Performance diesel intake manifolds

Factual Questions
1

In the late 70s and ending in the mid 80s, the US experimented with diesel powered motors for the common passenger vehicle.

They were slow, smoked and stank, and due to unfamiliarity, the owners and mechanics failed to properly upkeep the engines, causing frequent trips to the shop.

The US consumer was turned off for diesels for decades: oil-burners were relegated to heavy duty trucks from then on…aside from the odd VW and Benz diesel import.

There is a resurgence in diesel tech now. Drag Racers are cranking up the turbo boost on their trucks to 1000+ HP on the strip.

There is a performance intake manifold with tuned intake runners
http://image.hotrod.com/f/9020027+w750+st0/hrdp_0609_07_z+banks_performance_sidewinder_duramax_diesel+intake_manifold.jpg
to improve the stock Duramax:
http://www.banksblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/dmax-stockmanifold4.jpg

Here’s the stock manifold for the Ford/International Harvester/Powerstroke 7.3 motor:

http://www.dieselequipment.net/images/pg_9_019.jpg

It looks similar to GM’s 5.7, 6.2, and 6.5 diesels.

In the early 80s, GM tried a performance manifold on a FWD 4.3 diesel

but apparently killed the project.

Does anybody make aftermarket performance intake manifolds with massive intake runners for these older mills?

True, you could just slap a turbo on the thing, but replacing an intake would surely be easier and cheaper for the backyard mechanic than installing a turbo, which would necessitate modifying the exhaust system as wel as routing a pressurized pipe to the intake…not to mention plumming in oil and coolant lines
for the turbocharger.

2

There will be much more interest on the diesel stop forum.

3

That is an international 7.3 normally aspirated, mechanically injected manifold, which is not a Powerstroke engine. Ford trademarked the term Powerstroke for the T444E based engine, which was turbocharged in all applications, and uses common rail electro-hydraulic unit injectors. The Powerstroke used individual intake plenums on each bank, fed by a “Y-pipe”. Some of the cross section of these plenums was in the head casting, so not conducive to aftermarket tinkering.
As for your question, I know of no source of aftermarket diesel manifolds for normally aspirated applications. Because you do not have issues with fuel puddling and separation in a diesel, you could fabricate one from header parts. Google “headers by ed” for an online source I have used and recommend.