SuperMotors SuperMotors SUPERMOTORS Search: try “orange Bronco on 35s”
Join
Home/ Registry/ Ford/ LTD/ “TractionLTD”/ 2024 Big Turbo supermotors.net/registry/17591/89175

Album section

2024 Big Turbo

From 1981 Ford LTD “TractionLTD”, documented by police351.

146 photos 1 video
← Back to this vehicle
1981 Ford LTD - Custom headers from Stainless Steel Headers. Nothing about these were right. 1981 Ford LTD - Holding up bits of cut up header to see where things should go. 1981 Ford LTD - Header tacked together and checking the rest of the exhaust routing. 1981 Ford LTD - Slicing up the custom headers to maker them work. 1981 Ford LTD - Reworked headers tacked up and ready to weld. 1981 Ford LTD - Driver's side just prior to starting the single turbo install. 1981 Ford LTD - Passenger side turbo just prior to starting the single turbo install. 1981 Ford LTD - Figuring out the turbo positioning. 1981 Ford LTD - 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… 1981 Ford LTD - 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. 1981 Ford LTD - 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… 1981 Ford LTD - 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 fi… 1981 Ford LTD - View from the front. Plenty of hood clearance but these will be ceramic coated and wrapped when in use. 1981 Ford LTD - Top view showing the twisted turn for the pipes. I looked at other ways to route things and this was the best option. 1981 Ford LTD - View from the bottom. The two pipes don't touch but they are close. 1981 Ford LTD - 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 nee… 1981 Ford LTD - 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 somethin… 1981 Ford LTD - 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 o… 1981 Ford LTD - 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 angl… 1981 Ford LTD - 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 d… 1981 Ford LTD - 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.… 1981 Ford LTD - 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 exha… 1981 Ford LTD - 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… 1981 Ford LTD - The final mockup with the pipes just held in place and marked. None of the hole are cut out yet. Just checking fitment here. 1981 Ford LTD - The pipes tacked in place with the minimum of light tacks. Still need to cut the holes out which will be fun. Running the wastegate pipe fr… 1981 Ford LTD - I cut out a spot where the weld blew through and put a patch on it. For whatever reason the Sch 10 wasn't exactly Sch 10 in that spot. Shou… 1981 Ford LTD - Tacked the pipe in place. Looked like I had access to all the weld joints. Turned out to be tougher than I thought. 1981 Ford LTD - Fully welded. Getting to one section of weld inside that jumble of pipe turned out to be a challenge. Had to extend the tungsten and use a… 1981 Ford LTD - Put the turbo, header, and down pipe stub together to plan out the waste gate merge. I need to put it in the car to check clearance to the… 1981 Ford LTD - Installed in the car to check clearances. Looks like the wastegate merge can go under the header. 1981 Ford LTD - Installed in the car front view. 1981 Ford LTD - The merge for the wastegate return. A lot of time fitting these parts to get a nice fit. Makes it nicer to weld later. 1981 Ford LTD - Wastegate return mockup. These are always more complex than you think they will be, but this wasn't that bad. It was nice to be able to do… 1981 Ford LTD - Fully welded wastegate merge. 1981 Ford LTD - Starting to tackle grinding the flanges flat. My 6x48 belt sander just barely has enough range to get the whole flange at once. This is an… 1981 Ford LTD - A little more sanding. Getting better but the ends still had a long way to go and stainless is a pain to sand. Even with a 36 grit silicone… 1981 Ford LTD - To help the ends out, I ran a bead with no filler right where it was warped to pull it back but made sure to keep the bead out of the seali… 1981 Ford LTD - Nearly there with sanding these down. 1981 Ford LTD - Done sanding these. I ended up buying zircon abrasive belts for the belt sander which worked a lot better than the silicon carbide ones I h… 1981 Ford LTD - I put the headers on the car to check thing out and start fabricating the crossover pipe. For the first time, I put the v band clamps for t… 1981 Ford LTD - Took the current 3-inch X pipe out and mocked up the new 4-inch down pipe to the X. I'll put a v band clamp in there somewhere. 1981 Ford LTD - Cut the X off where it would just overlap the new merge. I didn't leave enough meat in that weld to keep the rest of the pipe from bending.