Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

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From: Louisiana

Fellas, I actually started this thread on ls1gto but that seems to be a dying forum to be honest. This one is alive and well and I figure I may get more feedback, ideas and comments here so I’ll post it here too as well. I’m gonna try to condense it as much as I can. I’m actually about 75% done with the build now but I thought it good to post it here.

Little side story. I wanted a 4th camaro but couldn’t find one. Then my son turned me on to a super clean 2004 ls1 gto. I had parts for it as soon as I bought it and the plans were to buy a turbo kit for tge 4th gen. Well this car blew my budget so I couldn’t afford the turbo kit. So I did heads, cam, stall, intake, shorty headers, high flow mid pipes. Car ran 12.10 @ 113 even tho I had some tune issues. And the da was high and it was hot. But whatever, yea i was a little disappointed. It happens and this is a heavy car. So I started collecting parts to do a low boost turbo setup. I want the car to trap over 120 and just be fun to drive. So I’m shooting for 6-8psi max. Keep in mind, my goal most importantly is to get the car back running and build at least a little boost. I’ll work the bugs out later and upgrade things later. I’m doing this on a super cheap budget. For now. Eventually I’ll pull the engine out and go through it and put pistons and rods in it. So let it begin.....

first thing was to buy the turbo and buy one that was non returnable so I can’t change my mind lol. I picked up a new in box on3 7875 from an eBay seller that never went through with his build.

Here’s a pic of my little budget turbo. I “splurged” and got the $400 unit instead of the $300 unit. Lol.

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

I’m not sure if I can say I got the hard part done, but after a solid day and a half of working on this thing I’ve got the manifold 95% complete. I’m pretty happy how it turned out. Except for my welding lol. I’m working on that. I had to go around the steering shaft, using several pie cuts. The way I’m going about this, everything is going to tuck up nicely and the exhaust out the turbo will be run to the exhaust on the car. Hopefully it’s quieter than it is now, it should be and that will add to the sleeper factor. Heres the reworked manifold. I haven’t welded it yet. It’s all tacked. My pie cuts are welded though.

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

Well. Flock. I have to start over. So there may be a delay. This is what I get for rushing. I’ve been thinking that the down pipe would fit under the manifold but it’s not going to. Can’t believe I missed that. Well at least I had a little practice on my grinding skills lol. Gonna be a little delay. I think I’m going to do a manifold similar to what ACCLER8N posted. I’m just gonna have to move stuff around. O well. I tried.


i also want to add the more I looked in the web the more I was unhappy with my manifold. I longed for a more professional type look. So this manifold just wasn’t going to cut it. Back to the drawing board!

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

I got discouraged for a bit. Then I realized that there’s really nothing i can’t accomplish. I think my problem is I wanted (or thought) this was going to be a easy and quick project. It’s not. I also thought it was going to be somewhat cheap. Wrong again. You don’t realize how much money you’ll burn in exhaust pipe alone. I was going to cheap out and do aluminized but decided I only want to do this once so I ordered a bunch of stainless pipe and bends. I’ve decided on injectors, Siemens deka 80lb. I’ve also decided on exhaust manifold. I’m building the whole thing from scratch. I just got my 3/8 thick stainless flange in today. I’ll order the thick wall stainless pipe when I get back from vacation or while I’m on vacation so it will get there right after I get home). I found this wonderful site that sells all sorts of turbo fabrication parts and cheap too. Ace race parts is the website. I just refilled my argon bottle and I’ve been doing a little practicing so hopefully I can produce some decent looking welds. But for now, here’s a pic of most of the parts I’ve collected so far. I have a running check list in my notes on my phone lol

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

I just wanted to vent. I’ve been working on the log manifold. I built a nice jig for coping my bends going on the the main body. That worked out perfect once I figured out what I could and could not use for cutting. Bi metal hole saw will not cut sch10 304l stainless, I ended up with a hole dozer Diablo carbide tipped hole saw from Home Depot. Badass hole saw.





At least my welds aren’t looking like gorilla welds anymore!







I’ve mocked it up several times and each time I haven’t been happy. I’ve tacked everything up and it just isn’t enough room one way or another. I’m having to rework some things right now. I’ll post more tonight.

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

This is the point I got to yesterday and had to stop because I had a evening dinner date. I’m in the shop now cutting more tubing and trying to at least get the turbo mounted today.

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

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From: Louisiana

I got it tacked in place finally. I can’t hold it in place and mark tubing and move stuff around because it’s heavy for one and I don’t have but two hands lol. I need to space it further forward. I took a break to go to Home Depot to get some more deemed cutoff wheels to cut the tacks loose. The bit cutoff wheel I have it cutting too wide and messing my pipe up.










