IMG_2998.JPG
107 hits | 53.51 KB | Posted: 5/20/16
Intercooler hiding where the AC condenser used to live.
(Posted in: Intercooler)

IMG_2999.JPG
130 hits | 56.01 KB | Posted: 5/20/16
Intercooler? What intercooler? Shame to hide it all but that's what happens when you build a sleeper.
(Posted in: Intercooler)

IMG_0398.JPG
115 hits | 48.98 KB | Posted: 6/15/17
Working on the intercooler piping. This is the pipe to the throttle body with the blow off valve flange welded on. I decided to go with a Type R blow off valve off ebay for simplicity. It came with a nice 2.5" aluminum pipe and flange but I don'...
(Posted in: Intercooler)

1.jpg
81 hits | 59.12 KB | Posted: 1/8/19
My gas tank had a bunch of rust in it so I bought a new tank. Since I had a new tank I took the opportunity to add some fuel feed fittings to the bottom of the tank. The previous set up had a 1/2" feed stuck into the stock fuel sending unit with...
(Posted in: Fuel tank modifications)

2.jpg
67 hits | 69.04 KB | Posted: 1/8/19
Fittings welded up. The MIG did a fine job. But I ended up with one small leak that I touched up with the acetylene torch.
(Posted in: Fuel tank modifications)

3.jpg
86 hits | 49.51 KB | Posted: 1/8/19
Fittings tinned. The factory tank is tinned to prevent rust. I slathered some body butter on it and used the torch to get a nice even coating. Should make it a little less prone to rust.
(Posted in: Fuel tank modifications)

4.jpg
69 hits | 70.37 KB | Posted: 1/8/19
Fittings cleaned up with the wire cup brush on the angle grinder.
(Posted in: Fuel tank modifications)

5.jpg
85 hits | 63.82 KB | Posted: 1/8/19
Now I needed to deal with the 1/2" hole in the sending unit I don't need any more. I used the MIG to slowly fill it in while keeping the piece cold. Can't melt the wire grommet for the gauge sender.
(Posted in: Fuel tank modifications)

6.jpg
100 hits | 78.47 KB | Posted: 1/8/19
The welds were ground down and it had a couple very small leaks. I was wary of getting a good seal with welding without putting enough heat into it to melt the plastic. I put some body butter on it and tinned over the welds. Wet paper towel protected...
(Posted in: Fuel tank modifications)

7.jpg
88 hits | 61.03 KB | Posted: 1/8/19
Finished repair. Pretty good. No leaks. There's brake cleaner pooled on top to check for seeps.
(Posted in: Fuel tank modifications)

8.jpg
102 hits | 41.71 KB | Posted: 1/8/19
Fittings installed. That's a -8 AN full flow fitting.
(Posted in: Fuel tank modifications)

9.jpg
98 hits | 63.45 KB | Posted: 1/8/19
Installed in the car. Fuel gravity feeds straight to the pump.
(Posted in: Fuel tank modifications)

10.jpg
127 hits | 61.64 KB | Posted: 1/8/19
Fuel pump primed itself and the pressure is nice and steady.
(Posted in: Fuel tank modifications)

IMG_0505.jpg
118 hits | 50.79 KB | Posted: 1/8/19
I was upgrading to a 3G alternator and I hate wire splices in my harness. Finding the connectors and pins was easy. Unfortunately the water temp sending unit for the dash light is part of that harness and it only comes as a wire splice since the rubb...
(Posted in: DIY wire connector)

IMG_0507.jpg
109 hits | 52.75 KB | Posted: 1/8/19
Crimped a connector to the wire and placed it in the mold. Mix the two-part rubber and degas it using a big syringe. Inject the rubber and wait. A wood dowel kept the opening clear. The results are decent. The new connector was a tad longer so it sti...
(Posted in: DIY wire connector)

IMG_0508.jpg
139 hits | 76.39 KB | Posted: 1/8/19
New wire on the left. Old wire on the right. The old wire was fine except for being so old that the insulation was crumbling away. Now it's ready for another 30 years.
(Posted in: DIY wire connector)

System layout.jpg
96 hits | 95.81 KB | Posted: 10/17/23
Laying out the new 3-inch system. Resonators, x pipe, Flowmasters, tail pipes
(Posted in: Exhaust 2023)

Tailpipes tacked.jpg
107 hits | 89.51 KB | Posted: 10/17/23
Tail pipes all tacked into place. Sorry no pics while cutting and tacking. Too much work.
(Posted in: Exhaust 2023)

Welded tails.jpg
117 hits | 64.05 KB | Posted: 10/17/23
Tail pipes TIGed together. Ready for the next step.
(Posted in: Exhaust 2023)

V band weld.jpg
107 hits | 43.35 KB | Posted: 10/17/23
V band clamp welded to the resonators (bullet mufflers). Not exactly stacking dimes but not going to fall off.
(Posted in: Exhaust 2023)

Tucking the x.jpg
108 hits | 57.55 KB | Posted: 10/17/23
Using a bottle jack to tuck the X up into the body better. Just cut a couple tacks on top to let it flex. Easy.
(Posted in: Exhaust 2023)

