2001 Ford F150 - Project Sinatra Part III: A Matter Of Breathing

We took the intake and throttle-body system apart because we still needed to remove the factory MAF sensor from the OE intake and put together with the BBK system. Brian bench assembled the MAF, coupler, filter, and heat shield together as one unit to make installation easier.

Comparing the BBK throttle body to the stock part makes it easy to see the difference in breathability between the two units. Now our supercharged V-8 could gulp some serious air.

BBK supplied fresh hardware and gaskets and Brian merely held the throttle body in place and cinched it down. BBK designs its equipment around the stock counterparts so items like the throttle cable and cruise-control cable clipped right back where they belonged. You can also see the IAC and TPS sensors transferred from the stock throttle body.

A couple of silicone couplers and hose clamps were all that was necessary to put the chromed aluminum BBK inlet tube into place.

Rubber feet on the bottom of the heat shield simply press into the stock holes and support the filter box, as well as provide vibration damping. The hose clamps that couple the tube to the MAF sensor were tightened at this time.

Here comes trouble! Our Ford SuperCrew was a Ford factory test vehicle and was subject to intense heat, salt spray, and rigorous running cycles, so we were left with plenty of wretched rusted fasteners to deal with. Even with the penetrating oil, we still managed to strip just about every fastener on the exhaust.

How hot did Ford make this truck? Well, the heat shielding around the O2 sensor's wiring melted-and that material is supposed to be good at well-above 1,000 degrees. Look, there's more rust to contend with.

After a lot of sweating, stripped hardware, cutting, and cursing, Brian had one exhaust manifold free. We snapped a picture of the BBK fully CNC'd and ceramic-coated 1-5/8-inch header next to the rusty cast-iron stocker while he fought the other side. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see which part is going to move the exhaust efficiently. Between the suspension's dual-shock kit and the generally small engine compartment, we could not get good images of the headers going into the truck. Not to mention, we had to jump in and help swap the headers into place. It was no picnic.

On the lift at MagnaFlow, we got our only decent image of the BBK headers actually in place. The ceramic coating isn't as shiny anymore, since some mileage had accumulated between the two installations. Our exhaust wasn't operating as it should, nor was the engine, as you can see by the heavy discoloration of the ceramic from the short amount of mileage we had put on it between BBK and MagnaFlow.