550 Intake Manifold Color Scheme

I'm in the middle of a "major" on my 550, and am taking the opportunity to do a few fun things with it too. One was stripping all the paint off the intake manifold & covers, having them soda blasted, then the covers powder coated and the main manifold coated with clear Alodine. I think they turned out nicely?

I also have a 456 intake manifold that I'm going to try on the car because I preferred the look of the 456 casting. But after seeing how well the center/top cover for the 550 manifold turned out, I'm not so sure I'll be using the 456 manifold now
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Cheers guys, no, I'm not bashful about tasteful modding (at least I consider this manifold color scheme to be tasteful, however others may differ )

 

Right Alfredo, it's a black "texture" instead of a wrinkle/crinkle finish. It has more of a standup rough looking finish than a black primer, but less than the wrinkle. Too, I really wanted it to be done with powder rather than paint for the longevity & durability.

Thanks Bill, I'm really pleased with it. My Skunkworks buddy & partner (Ferraridriver) put the idea for this color combo in my head about a month ago, but it didn't really click until I saw some pics that Ron (Rmfurzeland) took of an FXX sitting over at Ferrari of Houston, then I knew it would look great.

 

Bill, as you know, the original coating was wrinkle paint on top, with some sort of self etching primer on the ally itself, so I think comparing that with Alodine may be an apples and oranges comparison.

However, the plater tells me he did a big Alodine job for the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) a few years ago on some shell casings, and the IDF specified Alodine over anodising or other coatings, as the shell casings had to remain corrosion free for 50 years, and they felt only Alodine had that capability.

 

Phil, thanks for the compliment. In my opinion, if a modification on a Ferrari, particularly an "artistic" change like this one, looks as though it could have come from the factory, that's the highest praise possible for it. I'm not naive enough to believe that everything Ferrari does on these cars is top notch; we all know about the little areas of frustration that arise due to poor materials or not well thought out execution, but they certainly know how to make them look beautiful, particularly in the engine bay. So it's really tough for a DIY'er to try and "improve" the visual impact and beauty of these engines.

On the 456 manifold, I had originally acquired it with the intent of replacing the stock 550 manifold simply because I prefer the "look" of the 456 manifold. In my opinion, the center/top plenum chamber on the 550 has always looked a bit ungainly and out of place, while hiding that beautiful crossover casting underneath. The 456 manifold is simple, elegant and exposes the crossover, however according to Ferrari lore, it was a restriction for the high end output of the F133 engine, and so they developed the variable length intake manifold for the 550 to allow the engine to breathe better at the top end.

I found it interesting then, that when Ferrari developed the F141 engine for the 599 car, they did not include a variable length intake manifold for it. Some would argue that since the 599 had variable valve timing, there was no longer any need for the variable manifold, however other manufacturers (ie Lexus) include both technologies in their engines. So did Ferrari feel that the variable length intake really didn't have the performance vs cost benefit they originally thought it would and dropped it for the 599? Or did they simply run out of real estate in the 599's engine bay and needed those extra cm's on top of the engine?

It's interesting to see that after being dropped for the F141 engine, the technology is now back on the "LaFerrari", but executed differently and is no longer up on top, in the form of a common center plenum, but is in the individual plenums on each side of the engine.

Regardless of their reasoning, I still intend to try the 456 manifold on my 550, just to see how it looks and runs, but I must say that I now like the look of the 550 manifold much better than before.

 

Thanks Pete, and I'll for sure keep this updated; I know you struggled with whether to use powder or paint on your manifold. I was committed to powder, but just couldn't find the right way to do the surface prep, then find the powder & color combo that I really liked.

I'm on the hunt now for some isolating washers that I can use under the screw heads that won't gouge the fresh coating. My old standby solution of using rubber bonded SS washers from McMaster is probably the way I'll go, but if anyone else has run into this and has a better solution, I'm open to trying it.

These bonded washers do a pretty good job of sealing holes & fastener shafts, while being fairly kind to the surface below. Here's a link to the size I use for M6 fasteners in tight spots: McMaster-Carr: Bonded Sealing Washers

And here's a pic of the larger version (1/2" OD, IIRC):
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Thanks Philip, but I don't think Stat-o-Seals would do what I want. I need to put a softer surface next to the powder coating so it doesn't crack/flake/scratch.

Someone had suggested using Delrin or Teflon washers under the screw heads, and I'm looking for some black versions of those now. I do have some black nylon washers arriving tomorrow that I'll try too.

 

Mark, I still prefer the clean look of the 456's manifold to the look of the 550 manifold with the OEM paint scheme, however I really do like the "new" look of the 550 manifold too.

I'm going to put the powder coated 550 side covers on my 456 manifold and see how they look and will post some pics.