Gt-12

[gwaii]

I emailed the link to this thread to a fellow that I met at my store the other day (has a mid 80's F-250 with a built 460).Got a email back all it said was...........Holy Shit!

i've noticed that a large number of the people viewing this thread are visitors,so i'm guessing that it's been linked to quite a few others outside the site.

suits me finei really appreciate all the input i'm getting from the crew on this site,and wish some of the outsiders would join to give their input,but just knowing it's of intrest to so many is very satisfying.

ive showed a few of my buddys this thread and the ranger refit. want most of them cant get over is how you just chopped the car up into a few peices a brought it in your basment and threw it all together like it was a kindergarten puzzle. and you have no worrys about chopping it all up again. i wouldnt have the nerve to cut it back up to bring outside, id just leave it as it is in the basment.cut out a few walls and drive it around down there.
oh and hook up a ventilation system if you want

when you've cut up as many vehicles as i have,it becomes second nature,and the next teardown is just part of the job,no different than today when i had to remove the right front suspension just to cut off that frame horn.

it wouldn't matter if i was building it in a huge warehouse,i would still have to do the teardown just to finish the welding and painting.

oh,and here's how i determined how far in the pipes needed to go.i didn't want the outlet to stick out past the tire,so a straight edge laid over the tire to the outlet gave me the location needed.

it's little details like this that can make the difference between a look that flows together and a bunch of parts slapped together.

 

[gwaii]

as mentioned before,a tapered elbow will be needed on the right side to join the header to the pipe.i need to go from the 3 1/2'' collector to the 3'' pipe inlet while turning about 30*.i'll show the quick and dirty method.
to do this i will use the stuff in this photo.well,not the brake line fittings....those are parts i've been waiting over a week to get.
that's a chunk of 4'' pipe i'm using to build it from.

 

[organic]

What I would give to sit back, throw down a cold one, and watch you build in person.

 

[gwaii]

What I would give to sit back, throw down a cold one, and watch you build in person.

better bring a two-four.

i start by laying out a centerline.this is easilly accomplished by setting a hunk of angle iron on the tube.it will sit in line with the tube,allowing for a quick and accurate line.

 

[CHKNFKR]

MacGyver aint got shit on you!

 

[gwaii]

MacGyver aint got shit on you!

macgyver's a pussy.

now i use the centerline to lay out the circumference on the two ends and cut out the unwanted material.

i beat the crap out of it to bring the cut edges together and tack it to make a straight taper.then i trim the rough ends with the bandsaw.

now the fun part.

you need to decide how many segments the elbow will be made of....i decided on 4,then changed it to three when i got to laying it out.
i want it to turn 30*,three segments will give me two angled sections...so each angle must be 15*.and each angle is made from a pair of miters,so each must be 7.5*.this is my cut angle.

in this case i didn't bother measureing any of this,i've done enough that i could get it accurate enough by eyeballing it.

now when i turn the center section 180*,it turns into an elbow.

some whacking and welding required.

whack,weld.

i toss it onto the t-dolly to shape up the seams while tacking to get a clean finish.

i guess this is something else i should toss into the homemade tools thread...the t-dolly is a simple tool to make-just a chunk of round bar welded to a chunk of flat bar held in a vice.for all it's simplicity,it's very usefull and versatile.

the tacked up elbow on the collector with the sidepipe elbow set in it.everything lines up good,so now it's a matter of making the slip joint and tigging up the seams.i built this angle into the secondaries on the left side,so a straight taper will be used there.

 

[WoodyB2]

Wow gwaii, this think is looking even better with every update!! i love it, and keep up the good work.

 

[gwaii]

Wow gwaii, this think is looking even better with every update!! i love it, and keep up the good work.

it's a hell of a job.

i think the trick is to make each little part a job in itself,so you can concentrate on that one bit,and then the next job is the next little bit.
if you try to think of building the whole car at once it becomes overwhelming,but even while concentrating on individual parts,the big picture still needs to be on mind,or else you'll end up with a bunch of stuff that doesn't work together.


my brain hurts......but at least that tells me it's still working.

 

[MountainMike]

better bring a two-four.

i start by laying out a centerline.this is easilly accomplished by setting a hunk of angle iron on the tube.it will sit in line with the tube,allowing for a quick and accurate line.

I'm still seriously thinking of heading down in the spring, I need a holiday.

As for using the angle iron as a straight edge, that's so damn simple and ingenious! I'm using that method every time from now on

 

[gwaii]

the chrome inlet elbows for the sidepipes are 3'' diameter,but step down to 2 1/2'' on the ends.i have no use for this bit,it makes more sense just to go 3'' right off the headers.

so back to the bandsaw.

some snug fitting rings are made to fit inside the elbow tube.

the inner ring is welded to the header outlet and an outer ring is formed.

with both rings welded on,a pocket is formed for the sidepipe elbow to fit into.

mounting the sidepipe to the frame will be all that is needed to keep the header and pipe together.some fiberglass rope in the bottom of the pocket will be used as a gasket.

this will allow the little bit of isolation that i need,in a package that doesn't take up any room.

 

[Boggin]

that is crazy!

a question, how do you work on this all the time without getting sick of it? i have to alternate back and forth of all my projects lol

 

[gwaii]

that is crazy!

a question, how do you work on this all the time without getting sick of it? i have to alternate back and forth of all my projects lol

a project like this has enough different things to do that i can move from one area to another,like when i get sick of suspension,i do some bodywork.

it's like having 20 projects on the go at once....maybe more.

 

[escort_gts]

I would like to hear how that sounds with the side pipes.

 

[gwaii]

I would like to hear how that sounds with the side pipes.

getting close....

 

[gwaii]

spent some time tonight trying to get everything squared up.there were a couple things not lining up the way they should have been,so more measuring was needed.turns out the engine was leaning to the left by 1 1/2*....this amount would normally not be an issue,but everything is so tight on this car that it was throwing stuff out-like the sightline down the body and the way the pipes sat.

the body itself was out a tiny bit too,so this didn't help things either.



building trucks is way easier than this stuff,theres lot's of wiggle room even on the tight builds.i need to make sure the engine is centered within 1/32'' on this car or everything goes to hell.