I gotta move it a little bit more forward but I plan on running the air filter outside to pick up cooler air instead of super hot air from under the hood

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

I made some more progress last night. I was waiting on another 45 degree elbow. I didn’t like the pie cuts I had done and the exhaust side was too close to the fender. I wanted it 1” further forward. I ended up getting it perfect. Now I don’t have to worry with a plug wire resting on the hot side either. I have to reroute a couple hoses that I may do this evening. I’m stresssing about the down pipe. It does not quite have clearance for a 3” down pipe (about 2.9”) so I’m gonna have to either squeeze it down some or buy super expensive oval tubing. That’s not the hard part, I’m hoping I’ll have a way of getting the downpipe in and out easily. Cross that ditch when I get there I guess. My 50mm wastegate is too big so I’m ordering a 44mm now. Lol. I didn’t plan this out to well, just kinda winging it. Story of my life. Lmao


Pics



Look how much clearance now on the fender

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

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From: Louisiana

I forgot. I did install my boost gauge. I bought this cheesy little cheap gauge off eBay for less than $30. It’s actually not too bad so far. I liked that I could change colors to match my dash and my afr gauge. And that high afr was because the car wasn’t running lol.







You couldn’t see how it was mounted it the above pic so it’s mounted in that carbon plate

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

I wanted to add a few things. I went through great lengths and redid this manifold several times because I didn’t want to have burnt plug wires, ease of access for plugs, easy removal etc. I didn’t want to rely on heat wraps and things to keep stuff from burning. This has really been a process to be honest. I’ve mocked it up so many times. I also wanted to make sure I have room for the air inlet. My plan is a 4” silicon elbow and tube running outside to catch cooler air. Someone said to me that it won’t help but I don’t believe that, sucking hot air under the hood will make the intercooler work harder to cool stuff off. So my thought process is if the air is 95 degrees going in instead of 125-130 degrees it’s going to be easier for things to get cooled off.

All in all as much work as this has been and going to be way more, I kinda wish I would have just put an ls3 in it. But it’s too late now, so I’ll carry on. Of notable mention. If your looking for parts to build something like this, ace race parts is a good source. They have super cheap prices but their shipping is high if your only buying one or two pieces. In that case, coyote gear has much better shipping prices. I’ll give you an example. Say you need one 1.5” sch 10 weld elbow. Well it’s $4.95 from ace and $8.62 from coyote. Exact same thing, even the words printed on them are the same because I’ve bought from both. BUT from ace that one elbow is $17.92 shipped and $12.57 shipped from coyote.....so keep that in mind.


EDIT: oct 22, 2019im glad I DIDNT put an ls3 in it. The turbo life has been a hoot! This thing hauls the mail. And adjustable power levels. Small cam. Quiet. Tame. Amazing. Na can’t do that. So I’m glad I stuck it out. That’s all. Lol

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

Thx. I forgot the grand national wasn’t intercooled until they did the gnx. Also they didn’t use a blowoff valve. Hmmm. Food for thought. I’m gonna be honest, I’m trying to keep this simple to get it going. I would say I’m trying to keep it cheap but I’ve spent more on piping than the turbo. That’s no lie either. Pipe will each up a lot of your budget. And I’m not done buying pipe either. I’ve got to get a few more bends for the exhaust going from the down pipe to my cat back. For now I’m going to splice it into the x pipe, I’ll cut the x in the middle and join it right there. I want to see how much quieter it is with a turbo although it will be minus cats, for now. If it stinks I’ll put a cat on it.

I think I’m going to run a meth injection for the time being. Seems that’s a decent alternative and better than nothing.



And ugh. I’m adding the last tube. Really no way for me to mount it in my drill press or mill so I’m doing this one by hand. And it’s taking forever. I’ve gone through two drill batteries. I’ve had to stop twice and put my drill in front of my ac unit to let it cool. I’ve got gloves on and it was burning me through the gloves. That’s some heat! Anyways here’s a couple pics of the offending hole.





Getting close. Note you see my foot in the pic. I like to live life dangerously. Yes I’m welding and fabbing in flip flops. Yes I’ve been paying for it in splinters. No I have not learned my lesson yet. Lmao




And here’s my transition I had to shorten. This is there the crossover will enter.

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

What’s funny is when I copy paste from the other site, people quoted posts to me show up. Sweet!



I’ll either have flip flops on or crocs. I usually don’t wear shoes during the summer when I’m at home. It’s like an oven in Louisiana heat. Feels like 123 degrees at any given time. So humid.

