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is that going to be enough clearance between the turbo and the belts?
I should - I only have the alternator to worry about. I think I have 12" between the face of the crank pulley and the back face of the radiator. My blower is about 10" front to back. I anticipate having enough room. One thing that I have kicked down the road is where I'll put the cooling fan. I do have flexibility with this but it'll need figuring out.
Originally Posted by BluestreamDE
Also the coolant hose that will be coming from the thermo to the bottom opening to the radiator, would be dangerously close to those drivers side exhaust pipes from the look of it.
It's a good observation - I 'think' it's ok right now but it'd be wise to install the hose I have. My other options are to cut & reweld a pipe to the thermo-housing that's re-angled / resituated. It also brings up the thought on how does the coolant line run from the OEM thermo-housing to the bottom port of the radiator without touching a exhaust runner.
The thermo-housing and the blower coolant feed line dictated the path of the exhaust runners on the drivers side while the alternator and engine mount dictated the passenger side.
I appreciate the comments guys!
TCode has provided some insight and my 6-1 collector flange situation. Things got a little more complicated and expensive. I'll need a twin scroll flange with dual waste gate ports … which quadrupled my estimate for a collector flange...the good news is the collector flanges that should be considered are sexy af!!!
I should - I only have the alternator to worry about. I think I have 12" between the face of the crank pulley and the back face of the radiator. My blower is about 10" front to back. I anticipate having enough room. One thing that I have kicked down the road is where I'll put the cooling fan. I do have flexibility with this but it'll need figuring out.
I'n not so much worried about anything touching more concerned about the radiant heat from the exhaust on the rubber belt. It will probably be fine when you are driving but once you shut off the car that is a LOT of heat focused on one part of the belt. I'm assuming you will be using a turbo blanked on the hot side correct?
I'n not so much worried about anything touching more concerned about the radiant heat from the exhaust on the rubber belt. It will probably be fine when you are driving but once you shut off the car that is a LOT of heat focused on one part of the belt. I'm assuming you will be using a turbo blanked on the hot side correct?
To be honest I havent even considered the temperatures the runners and turbo hot side before this moment. So wrapping the headers and a turbo blanket is probably a must at this point. Two things to consider - the blower is water cooled - so this will assist (and I use that word lightly) with heat mitigation and my hood is vented where engine bay heat can dissipate.
It may be wise to look into a better heat-shielding on my coolant lines and possibly re-routing the line that go under the runners - I got a few OEM hardpipes I could mod and more fittings.
Im not sure how to gauge if the alternator belt will be exposed to extreme heat other than gauge that once everything is back together. Possibly fab a heat shield to cover it up.
I appreciate the comments for sure!
Here are the updated pictures:
I'm in a little of a holding pattern for about a week or so. I got a court date for a ticket back in November and I cant spend any money until I get this figured out. I'll need a 6-1 collector, and flex couplers to complete the header fab. Also seriously considering running individual O2 sensors on each runner - I am fairly sure the Link can take them. But I do have a handful of things that can get done in the mean-time. First is fabricating the fuel system. This piece will span the bottom of the car AN -8 (1/2") fitting on the tank end and a AN -12 (3/4") on the front end that'll take a fuel filter before being split into the twin AN -6 feeds. This line is a .59" ID. The return line will mirror this using a .42" ID SS line.
Looks amazing! I'm sure once you get it closer to finished it will all be fine and im just being too cautious.
An ounce a prevention prevents a pound of problems - I appreciate the extra set of eyes!
Originally Posted by WTFMike
Moving along nicely, Man!
For sure! Thanks for the support!
I'm pretty motivated right now - I feel like I'm on the last few laps of a long race.
I did get registered for Pikes Peak ASA so that'll be my main goal - everything back together, headers fab'd, turbo up and going and retuned by late June!
Weekend update:
got the 525 into fuel basket, the feed line fabricated 100%, and the return line about 80% ... I ran out of tube. A little bit of a curve ball in that the return line is pretty thin (.035") and is difficult to weld (and/or I suck at it) so I'm gonna use 1/2" for each feed and return leg.
I think I'm gonna go with a Elmer Racing 6-1 collector ... its crazy expensive (F-word, everything is expensive), options are limited, and this is top-tier quality (CNC'd 304 stainless) and has the sized runners I need and is the thickness that matches my existing runners (schedule 10 1.5"). The collector also has the dual waste gate ports facing each side - which will make fabricating the WGs easier. The downside is it's a T6 flange - so i'll have to run a adapter...
Considered this one - it's my favorite layout but the runners are 1.25" and not 1.5" ...
My second options was from a guy in florida (monkey fabrication garage) who has a really nice 2-1 flange ... I could piggy back his Y-pipe'd pre-fab'd waste gate (which comes with 1/2 the v-band flange) onto this flange but then I'd be tasked with doing a 3-1 merge per bank...the deciding factor against this was the cost of the flange 2-1, the WG Y, and the the 3-1 for each bank (slight less expensive overall - but would be a pain in the nuts to fab everything and make it look good) and that these are 16ga thickness.
