Andrew,
what hose style do you plan on running for the turbo oil lines? I’ve found EARLS UltraPro hoses are the most flexible I’ve found yet. PTFE lined to boot.

thanks for sharing the ICT front cover. That looks like a great alternative.

 

Brown and Miller stuff is more flexible but I don't have access to one of their crimping machines.

 

A lot of Earl's hose is on backorder. I'm going to use whatever I can get my hands on.

Andrew

 

never heard of them. Are they more industrial based?

 

The ICT modded front cover arrived and it looks as advertised.






Andrew

 

As Brits would say, "It looks the business!"
Oughtta work!

 

High end stuff, maybe used for NASCAR or endurance racing? I don't know for sure. Their crimping system is sharp but the machine is like a grand

https://www.bmrs.net/

 

Same as Earl's UltraFlex.

Andrew

 

As mentioned a while back, I am using the Holley Hooker cast turbo manifold kit. The main reason is for the simplicity of the layout and the durability that the cast iron parts offer. The kit is also relatively inexpensive, but it does have some drawbacks.

The main one is that the "as cast" manifolds are pretty ugly, and I can only imagine what they will look like after a short time of driving. So I made the decision to use Cerakote to coat them at home. Cerakote offers their "C" coating which is an air dry product and many colors are rated to 1800 degrees. While I wait for my starter kit from Cerakote, I decided to begin the prep work on the manifolds.

I watched a bunch of videos on applying Cerakote, and as always, the end result depends highly on the prep work (if anyone has any pointer, please chime in). The general consensus is that parts need to be degreased, baked, blasted, baked again.

So today I got the process rolling because It was 65 degrees here in Kansas City. The manifolds come from Holley well bagged but were covered in oil. I get why this is done, but they were soaked. First thing was to see how they fit in my 6 burner Weber. No issues!



The second step was to get them hosed down with acetone to get as much of the oil off at possible.



They actually looked a lot better after the de-greasing process.



Then I fired up the Weber and put the manifolds inside.



With all 6 burners going the temperature came up fast and eventually hit 600 degrees. I kept them in there for about 45 minutes when I ran out of propane.



I let it all cool down for a couple of hours and this was the result.



They look 100 times better already. I was careful not to touch them with my bare hands to keep hand oils off of them. On Saturday I am visiting a local customer who was gracious enough to let me use his blast cabinet.

Andrew

 

Very cool, what color you going to go with?

 

I ordered the sample pack with burnt bronze, glacier titanium, and glacier black. I am thinking burnt bronze.

Andrew

 

Good update Andrew. The next batch of burgers off of your grille should have a unique zesty flavor!

 

Next time I fire up the grill, I will run it for 30 minutes on full blast, and any residue will be gone. It'll be fine :-)

Andrew

 

Great update Andrew! Great idea to prep and coat that manifold now. I see so many of those manifolds that are all rusty after a year or so.

Do you remember that Twin Turbo LSA Grand National build from maybe 5 years ago? I remember seeing where that guy used that same coating on the charge pipes and it looked really good. I think it was a bronze color too. Might give you an idea of what it looks like if you can find the build.

 

Didn’t KwiZ use it hat coating too? I was surprised how well it held up. I think it’s a coating that needs more talk about. I don’t think too many peeps are aware of it.

Andrew,
love what ya are doing.

 

As I recall he used a spray on graphite lubricant spray. Cerakote has been around for years, although I think it is just now getting more into the automotive world. Also, it might be that the C coating that I am using is relatively new. The other coatings require oven curing, the C coating does not.

Andrew

 

Oh Yeah…. Your right. I don’t know what I was thinking . Lol
old age is getting to me.

 

One of my local customers, Vic, is quite the fabricator. So I knew he was the man to ask for help with installing the Volt fans to my old radiator. I went to visit him and before I knew it he was whittling out new stand offs to mount the fans.



This is one of them. More details will be forthcoming once he makes some more progress.



Vic also has a media blaster and he was kind enough to let me use his cabinet. I proceeded to blast the Hooker turbo manifolds with some course media. We used Black Diamond from Northern Tools.



I also took my front and valley covers with me, and after de-burring the edges of both, I blasted them as well.



This is the surface prep that Cerakote recommends for their coatings.



We had another 65 degree day (after it snowed 8" 5 days ago), so I fired up the Weber again for another 500 degree bake. The manifolds took on a really cool bronze color, so I am definitely going to coat them with the burnt bronze color.



The aluminum castings cool clean and ready for coating.



And just because...



Andrew

 

From what I have come across in reading your previous builds, attention to detail is top notch!

 

With the power levels that I hope to be making, I no longer felt that my 12 bolt was adequate. I shopped around and settled on Quick Performance from Aimes, Iowa. Their sales person was great on the phone and went over every detail. So I placed my order for one of their custom 9" rear ends.

I just received the housing with the rest to follow. I got mine with the small GM ends so I can retain my 4th Gen Camaro brakes. It is also 1" narrower overall, which will allow me to retain my wheels and run the 305/40-18 drag radials that I want to run.



The housing is built out of extra thick material, has a back brace (this might mess up the Ridetech sway bar mounts...deal with that later), has a fill and drain port, etc...



The rubber bushings will be replaced with the R-joints that I already installed in the 12 bolt.



If anyone is interested in my 12 bolt, please feel free to reach out.

Andrew