Exhaust2.jpg
127 hits | 64.34 KB | Posted: 10/17/23
Final product. Not too bad. Driver's side swings out a bit to clear the fuel pump. Tips are pretty even. Four hangers and no rattles. Full 3-inch mandrel bends from the down pipes back. Ready for bigger turbos at some point.
(Posted in: Exhaust 2023)

bad headers.jpg
128 hits | 102.49 KB | Posted: 6/22/24
Custom headers from Stainless Steel Headers. Nothing about these were right.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

checking.jpg
112 hits | 73.01 KB | Posted: 6/22/24
Holding up bits of cut up header to see where things should go.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

current.jpg
113 hits | 75.22 KB | Posted: 6/22/24
Header tacked together and checking the rest of the exhaust routing.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

cut up header.jpg
105 hits | 64.53 KB | Posted: 6/22/24
Slicing up the custom headers to maker them work.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

Headers tacked.jpg
106 hits | 64.94 KB | Posted: 6/22/24
Reworked headers tacked up and ready to weld.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

old left.jpg
113 hits | 80.11 KB | Posted: 6/22/24
Driver's side just prior to starting the single turbo install.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

old right.jpg
120 hits | 77.66 KB | Posted: 6/22/24
Passenger side turbo just prior to starting the single turbo install.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

routing.jpg
123 hits | 75.77 KB | Posted: 6/22/24
Figuring out the turbo positioning.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

Headers 062524.jpg
111 hits | 53.28 KB | Posted: 6/25/24
Welded the headers bolted to a 1"x3" block of cold rolled steel to keep them from warping. It worked. Mostly. The very ends curled up a tad and it curled width wise at the ports. About 1/32", so not much. Big belt sander will take care of that.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

Headers 062524 2.jpg
100 hits | 63.57 KB | Posted: 6/25/24
I'm not a welder, but they won't leak and won't fall off. Works for me. Once they are ceramic coated, it will be fine.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

Dreivers header hot side mock up.jpg
99 hits | 57.85 KB | Posted: 6/28/24
Chopped up a bunch of expensive 2.5" cast stainless bends to connect the drivers header to the turbo. This is just mock up, I'll tack weld it and check the fit, then weld it and check the fit several times in the process. Little changes as you go can...
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

4 back view.jpg
88 hits | 77.03 KB | Posted: 6/29/24
Driver's side header fully tacked up including the stub to the crossover pipe. I'll have to cut the tacks to the header to weld the stub first then weld the header to the flange last to have access for the TIG.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

4 front view.jpg
76 hits | 70.74 KB | Posted: 6/29/24
View from the front. Plenty of hood clearance but these will be ceramic coated and wrapped when in use.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

4 top view.jpg
76 hits | 72.98 KB | Posted: 6/29/24
Top view showing the twisted turn for the pipes. I looked at other ways to route things and this was the best option.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

4 bottom view.jpg
76 hits | 60.66 KB | Posted: 6/29/24
View from the bottom. The two pipes don't touch but they are close.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

5 figuring.jpg
83 hits | 66.74 KB | Posted: 7/4/24
Now that the header part is done at least over the downpipe, I can start on the downpipe. First thing is to figure out exactly where it needs to go. This is more holding things and staring at them time.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

5 on the bench.jpg
76 hits | 64.19 KB | Posted: 7/4/24
Once I had it sorted out on the car, I set it all back up on the bench. Much easier to get to all the parts here. But more risk of something not fitting on the car. More on that later.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

5 making cuts.jpg
92 hits | 62.91 KB | Posted: 7/4/24
I made this extra clamp for the dry cut saw so I can cut angles on mandrel bends. Especially on the 180 degree bends that just won't work on the regular clamp. It looks shady but it works fine. The machinists vice can also be attached to the saw for ...
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

5 laying it out.jpg
84 hits | 55.36 KB | Posted: 7/4/24
Mocking up my cuts. I got the angles from the corrugated aluminum pipe. It mostly worked but it can be tricky to see all the bends and angles on the aluminum. More on that later.
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

5 tacked.jpg
95 hits | 63.11 KB | Posted: 7/4/24
All tack welded up and test fitting. I can move the header, turbo, and downpipe as a unit, but it is very heavy. It's hard to see but the down pipe ended up 1/4" from the corner of the head. Probably enough room if I wasn't thinking about wrapping th...
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

6 tacked up again.jpg
83 hits | 72.53 KB | Posted: 7/5/24
Inserted one 10-degree pie cut and tacked everything up again. This time the end of the pipe ended up a little close to the steering shaft. Another adjustment was required but it was just about a 4-degree slice right under the #1 header tube. This ma...
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

6 downpipe welded.jpg
74 hits | 54.35 KB | Posted: 7/5/24
The final (?) first couple feet of downpipe. The hard part. After this it's just angle down to get under the car and meet the existing exhaust. That is a full 3" mandrel bent system with an X-pipe. I'll cut it right before the X and make it fit the 4...
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)

7 WG bends in progress.jpg
37 hits | 47 KB | Posted: 7/20/24
Some of the bends and cuts needed to make the wastegate pipe. A lot of trial and error here as the pipe is fairly complicated. At least for me. There are pipe calculators online that can get you close but for cutting on bends there is always some adj...
(Posted in: 2024 Big Turbo)