

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  • 1 month later...
Good idea Dag. Can the anealed aluminum be polished as normal?

Like slotbaker said it should not affect the ability to polish.

Are you a rock hound? Just curious, thats a rock hammer on the pic isn't it?

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  • 4 weeks later...

Like slotbaker said it should not affect the ability to polish.

Are you a rock hound? Just curious, thats a rock hammer on the pic isn't it?

I would tend to believe the hammer would be used for a tinnerman in the hvac trade. :|

Nice tip for those going for the full custom look. :P

Thanks for sharing. 8)

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  • 3 weeks later...

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