air induction manifold removal - then what?

[Soma576@xxxx]

Hey guys,

my car is currently in winter storage. i found a very clever way to work on 
my car this winter - i rented a 10x20 ft storage garage with a single light 
bulb in the wall for $60/mo. i took the light bulb out and put a y-socket in 
and put three prong power sockets into it. now i have a trouble light and a 
space heater in my garage! needless to say, i am using this opportunity to 
do a lot of time-consuming jobs that i didn't want to do during the driving 
season. 

right now i just got my whole air meter assembly and fuel system dismantled 
to send to Grady for cleaning and calibration. this time around i did it the 
smart way - every screw or part that i removed, i put a number next to it 
against the wall, with a chart of where everything goes when i put it back 
together. also i am compiling a list in my shop manual of things i don't 
want to forget to do when reassembling, for instance, where and which wires 
go where, which vacuum hoses go where, and any other hints that will make the 
job easier. 

anyway, i'm the kind of guy who likes to mess with things so i think i want 
to remove my air induction manifold for cleaning. it sure is gunky under that 
air meter housing! right now i'm to the point where i just need to unscrew 
the four bolts and it should lift right off. my question now is - should i 
do it? am i asking for trouble by removing something like this for no really 
good reason? i sure would be P.O'ed if my car ran worse when i was done with 
all of this because something didn't seal correctly. right now my biggest 
concern is the idle speed wind pipe being aligned when i put it back in, so 
it is safe to take off the air induction manifold? or should i go with the 
saying 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'? i guess i'm mostly just curious to 
see what's under there. ever since i got the car last year i was saying i 
want to take that thing off. i don't know why, i just want to. oh yeah - if 
i do, will i need to buy a whole bunch of gaskets that i just destroyed by 
removing it?

finally, with all of this stuff out of the way - is there anything i should 
do for maintenence while i have the opportunity? right now i'm planning on 
replacing all of my vacuum hoses, and with the distributer right there i'll 
probably put in a new cap and rotor. anything else??????? my spark plugs 
are perfect, new belts, i have new injectors and hollow bolts already.... 
that's about all i've done to the car back there.

any tips would be much appreciated!
Andy

Soma576@xxxx
1982 DeLorean DMC-12 VIN#11596
Fargo, ND 58102


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