Cement

Good investigations This has led to a conclusion that they are style 50's I reckon.

Ok so here are all of the markings, only thing that looks like a 'style' number is 'IS47' but that doesn't turn up anything that looks close on the google ? Other pics just for completeness

Very cool build !! How do you rate the Eaton PDM ? I need to also implement something similar shortly all going well.

I've yet to see what style my E46 rims are ... they never seem to feature on any of the style guides. Any ideas ?

I made one set for my Civic SiR back in errrr probably 2001 ? Not quite at the same level as this setup however ... it was more vice and hacksaw hah.

One jig complete ... bends for this side are ordered so can get into it proper once they turn up.

Loving the full CMP auto brace ... suspect I'll end up doing the full brace at some point, at which time I'll be coming back here for those top tips again Great job with the painting and getting it oem looking.

Very cool and maximum ingenuity I can practically smell the manufacturing !!

Just throwing an idea out here without understanding how a BMW manual is setup ... get it as close as you can then depress clutch pedal (if connected ?), if trans is pushed back then maybe the cover is not correct and its the release bearing thats prohibiting movement ? Spigot bearing sounds more likely however

Getting jiggy with it ... na naa na na yea naa. Seems to be working well enough, man these things are a lot of work !!! Once I have a little 'cradle' under all of the straight sections I'll probably just weld rods under / around the bends more as reference points than supports which will control direction also.

Got the laser cutting on Monday ... removed the mill scale off the large flanges with white vinegar which worked great !! Drilled and tapped the M10 holes on the large flanges and drilled out the holes in the individual stainless flanges plus removed the cut start / stop marks. Have made the call to switch to mild steel for the headers, with a ceramic coat ... will probably work out the same overall insane cost but cheaper up front for the bends and better thermal performance ultimately. Next up I can assemble the bank 1 plastic headers onto a flange and start on the jig proper !! Yay.

I totally agree

Just a micro rant in the midst of more serious rantings People that read your credit card number back to you as they enter it into their machine so everyone around them can note it down for safe keeping. The real good ones also repeat back the expiry and security code !!

I'm quite jealous of you doing it out of the car !! Just doing it with the plastic mock up parts was hard enough in the car ... glad that phase is over Lately just ripping through my first argon bottle practicing welding and prototyping the little jigs I will use to get square tube cuts (especially on the bends / donuts) as I don't have a bandsaw. The laser cutting has shipped from Hamiltron so should see that soon and be able to make the header jigs while I save up to buy the stainless bends ... also looking for a cheaper source as that sh*t is capital E expensive

Finished modelling the plastic mock headers so I have a record of the design. A lot of work to get to this point and I'd hate for one of the kids to throw one onto the floor and have it shatter into pieces Got all of my TIG bits now so putting some time into learning and practice while I wait for my laser cutting (now from L3 Hamilton hah) to show up so I can start of the header jigs.

Thankyou Nice to know folks are looking and interested given its a bit of a departure to the standard projects round these here parts hah And I hope to be able to show you !! Was really hoping to be mobile over summer but its not looking too likely ... at the rate things are moving at present I'll still be making the headers !! Once I can fire it by turning the BMW key that should spur me on. At some point soonish the oiling system has to be completed also and that's not going to be pleasant on the wallet 😕

Thanks @Michael., its one of those project phases that I'm ready to move on from but should look back and feel it was worth while Nice to hear you had success also with your project, fingers crossed I do also ! Some of the clearances are tight so I will be checking fit on the car as I tack things up. The 3D printing does take a while alright, not sure on total hours but it would be many hundreds for sure. Gone through nearly 4x 1kg rolls of filament to get to this point (includes prototypes, calibration, some scrap etc). On the larger prints I would do up to 9 segments and that might take say 20 hours or so. The collectors took 16 hours each from memory. I could print a bit faster but decided to maintain settings to ensure consistency of parts etc. The best thing will be now I can start prototyping other things like the transmission mounts, and making a custom steering column gauge pod. Is the single turbo for the Soarer ?

Slow progress still lately tooling around with header mockups and getting organised to start learning to TIG weld (waiting on gas bottle in L3). Happy to report that header tubes are mocked up for both banks now at least and lengths all spot on ... on the downside they will be a nightmare to fabricate, on the plus side I will be able to put them in and out of the car without removing the engine Onto the pictures since this is basically a photo record of the build it seems ... Started on some parts for the jigs I will make for the header fabrication. This is a fake collector end and some slit 1-7/8" tube which will snugly support the 1-3/4" primary tube OD. I will cut this down into small segments as needed and weld upstands to attach to a base plate ... this will support the plastic tube at key locations. At either end will be a flange to simulate the head and the fake collector on the pointy end. Sounds confusing but will be clear once I get a picture up of the setup. Left bank all mocked up. This side was much harder as expected, mainly due to the starter motor, brake / fuel lines, LCA bush carrier, clutch line fitting and the body work where the ABS is located. Managed to get it all working without any panel work or relocation ... will need some quality head shielding however and removal of the sound deadening fabric. The view from underneath ... not super ideal but about the best I could do and the lengths are all spot on. Finally something looks familiar and not like some crazy guys arts and crafts project

Oh man I'm glad there was a picture of an actual sword when I scrolled down a little further 😅

Awesome progress, I'm jealous how fast you're getting things done !! You'll be on the streets for summer time, I'll be sweating in the garage still hah.

Following. Will likely need to make a few alterations once the E46 is operational. Will need to make it forget it had a BMW engine and auto trans

Agree, disgusting. Its like the designers are all racing each other to implement their vision of the future. Seems a lot of their vision caters to the super rich who are real keen to make sure everyone knows it.

One side of the headers are completely mocked up now, managed to get the lengths the same to less than half a mm which is a good result. Modeled them up so I have a long term record but will need some tweaking due to errors introduced going from plastic to digital. Will likely build off the glued up plastic tubes making jigs to support the tubes at key locations.

Not heaps of progress lately, turns out header mockups are a lot of work !! Started designing the individual header flanges and discovered the prints were not so accurate so spent a lot of time getting the printer setup properly dialed in. Will be some more weeks mocking up both sides of the headers and getting the lengths to the collectors spot on etc. Only one pic this update of the calibration pieces ... on the left are the header flanges I was trying to get spot on.

Got enough bend blocks printed out now to start being useful ... pretty tricky to get everything to play nice !! Had to revise the design a little more also to prevent some breakages. All in all happy with how its looking but need to print some more specific parts to tweak the design a little then can start to add up the lengths and see if we are on track for equal lengths without having to do anything too freaky to correct the design lower down. The other side will be more difficult with the ABS steel guard (body work) and dry sump pump / starter motor / brake and fuel lines in the mix also.