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View Full Version : Al. or mild stl. charge tubing?



Tom Vogel
10-09-2008, 06:03 AM
Id like to fab it up in Al. Procharger has the Al. mount for the bypass valve. Worried about durability of the Al... crushing the end when tightening the clamps. Also what do you guys use for bead rolling the ends? Any suggestions on these issues would be apppreciated TIA, Tom

camcojb
10-09-2008, 07:31 AM
don't think that would be an issue, the tubes are pretty strong especially with a bead on the end.

I use this for mine:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

http://vansantent.com/bead_tool.htm

yes, it's expensive, which is why all my friends borrow mine instead of buying their own............... :rotfl:

Jody

Blown353
10-09-2008, 08:19 AM
Aluminum is plenty strong, my last charge air tubes I made out of .065" aluminum. No crushing even with T-bolt clamps.

However, it does dent very easily, so be careful not to drop them or drop anything on them. Even lightly tapping it with a ratchet while working on something else will put a small ding in the tubing... trust me.

And I'm one of the guys that borrows Jody's beadroller. I've used it more than he has. :rotfl:

Harbor Freight has a small panel beadroller for about $100 that works for tubing too; it needs some slight mods for tubing though. You need to tie the two ends together near the rollers to reinforce them to keep the arms from bending & tweaking. A little plate steel and welding and it works fine after that.

Tom Vogel
10-09-2008, 03:44 PM
I might be able to get the local machine shop to bead roll it. That Trick tool roller looks great but its close to 500$. Thats pretty close to an Aluminum drive shaft. Got a link to that Harbor Freight panel roller?
Thanks, Tom