I made some major headway tonight. Now I’m really getting excited. I may not have to do much with my trans lines except bend them out the way. I got the manifold very close to done. I haven’t decided if I’m going to weld it up or if I’m gonna send it to my buddy. I actually met him through ls1tec, I build a 4l60e for his race truck and he said he wants me to send him the manifold. This guy welds on nuclear reactors and lays down some unreal welds. I know if he does it, it will be done way better than me....,but there’s that impatient part......


Anyways, here’s some pics.

Got the hole through. Finally. Probably took a damn hour lol.





Here’s it coming together




And very close to done. I gotta put my o2 bung in and the wastegate. Waiting on the wastegate to arrive. When I first tacked it up the clamp for the v band was very hard to get on there. The down pipe was too close to the trans bell housing. Take it back out. Cut the racks. Rotate it a tad. Perfect. I don’t want to have to fight with clamps. I don’t want no monkeyshit I have to mess with if I have to take it apart. I just like things done a certain way I guess. Everything seems to clear enough where I won’t HAVE to have wrap on it but I may anyways.

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

Well I got the manifold almost done. I didn’t get as much as I wanted to because I had a buddy I hadn’t seen in quite a while stop by and you guys know how it is when you get to bsing. It’s ok tho, I’m pretty much at a stoping point anyways. I got my o2 bung installed and put the last tube in. I did a little welding to it to try and convince myself whether I want to weld it or let someone far better than me do it. I’m still on the fence but if you zoom in on the last tube you can see I welded some of it. I’ve seen worse lol. It’s not great but I think it’ll hold. Who cares anyways especially if I end up wrapping it.

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

So I had someone ask me how much money I had in this project. I was thinking I had a bit more than I do, I was surprised. Right now I have $1200ish in it. That’s not including argon gas, welding wire and tools I’ve bought. All I have left to buy is injectors, pump and blowoff valve and map sensor. That’s very soon.



Well fellas I finally got tired of have a damn tug machine and not knowing how to weld worth a crap. So I decided to do something about it. I watched a bunch of instructional videos. Watch some tips and tricks videos. Called my uncle which is a phenomenal welder and got some advice from him and I’m going by his shop this weekend for some hands on, but in the mean time I have been practicing the past couple of evenings. So I think they are looking better so far, I decided to weld the v band on my manifold for the crossover pipe. I’m pretty excited because it looks far better than I was doing. I was making all kinds of mistakes before!

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

I had posted I wasn’t happy with my down pipe. It didn’t turn out as good as I wanted but honestly it would work just fine.

Hers a pic of it. I really could fix it and make it work and look better and save myself 130 bucks. I’m just picky and I wanna do it right the first time. When it’s wrapped you won’t see it anyways. What you guys think? Roll wit it it? It probably won’t have issues. My weld looks crappy because I barely had any gas left. I’ll get the bottle filled and go back over it.
image upload software

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

I had asked what everyone thought I should do with the s pipe. Whether I should spend another $130 and redo it.


Well I never got any responses from anyone, I decided to put my money elsewhere and forge ahead with the s pipe I made. I fixed the welds and it looks much better. I had to make two cuts at the bottom and slightly angle it away from my steering shaft. Fits very good now. The part I like is I can actually fit it between the from and manifold without removing the manifold. F it needs to come off it would take me literally 2 minutes have it off.

My welding is getting better. I’m still figuring out errors and wrong equipment I’m using. For instance I was using a tungsten way too big for what I’m welding. I wasn’t using enough shielding gas. The filler rod I was using was also too big. Learn as I go I guess. I never had anyone teach me how to tig. Here’s some progress pics. I’m waiting on my bov and bov tube for the cold side

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

Also. I want to add. Always always take the wastegate apart when you get a new one. The third one I received brand new with a hole in the diaphragm and it was pinched inbetween the cap and body. So always check it!

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

I had a warped flange. I’ve had some problems with welding and you’ll see why later.


So taking the advice from you guys, I cut off my warped flange. Did some practicing. And welded a new flange on. I clamped on the other flange to it and took it a bit further, I welded the other flange to my table. Then that allowed me to have the pipe held much more steady. I also used the correct tungsten this time which helped greatly. I have a gas lens kit for my torch on the way along with some clear Pyrex cups. That should help even more. I welded an inch and spun it and welded an inch on the opposite side. I’ll check for flatness this evening.

Getting better I think!

Joined: Apr 2017

Posts: 4,582

Likes: 758

From: Louisiana

Well I decided to weld up the manifold this weekend. I added a clear Pyrex cup to my tig torch. I also got the stubby kit. Should have done this long ago. However after installing it, my welds weren’t as clean and pretty as they should be. I also. The reason for that is the reason I was going through a lot of gas. See if you guys see a problem.....






Here’s the welds if you can see