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View Full Version : Project Novacane..Turbo header fabrication..



Novacane
10-19-2004, 12:59 PM
The project is finally starting to get back on pace after waiting weeks for my sheet metal intake and all of my stainless steel tubing needed to fabricate the headers. Both of these items where holding up the motor/trans, fire wall and floor area placement.

I just started the fabrication of the turbo headers this weekend. It is going much better then I planned ( for a change!). I guess all that time with templates and AutoCad made me realize that sometimes you just have to shoot from the hip and go for it, a piece at a time!

If all goes as planned the other side should get done in the next day or so and they can get fully welded. That will soak up some time as they need to be "purged" welded which slows up the process a bit.

By the weekend I should have them on the car with the turbos hanging off of them.This should produce a hard woody! :icon996:

I did have one issue with the Ididit steering column but the guys at Ididit solved it by informing me that can cut the column length down as needed. Great news.

I will post pictures of them on the car this weekend....needless to say another hurdle out of the way.....thank god......

Howard

KendallF
10-19-2004, 03:03 PM
Looking nice! Where did the collectors come from? Burns?

I think if I do another twin setup and do the headers from scratch, I will try to place the turbos with the turbine flange pointed up, midway along the sides of the motor. This would make the downpipes easier to drop back down the sides, and the turbos can have cold air from hood ducts. I was at the World Street finals this weekend and saw several neat twin setups with air inlets built into the hoods (race cars, not street cars, in this case).

Kenova
10-19-2004, 04:30 PM
:drool: :icon996: They are lookin' good. You've done a good job of keeping the number of joints to a minimum. I'll bet the jig/fixture you built to hold the collector helped a lot.
Ken

Novacane
10-19-2004, 06:03 PM
Kenova, yes the merge collectors came from Burns as well as all of the 321 SS tubing. Those guy's do a smoking job with those things!

I like that idea of placing the turbos as you stated! Next project....

KendalF, the #1 cylinder was the toughest one. It took five steps to get it to make the turn. I bought three different radius to do the job. At the rate I am going I think I have enough tubing to build another set!

The collector fixture was very important. The location of the cylinder heads are offset from each other. The passenger side head is setback approx .500"-.625" from the drivers side. This means the top tubes are slightly longer in order for both merge collectors to finish in the same spot. The block was just pinned to the table. Fortunately because I work on a ton of LS1 cars, I have a whole other complete engine in the chassis. I was able to go back and forth between the bench and the engine compartment.

Matt@RFR
10-19-2004, 08:32 PM
This (http://www.pro-werks.com/detail.php?name=304+STAINLESS+STEEL+DONUT) is what you use to eliminate what you've got going on the #1 cylinder. I'm not aware of anyone making donuts in 321, but do you REALLY need it? How much boost are you runnin? From what research I've done on the subject, you only need to step up from 304 after you reach around 15psi of boost, or somewhere around 1600º F EGT's. It's been awhile since I've read anything on this, but I think Burns' website has some info regarding EGT's vs. material selection.

Kenova
10-20-2004, 12:34 PM
What is it about those donuts that puts a grin on my face? :dunno:
I'd love to have a few of them laying around for decoration. They'd be quite the conversation piece.
Ken

Matt@RFR
10-20-2004, 01:29 PM
Ken, it's funny you say that...I'm the same way. Just something cool about them.

Salt Racer
10-20-2004, 01:58 PM
What is it about those donuts that puts a grin on my face? :dunno:
I'd love to have a few of them laying around for decoration. They'd be quite the conversation piece.
Ken

Guess I wasn't the only one. Here's a rendering I did several years ago on AutoCAD while I was goofing around.

Howard,
Looking good as usual!

Kenova
10-20-2004, 04:14 PM
:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:
I love it. Gotta get me some chrome donuts!!!!!

Ken

Novacane
10-20-2004, 06:40 PM
Matt, thanks for the link. I decided to use 321 over 304 because of anticipated heat. The motor is designed for 22+psi. I have worked with many high boost motors on the dyno to see what happens to the headers...cherry red!

the cost difference to go to 321 was less then $400 and well worth the durability!

I finished the passenger side header tonight which went pretty quick. If I hadn't run out of 347 filler they would have been finished.

Next I need to fabricate the wastegate bypass and the 3" down pipes. Making some good ground!

Brad
10-24-2004, 09:57 PM
Simply put, thats BADASS!

383chevelle
10-24-2004, 10:03 PM
ill second that.
man that is a thing of beauty.

Nutsy
10-26-2004, 02:41 PM
What are your wastegate bypasses going to look like? Just curious.

Novacane
10-27-2004, 05:37 PM
Thanks guys!

I am still pondering over a few different options for running the 3" down tubes. This is putting the wastegate bypass final design on hold.

I am starting to run out of room to stuff all of the exhaust since I decided to use 3" instead of 2 1/2". Space is at a premium!!

The wastegates are huge 44mm units which is adding to the fun of placement.

Should have it worked out in a week or so!