… 1981 Ford LTD - Merge sitting on the old X. I'll need to hammer both parts to get a better fit. 1981 Ford LTD - A few gaps. Hammer and welder will fill it in. 1981 Ford LTD - Put the exhaust back in the car and braced the pipes so they don't move around. Then trimmed and hammer fit the merge to the existing pipe.… 1981 Ford LTD - Merge section MIG welded to the existing X pipe, now it's a Y pipe. Hadn't used the MIG in a while so I didn't get the settings just right… 1981 Ford LTD - Inside the merge with the welds cleaned up a little. In one spot there was a lot less overlap than the rest so it blew through a little. Ea… 1981 Ford LTD - I always paint my exhausts black with BBQ paint. It dries in minutes, protects the metal, hides any pinholes, and wipes off with brake clea… 1981 Ford LTD - The 4-inch down pipe will go that way. This is just a mock up but shows the eventual route. 1981 Ford LTD - Made a cardboard angle finder to figure out the angle of the downpipe and the length needed. Plenty of room for the 4-inch pipe in there. 1981 Ford LTD - Step one in making a jig to emboss a small sealing ridge on the stainless shim gaskets. Made the stamp part out of mild steel with a nice r… 1981 Ford LTD - Downpipe fabrication in progress. The end of the pipe ended up exactly the right length on the first try. You can see the hug amount of roo… 1981 Ford LTD - Downpipe all tacked in place. I cheated on the tacks under the car and just used the MIG. Not like it's going to rust away any time soon an… 1981 Ford LTD - Down pipe layout. I can get the front section in from above and the back section is easy to install from below. I still need to add an oxyg… 1981 Ford LTD - Figuring out the bend angle and lengths for the last section of crossover pipe. Cut strips of carboard the same width as the pipe. Stick th… 1981 Ford LTD - A view of the crossover pipe in progress. The last three pieces are just tape in place so I can figure out the angles and lengths for the b… 1981 Ford LTD - The new alternator mount. It is the stock late Fox body Mustang part. Not expensive brand new from LMR. It took a 1/4" spacer to make it wo… 1981 Ford LTD - Alternator mount bolted down with the correct new bolts. Tensioner is tight to the bracket as well. It is all the way at the end of its tra… 1981 Ford LTD - Cardboard template and pipe cut. Seems to be pretty close. The bend slipped a tad and the last cut wasn't square so it will need a trim. Bu… 1981 Ford LTD - Crossover pipe tacked into the major bends. Makes it easier to get angles right when you are mocking it up in the car. Sitting next to the… 1981 Ford LTD - In the car and tacked in place except for the flex section. I mentioned it before but having something like the flex pipe where the fit is… 1981 Ford LTD - Crossover pipe all tack welded and prepped to final weld. 1981 Ford LTD - Crossover pipe fully welded and in the car. 1981 Ford LTD - Final pipe driver's side 1981 Ford LTD - Final pipe passenger side 1981 Ford LTD - Final crossover pipe with clearance to steering. 1981 Ford LTD - Final downpipe 1981 Ford LTD - Final pipe all before coating 1981 Ford LTD - Starting on the cold side. Cut the huge v band flange off the turbo outlet and welding on an o-ring fitting. Much slimmer and gives you som… 1981 Ford LTD - Comparison of the turbo outlet flange sizes. The Evil Energy flange is much smaller. Much easier to assemble and disassemble too. 1981 Ford LTD - Flange welded on. No too bad. A lot of junk in the cast that kept bubbling up and welding 1/4" cast to 16 gauge 6061 was tricky. It won't l… 1981 Ford LTD - Flange assembled on the turbo. I need to order pipe but I need the rest of the parts installed first to plan out the route. 1981 Ford LTD - Hot side parts back from being ceramic coated. 1981 Ford LTD - Modified the drivers motor mount to have a channel to retain the clutch cable tight to the motor so it won't melt. 1981 Ford LTD - Clutch cable sitting in the modified mount bracket. It is not going anywhere. The bend looks tight but it is less than the loop it makes at… 1981 Ford LTD - Volvo power steering pump sitting on the frame rail in the bracket tacked together. 1981 Ford LTD - Top view of Volvo electric power steering pump. 1981 Ford LTD - With the pump in I could finalize the alternator mount. The final belt length was 0.5" longer than stock. 1981 Ford LTD - New power steering lines going to the gear. Routed them along the bottom of the fan shroud with double hose cushion clamps. 1981 Ford LTD - Lines at the new pump. Waiting on a controller to test the system. 1981 Ford LTD - One gasket shim embossed. I'll stack three shims to make one full gasket. I'll go: embossed, flat, embossed. 1981 Ford LTD - Detail of one port. 1981 Ford LTD - My little jig to emboss. I tried to use the vice to press it, but got nothing. A hammer worked fine. 1981 Ford LTD - Replacing the valve covers. 