Abstract: A composite air intake manifold includes a header and runners having communicating passages. The composite intake manifold is fashioned from carbon fiber cloth which is preferably impregnated with resin and cured between a meltable core mold and a split outside mold. The carbon fiber cloth is oriented throughout the manifold to give the manifold maximum pressure resisting capability with minimum thickness and weight. Because virtually any shape may be adopted for the interior passages of the header and the runners, the interior passages of the header and runners may be shaped to enhance air flow through the manifold.

Abstract: The present invention is a method for making a composite structure that includes three resin impregnated structural cloth layers including a bottom sheet, a top sheet and a core sheet. The core sheet is a continuously curved shape with flat valleys that are bonded to the bottom sheet and flat peaks that are bonded to the top sheet. In the invention process, a dry core sheet is sandwiched between two wax core molds that form the core sheet. The core molds and the core sheet are sandwiched between dry top and bottom sheets by rigid molds as the flat peaks and valleys of the core sheet make contact with the top and bottom sheets through openings in the core molds. Liquid resin is transferred into the dry sheets and then cured. The lay up is disassembled and the wax core molds are melted and drained from the finished, rigid structure.