Well I have been busy with the business lately and while trying to keep the production line going of head and engine builds, and the local repair/modification I have somehow found some time to work on my own car. I am building the manifold for a 17cm^2 60mm HX40. The way I wanted the turbo to sit required getting rid of the front end. So I cut that off...



While brain storming for the turbos placement I decide I should go do some tig welding and get all my -an bungs welded onto everything I needed.







Well then I knew I should start working on the manifold so I found the placement I wanted





And started piecing the manifold together.









And I ran out of stainless so I put another order in at ACE stainless.

But then I had some time today waiting for some parts to get in for a head so I started on the front end. I didn't like how flimsy the top section of the front end was so I cut it off and I will just build my own. It is fully detachable. I welded a plate to the frame with two hole in it. Welded to m8 cap bolts to the back side of the plate and cut 2 plates with matching holes and welded the bars onto that

Looking good John - can't wait for it to be on the road

Are you welding those? Those welds look atrocious.

which welds are you talking about?? The manifold is tacked together. I have to change the position multiple times to get it to match up where I needed it.

All the aluminum hasn't been brushed since it was welded. The water neck is shitty material and I am surprised to see such good welds from some guys. Mad skills. I started tig welding this year. I got certified in 1/4in and thinner vertical up butt weld and easier mild steel.

where did you get that t4 divided flange?

The flange is made by vibrant.

Those welds on the VC do look gross..Buy hey you'll get the hang of it soon enough..Good luck..Ohh I love that you cut the front end off..That was pretty funny..

Don't you guys have a laser cutter at the shop?

No plasma cutter. The welds on the valve cover I though were some of the better aluminum welds I have done. The camera I have sucks and like I said they are still dirty. That valve cover is getting alittle bit of baffling done and its going to get powder coated and the welds should look even better. The welds on the water neck look like complete ass no matter if its in person or in picture. That shitty a*s cast aluminum sucks

That VC looks terrible dude. Not trying to be a dick. Theyll work for sure but look like a bag of mashed up asshole. Ill post some of my welder. He does GRATE work.

Ya well I do all my own work. Give me 10 years of tig welding experience and a welder that is newer that 30 years old and it will be better... Im not mad but I really don't care what a professional welder can do. When I was welding these pieces I had a 20+ year experienced tig welder behind me. He thought it was doing pretty good.

Anyways. some more I found in photobucket



Here is what I did in that class. No filler.

Remember when you get done with a tig weld its supposed to look like a row of dimes..You'll get the hang of it, just need to take your time. It's not hard it just takes some time, patience, and concentration..

That last one is pretty freakin good..Good job man..

No laser cutter or handheld plasma cutter, damm that sux bro..I feel for ya..

Ya tig welding on a perfectly clean sheet of aluminum with a nice machine is easy to stack dimes.... Add 20 years of oil and contamination combining with cast aluminum mixed in with a tight radius weld... Practice makes perfect on that weld.. I have welded cast aluminum before but it was newer stuff and was alot easier to weld than the mitsu stuff I have done.

Try wire wheeling the part's your going to weld..Maybe if you cleaned them up a little bit it might go smoother for you...

Shit I 165* hot tanked, bead blasted, SS wire brushed all the stuff.. Its actually soaked into the aluminum. I think I need to soak them in a petroleum based product like gas maybe to pull the oils out of the pours on the metal.

Damm no shit all that work and the metal still didn't want to cooperate..That's a damm shame..Shame on you aluminum..

Tough crowd - I love it when people offer things like "Im not trying to be a dick but..." meanwhile he takes it to someone else to weld! Blissful ignorance vs GRATE introspection.

Things look good man - Do you have a shop locally to bend the front end for you?
My VC welds gave us some fits, I ended up just getting a burr tool, grinder and some sandpaper after it and it turned out clean.
Good luck with the project and keep up posted.

Please make sure that you keep updating. I am interested in seeing how this turns out. I would agree with some of the other members with regards to cleaning up the welds. Other than that, looks good.

Bud92gsx said:

Remember when you get done with a tig weld its supposed to look like a row of dimes.

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The "stacked dimes" look is purely cosmetic. Does not make the weld any stronger, just looks nicer and its what people have come to expect from a tig weld.

cyclonekid77 said:

The "stacked dimes" look is purely cosmetic. Does not make the weld any stronger, just looks nicer and its what people have come to expect from a tig weld.

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I was about to say the same thing ^^^^ . Awesome work so far keep up on the updates, Kudos to you for picking up the welder your self and putting your own metal fab skills to work. BTW the 275 SIM grinds i bought from you looked great when i got them and i am biting at the bits to run them with my WH1C TS setup.

Hell ya. I have one head to build today and I should make some more progress on the front end. My manifold shipment isn't due till monday so I hopefully can get the front done and the bumper/headlight mounts finished. I had no idea what I was getting into and I give mad props to anyone doing any type of fabrication. Its very tough.

Beginner welder here. I think you are doing some awesome work. Carry on brother

cyclonekid77 said:

The "stacked dimes" look is purely cosmetic. Does not make the weld any stronger, just looks nicer and its what people have come to expect from a tig weld.

Click to expand...

ditto...

cyclonekid77 said:

The "stacked dimes" look is purely cosmetic. Does not make the weld any stronger, just looks nicer and its what people have come to expect from a tig weld.

Click to expand...

Ya I know it's purely cosmetic, but looks sweet..As long as it's a functional it doesn't really matter..

Ohh I forgot to ask, how much weight did you cut off the front end? And are you replacing with a tubular front end?

I think the bottom piece that I originally cut off weighed 38 lbs if I remember correctly and the top piece maybe weighs 10 lbs. All the metal I bought for the front weighs 20 lbs and I don't think I will use all of it.

Your welding looks fine. Cast old aluminum sucks to weld. Try an acetone dip on the parts afterwards next time and use a glass bead or white oxide abrasive in the media blaster. The white oxide will increase porosity and is a coarser abrasive than glass bead.