1981 Ford LTD - Hot pipes all wrapped. 1981 Ford LTD - Engine with wrapped pipes 1981 Ford LTD - Clutch cable bracket. 1981 Ford LTD - The state of the car today. Spark plug wires installed. Oil feed to turbo installed. Oil cooler lines figured out. 1981 Ford LTD - The new oil cooler line routing. Not much room in there. 1981 Ford LTD - Crimped Ford wedgelock terminals. 1981 Ford LTD - Subharness laid out. Needs loom. 1981 Ford LTD - Blurry shot of the new oil drain. 1981 Ford LTD - Lots of plumbing stuffed around the oil filter. 1981 Ford LTD - Oil cooler 1981 Ford LTD - Better shot of the oil return hose. 1981 Ford LTD - Alternator, coolant sensor, and oil sensor wire harness. 1981 Ford LTD - Current state of the project. Only a few things left to handle. 1981 Ford LTD - Front fender splash shield mostly done. I need to redo the tire clearance. 1981 Ford LTD - Protection from tire splash and a little bit of a cold air scoop. 1981 Ford LTD - Version 2 inside view. 1981 Ford LTD - Version 2 view from under in front. 1981 Ford LTD - Version 2 1981 Ford LTD - Version 2 view from the wheel. 1981 Ford LTD - Figuring out the turbo air intake pipe. 1981 Ford LTD - Cut the hole for the intake pipe on the passenger side. 1981 Ford LTD - The drivers side pipe from the turbo to the intercooler. 1981 Ford LTD - Finished pipe from above. 1981 Ford LTD - Pipe in progress. Just finished mocking it up. 1981 Ford LTD - Pipe tacked together and test fit. Had to retack it a couple times. Aluminum tacks are not as strong as steel and it turns out they break. 1981 Ford LTD - The finished pipe from above at an angle you can see both sides. 1981 Ford LTD - Passenger lower pipe tacked in place 1981 Ford LTD - Tacked pipe mock up showing the amount of stick up. 1981 Ford LTD - Final lower pipe. 1981 Ford LTD - Laying out the upper pipe. 1981 Ford LTD - Figuring out the angles to cut 1981 Ford LTD - Cut angles. Measuring for the straight section 1981 Ford LTD - Final mock up. 1981 Ford LTD - Rolled bead 1981 Ford LTD - Laying out turning vane. 1981 Ford LTD - Drilled holes showing the vane installed on the centerline. 1981 Ford LTD - The throttle body side. 1981 Ford LTD - The intercooler side 1981 Ford LTD - Final pipe fully welded with fittings. 1981 Ford LTD - 45 degree coupler 1981 Ford LTD - Air intake inlet. 1981 Ford LTD - The alignment on the turbo outlet. 1981 Ford LTD - Turbo intake coupler final trim. 1981 Ford LTD - Turbo air intake mock up. 1981 Ford LTD - Turbo air intake mock up. 1981 Ford LTD - Close-up of a turbocharger intake pipe and air filter assembly, with visible text 'SUPERMOTORS.NET'. 1981 Ford LTD - A chrome intake pipe with a red K&N air filter attached is laid out on a workbench. Tools and other garage items are visible in the backgro… 1981 Ford LTD - A close-up shot shows a shiny, polished metal exhaust pipe with visible weld seams. The pipe is curved and reflects the surrounding worksho… 1981 Ford LTD - A gloved hand uses a socket wrench to tighten a bolt on a copper gasket attached to an engine component. Wires and heat-wrapped tubing are… 1981 Ford LTD - A close-up view shows a custom metal adapter plate being installed onto a black engine component, secured by two hex bolts. A chrome socket… 1981 Ford LTD - A close-up view of a custom exhaust manifold wrapped in heat-resistant material and secured with blue painter's tape. The manifold is mount… 1981 Ford LTD - A close-up view shows a custom exhaust manifold with heat wrap secured by blue tape and bolts. The manifold is clamped in a black metal vis… 1981 Ford LTD - A close-up view of a vehicle part, likely an exhaust manifold, being held in a vise and secured with blue tape and bolts. The part appears… 1981 Ford LTD - The engine bay of a gray Ford LTD is shown with the hood open, revealing a modified V8 engine with a turbocharger, intercooler piping, and… 1981 Ford LTD - Dipstick shield to stop oil drip - not effective 1981 Ford LTD - Heat shield 1981 Ford LTD - Heat shield installed 1981 Ford LTD - Heat shield installed 1981 Ford LTD - A close-up view of a turbocharged engine bay, featuring exhaust manifold wrap and various plumbing components. A black reservoir with an or… 1981 Ford LTD - A close-up view of a metal fitting with a braided hose attached, possibly for a fluid transfer system, next to a yellow plastic container w… 1981 Ford LTD - Close-up of a metal fitting attached to a propane tank valve, with a braided hose covering part of the fitting. The background shows storag… 1981 Ford LTD - Close-up view of engine wiring harness connectors, showing various colored wires and electrical connections. 1981 Ford LTDVideo