[steve00s]

To my great relief and statisfaction I finished the install last night. Lessons learned: I decided not to remove the intake manifold and just cut the OEM airbox out. It is make of very brittle plastic and with the combination of large pruning shears and a pair of large pliers I made short work of it by cutting and snapping the plastic a little at a time. I thought about using a sawzall but didn't want shaving in the compartment.

I did remove the bolt underneath before cutting so I could move the box around a little to get a better angle on some of the cuts. There are actually two bolts underneath. One in the middle which holds the box on and is pretty easily accessable from underneath. I had no trouble getting a wrench up there. There is a second bolt closer to the firewall that is used to secure the new heat shield but that can be removed after removing the old airbox.

Connecting the new air tube together with the rubber couplers was a struggle. The instructions said to connect the short tube to the throttle body, then insert the longer tube in the heat shield, and then connect the tubes together. I could not connect them together with so little space to work. I had to piece it all together and then fish it in. It could be done the other way but takes some pretty strong hands. Heating the rubber in hot water may have helped but the other way worked.

The de-snorkeling went easier than expected. If you just pull on it you'll never get it. Even wiggling it back and forth didn't help. I good hard tug upward and then to the side broke a small piece of the tab off and it came right out.

I went for a quick test drive before putting the engine cover back on and I could not believe the incredible roar at 6500 RPM just a foot behind you. It was absolutely mind blowing. There is no doubt this car is race breed.