As always ... if I'm not seeing something feel free to chime in!
Was delightfully surprised when the USPS tracking said 'out for delivery' on the Elmers collector...rolled in around 3pm. pretty much everything I was expecting as far as quality, fit, heft, etc - damn excited about this...
got about this far...it's rough, there are a few tacks that need attention. I'm trying to be as tight and precise as I can and I anticipate running at least 3 flex bellows on one bank (not sure which one yet) - ChrisDE was right - the pipe moves on your between the heat and the stress of it hanging off tack-welds. It was good to get the collector and T6>T4 flange mocked up where it needs to be.
I anticipated running the front two cylinders out in-front but I think it'll interfere with the waste gates (and I want the waste gates right off the collector as close as possible) so I'm going to tuck it close to the block and wrap up the back side and over the other two ports.
I have this feeling that I'm gonna run out of time - so, I'm happy to make small steps each day/a few days a week.
where do I put the flex bellow to impact flow the least? along the side of the block? in-front? or am I over thinking it? can I get away with 3 installed on one bank or should I install 6 to equal out the induced turbulence on all of the runners?
Every time i look at your thread, I'm in awe of your fab skills. Any plans to make it so that the setup comes apart, as in you'll be able to remove the passenger and driver side headers separeately?
I appreciate the kind words Mike - I dont 'feel' like I'm anything special, just cutting my teeth and getting the seat time. With that being said I'm going to take my time and do my absolute best to get really good welds. Trying to learn as much as I can from ChrisDE and his header build. I did have a little learning moment in that my practice welds were coming out better with an extra second of argon 'pre-flow' and added three more seconds of 'post-flow' (meaning the welder is shooting a few seconds of argon before the arc and now 6 seconds of argon after pedal release). Also trying to use less filler material, cranked my frequency up as high as it'd go, turned my balance to 'cleaning', and focusing on my torch angle.
I should see about a set of V-bands. My intial plan was to have at least 3 flex section on one bank so I could wiggle it on ... but maybe V-bands would be smarter.
Congrats on your RN degree! A rather large life accomplishment - just means you can buy more car parts!
I was down in Alabama this past week and didnt get anything done - Saturday & Sunday I made a little progress. Im not liking how cylinder #1 is sitting so I'm going to re-do it. Also - I'm gonna run out of elbows, so I ordered a few more and they should be in this week.
Off to a guy in New Jersey with a roadster - will have a great life there! I'm happy for him because I think he got a pretty good deal and from what I've seen his car looks like fun.
I've been doing my best and after I run a bead I've been cleaning them and they've gone silver on me.
Played with this piece yesterday - not as clean as I’d like but I’ll get better
Those welds are looking good. You are stacking them very nicely!
Originally Posted by bealljk
Off to a guy in New Jersey with a roadster - will have a great life there! I'm happy for him because I think he got a pretty good deal and from what I've seen his car looks like fun.
I've been doing my best and after I run a bead I've been cleaning them and they've gone silver on me.
Played with this piece yesterday - not as clean as I’d like but I’ll get better
James I would do a V band strategically on straight runs over 4" or so in length looking at components on the engine and car that you might need to get to so you have good flexibility to get tools where you need them or to remove the majority of the system for any reason, and also one after each elbow coming from each exhaust port. You never know, and it's not like they leak like gasketed flanges do... I'm sure you won't miss that ONE BIT. I'm having terrible flashbacks thinking about those darn things.
Now to start a name... Colorado Compressor? Boost by Bealljk?
Those welds are looking good. You are stacking them very nicely!
Thanks Conway! I got a little squirrely I might take my amps down and just try to slow down. The thicker material helps carry the puddle and not melt-through.
Originally Posted by yosip1115
James I would do a V band strategically on straight runs over 4" or so in length looking at components on the engine and car that you might need to get to so you have good flexibility to get tools where you need them or to remove the majority of the system for any reason, and also one after each elbow coming from each exhaust port. You never know, and it's not like they leak like gasketed flanges do... I'm sure you won't miss that ONE BIT. I'm having terrible flashbacks thinking about those darn things.Now to start a name... Colorado Compressor? Boost by Bealljk?
Do you think a v-band on each runner where they take a hard left / right and swing in front of the engine? That'd make it easy to bolt each header on and then bolt the remaining runners up.
I don't think it'd be wise to hang the turbo off the headers so I was going to fab a bracket that connects the T4-T6 plate to the block.
my fantasy football team name last year was Colorado Compression. I do like the moniker 'unknown performance' just bc I don't do much (if anything with the car scene in Colorado) and I think it has a good ring to it!
01-30-2019, 08:47 AM
