Damn I wish I had some of the toys you have... I could have a lot of fun with a pipe bender and tig.

 

Coming together nicely!

 

Yea, I try to buy new toys when I can afford to. The bender and tig are my favorite, they push me to do crazy things.

Thanks Bryan!

 

Doing the same build but mine is going to be a pt88 and intercooled.

 

I can imagine. There's so many things I want to do, just need the tools. If you don't mind me asking, what tig and bender do you have and how much were they? How do you like them? I'm looking into getting a Tig now and may just start looking for a bender if the price is reasonable.

 

Oh btw progress is looking great! Can't wait to see how it does on E85 with no intercooler.

 

I got a Miller diversion 165. I love it. Easy to use(for a complete noob) I thought about going bigger, because I plan on modifying a 5th wheel trailer in the next couple years. but the price just goes up exponentially. and the D165 does everything I need for most projects. for just that one project Ill borrow a bigger one. I believe I paid $13XX from Indiana Welding Supply, plus ~$150 for the foot pedal, which I could not live without.

The bender is a Baliegh 050, their base manual bender. Again, I love it. It is easy to use. The other manual benders look horrendous to use, where for each stroke you have to perform several actions... That would get annoying quick. I chose the B-050 because it is the nicest/top of the line manual bender, which is as much as I could warrant for the level of planned use. It also serves as an excellent table/bar in the off season... I can not tell you how often I turn around a realize I have stacked **** all over the bender... Its a little depressing. :/ Anyway, the bender was ~$1000, plus ~$300 for a 1-5/8" die, then I got some lube/angles/etc another $100, then shipping was not cheap, the thing weighs 200+# Its beef, eveything on it is 1/2"+ plate, up to some 1" billet.

I also invested in Bend-tech PRO, a program that helps calculate your bends and stuff, it is invaluable. You might be able to guess on the 2D parts, but even as someone about to gradute with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, I can not picture trying to come up with accurate measurements for the 3D parts. I believe I paid ~$300 for it.... which is the cost of 3 scrapped 4130 main hoops... So it paid for itself pretty quick..

I hope that helps... You're lucky I was bored at work, you got an essay. haha

 

Thanks.

Yea, we will see. I think it was a guy at Speed Inc that I was talking to, that said he has build several 1000+whp street driven E85 non-intercooled cars, with great results... so we will see. I can always throw some METH in the mix, we will see...

 

Damn good info there, thanks! What's the biggest dia the bender can do?

 

I think 2" .250 wall MS... It bends 1 5/8 .083 chromoly pretty effortlessly.

 

The smaller tig welders make welding aluminum tough. If you plan on being well versed in alum go big or get alum arc rod and pray it works.

Op, have you thought about addin flex joints in the hotside pipes coming off the manifolds ?

 

Yes, there have definitely been some issues with welding aluminum, but most of it has been perfect.

Scott, did you really just "OP" me...? Anyway, No, I haven't... Its not gonna make very much power anyway... but, I guess if it cracks and leaks, Ill put one in.

 

Op was used as some people prefer to have their names off the internet.. and i was talking to the tig welder guy in the previous sentence.. no disrespect intended its just habit as i ended up with some stupid google entries a few years ago from something similar.

 

I was just messing with you anyway. Just sounded funny.

 

Well as dead as this thread has been, I have actually made quite a bit of progress. This fab stuff (as much as I love it) takes so much more time than I would expect, but everything is turning out perfect. I finally finished up the hotside, got everything wrapped. Finished fabbing the radiator. I also got the stock hood latch to work, which was a challenge with the turbo where it is... Engine block is painted with extra body color paint, nice and shiny. The car is apart now, and i am going to finish weld, prep and then paint the engine bay tonight. I also am going to soda blast the heads, and swap in the new springs. Piston rings will be here tomorrow, so I will put the shortblock together then. Hopefully the car is done soon, but I cant even imagine how many suprise issues I will run into for this build...

 

Final assembly this afternoon. Still plenty to do before Thursday morning when I am supposed to leave for a big meet/car show/races.

I am so happy with how it looks. Now, I just have to see how it performs.

Also, keep in mind this is my first turbo kit, let alone real fab work... I mean I hadn't even TIG'd before this project, and I did not farm ANY work out. To me that makes it a bit cooler.

 

Looks great man congrats! Can't wait to see how it runs.

 

Looks good! Can't wait to see it in Ignace

 

Pictures with the hood down! Pleaseee

 

Well, I missed my deadline... Went on vacation/got busy with life. Finally getting back to work on it.

Sunday I figured out that I put in too long of pushrods, quite the overlook, and the result of assuming, and engine assembly at 4AM a few weeks ago. So I measured, and ordered

Today, I installed the new pushrods and found that when I trimmed the chassis harness I forgot to ground the ignition relay, which kept power from the computer. Then of course the battery was dead. My 65# optima died for the first time in 3 years of abuse. a few hours later it was ready to crank. I didn't have my tuning laptop, so the 454 tune was still on it... it would only run for a couple seconds. Tomorrow Ill load the new tune, and be able to check all the sensors.


Its getting close.