Another money pit

[rtj]

The belt guard turned out better than expected, now to v-band the blower while it is off.

 

[rtj]

Well, here was my first attempt. Welded 1/8 in thick vband onto adapter, which gave 0.31 in wall thickness. This was taking too much heat, so cut the tacks and will step the adapter so I have roughly 1/8 in thick wall to weld.



I spent a long time trying to weld these nipples on the valve covers from inside. Pulled the valve covers off and welded them on from the top. Also, threaded some holes for 8-32 so I can make some wire stand-offs.



There is a meme in this: I’ve seen your aluminum welding, you’re getting a polisher for Christmas.

Here is something I’ll share:



HF sells diamond grinding wheels, so I bored them out on the lathe and mounted them on this mini grinder. Works great for tungsten tig elements. Hit them on the belt sander to remove alum, then point them on here.

 

[BBShark]

Looks like your getting close to putting it all together.

 

[rtj]

If everything goes okay, a few more posts on intercooler weld up and odds and ends. I need the energy of some of these other guys (and less yard work ).

 

[BBShark]

I hear ya. My wife is a big time gardener and most of the last month has been cleanup and prep work for spring. No time for the car :banghead:

 

[rtj]

I hear that, I’ve been cutting up dead trees and burning out some old stumps on rainy days.

I’m making progress but was starting to have doubts. Then I saw a couple of YouTube videos on welding. I need to go up to 1/8 tungsten and follow what this guy does.


[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWG1f5e7HEU&t=338s[/ame]

 

[rtj]

Picked this up off FB for $350. About what a core costs. I think I’ll go from 3” to 3.5” .




Needed a tight radius after the blower.




Trimmed it a bit to be 90 degrees.

Finally figured out how to fixture this a trim the ends even. There are studs in the table doing most of the work to hold it.

 

[rtj]

Well, I’d rather do it myself and learn, than pay someone to do it. I’m getting faster as I go along, but need to force myself to get better welding. I realized I was treating it too much like brazing and started watching some of the 6061 channel lately.



The black stuff is from the polishing compound, I haven’t got it all cleaned up yet.

 

[BBShark]

That's some pretty tight packaging there. Looks good.

 

[rtj]

Thanks, but need to improve my alum welding. I’m starting to anticipate how it will behave. I always felt it unpredictable compared to steel.

I’m just going to run a straight pipe for starters, no intercooler. Low boost so it should not matter. Mock up:

 

[rtj]

Will try switching to 20AN lines for cooling. The thermostat housing is done, the one on the rad is just sitting there right now. This rad came with the car and was going to replace it, but it didn’t leak so kept it. Perfect candidate for my welding attempt.

 

[rtj]

Goal is to get this running again soon.

With shipping and tax, these BOV mounts are close to $100 and still need welding and machining.

 

[rtj]

Had to machine a hole for the blow off valve. Kind of shaky on the fixture, but feed rate was low and applied lots of oil.

 

[rtj]

 

[rtj]

Haven’t tig welded aluminum for a long time so there are some pretty shoddy welds. I should write down settings for stuff, but always have to relearn. Here is the new config. Decided that with such a large drive boost should be low and no need for an intercooler.

 

[rtj]

Now, finish rad, run spark plug wire, finish cooling lines, and try firing up.

 

[phantomjock]

Nice work - A little dremel work coming soon?
Nice belt "cage" too.

Cheers - Jim

 

[rtj]

Thanks, yeah I’m going to knock down the really bad stuff, especially around that blow off and go over it again. I should have made it 0.25-0.5 inches higher on the stand off. Also, thinner on the cylinder wall.

Good enough for now, can always knock them off on the belt sander and completely redo later.

Got a new miller helmet and is this an improvement!

And, cleaned up the shop.

 

[BBShark]

I clean up my shop (garage) about every 2 years. Then I start a new project, fill the place back up with stuff and spend half my time looking for stuff that I just put in a place I would remember.

 

[Administrator]

I clean up my shop (garage) about every 2 years. Then I start a new project, fill the place back up with stuff and spend half my time looking for stuff that I just put in a place I would remember.

Sounds familiar, can't even keep the toolbox tidy for a week ...

 

[rtj]

The 20AN top rad fitting was finally finished, and started the bottom fitting relocation. All the crud in the tanks made tacking it on stink. So for safety reasons bought a new rad with 16 AN fitting on top. May swap it out later.

 

[rtj]

Made a connection hose for the remote water pump. It turned out to be easier than expected.



Just a bit more rubber on the rad and the fans go in.

 

[rtj]

Water pump with extension.

 

[rtj]

Got it all buttoned up and some fuel. Cranked it for oil pressure, then fired right up. Ready to go on & off the trailer now.

Still have to hack the hood.

 

[rtj]

Have to figure out why the belt went loose. I had it adjusted properly, but maybe I never torqued the idler.

The exhaust completely dominates in the garage, but iPhone must filter it out.

 

[BBShark]

That's a big milestone. Congratulations!

 

[phantomjock]

EXCELLENT!

Cheers - Jim