Cement 782 Report post Posted October 20, 2021 Oh happy days ... the bends finally arrived from 'stray-ya !! Pretty impressed with the service, pricing and packaging from https://www.ecsexhaust.com.au/. A++ would trade again. Will get some bits cut and tacked up before the weekend woo woooo !!! Also got a 2nd hand E46 cluster so I can start developing my Arduino code without going back and forth to the car, connecting the battery etc etc. Will also allow me to make a custom tacho background with extended RPM scale etc Might try to also magic the economy gauge into something more useful while I am at it. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zero 1160 Report post Posted October 20, 2021 oil pressure instead of fuel economy would be cool Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2312 Report post Posted October 20, 2021 10 hours ago, Cement said: Oh happy days ... the bends finally arrived from 'stray-ya !! Pretty impressed with the service, pricing and packaging from https://www.ecsexhaust.com.au/. A++ would trade again. Will get some bits cut and tacked up before the weekend woo woooo !!! Also got a 2nd hand E46 cluster so I can start developing my Arduino code without going back and forth to the car, connecting the battery etc etc. Will also allow me to make a custom tacho background with extended RPM scale etc Might try to also magic the economy gauge into something more useful while I am at it. Was it more cost effective than locally buying bends like this? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted October 20, 2021 9 hours ago, zero said: oil pressure instead of fuel economy would be cool Yea that was my first thought also, i have an external gauge that i could tap into the signal for and use the Arduino to drive the gauge 🤔Would like to have maybe crank case vacuum also to monitor the dry sump setup but hopefully won't need that through it being an open breathing design. @Michael. It certainly was for me using stainless. Primarily the donuts went from over $200 NZD each to $68 AUD and all of the other bends were cheaper also. Freight was just under $200 AUD and I luckily managed to dodge GST etc when it came in. The other big plus was they did a wider range of bends so I didn't have to get custom work done locally (more expensive) ... I needed some 15deg bends for the collectors and these were a standard stocked item. 3 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted October 22, 2021 And we're off and cutting !!! Got my first 90 cut out and the others ready for cutting tomorrow. The funky one in the middle is for the merge collectors ... hopefully I can get all 6 out of the same plastic as it took about 20h to print. The printer will be on night shifts again making more 'molds' for other segments. In other news and projects started but not finished, I am turning an old ATX power supply into a useful benchtop unit to power the gauge cluster etc while I work on that angle. No pics as its just a bag of parts from Jaycar at the moment 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted October 30, 2021 Headers are a lot of work it turns out, who would have thought First tube is complete apart from being finish welded at least ... I'm 'ok' with the result. The major learning is that next time I'd probably go with pie cuts instead of the tight 1D donuts. The donuts are only welded one side and if you close the gap you end up with an under sized diameter. So I will have a whole lot of little gaps to fill in at the end 😕 When i get to the tubes for bank 2 it will get a lot harder as the tubes are almost completely made of 1D sections 😭 Anyhow I will be cutting segments for pipe 3 today and hopefully getting some bits tacked together. Pics of where things are at ... 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LsBeema 417 Report post Posted November 1, 2021 On 10/31/2021 at 9:16 AM, Cement said: Headers are a lot of work it turns out, who would have thought First tube is complete apart from being finish welded at least ... I'm 'ok' with the result. The major learning is that next time I'd probably go with pie cuts instead of the tight 1D donuts. The donuts are only welded one side and if you close the gap you end up with an under sized diameter. So I will have a whole lot of little gaps to fill in at the end 😕 When i get to the tubes for bank 2 it will get a lot harder as the tubes are almost completely made of 1D sections 😭 Anyhow I will be cutting segments for pipe 3 today and hopefully getting some bits tacked together. Pics of where things are at ... Looking sharp brru Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aramoana 20 Report post Posted November 1, 2021 I love the CAD/modelling work thats gone into planning this, so cool to see a modern approach to this sort of thing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted November 9, 2021 On 11/2/2021 at 7:35 AM, aramoana said: I love the CAD/modelling work thats gone into planning this, so cool to see a modern approach to this sort of thing. Thanks @aramoana , for me its a case of replacing experience with things I am familiar with to (hopefully) get a reasonable result Started getting my purge setup sorted, another learning curve !! Not quite ready for Instagram but did the first tube weld to the flange ... by far working around the curve and establishing a rhythm is the hardest. Two tubes done now (tacked), cylinders 1 and 3. Cylinder 5 has a lot of small donut sections so will be a taste of bank 2 😕 In search of insta bling bling welds I got a monster sized pyrex cup to see how it works. Absolutely makes a difference but gas usage about triples to get there so not sure I will stick at it since it will all look the same colour in the end 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted November 10, 2021 Finally completed my little benchtop power supply project !! Will be using this to power the spare gauge cluster I'm using for Arduino development. Its based on a spare ATX PC power supply I had ... a pretty useful up-cycling project !! 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted November 14, 2021 A milestone today, one side of the headers completely tacked up and ready for finish welding !! So much work ... can't wait until they are completely done. Onto some pics ... pretty self explanatory, the first is all of the pieces for the last tube on this side. 8 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted November 22, 2021 Still stuck in header fab land ... now 4 out of 6 tubes assembled however. Onto the most complicated one of the lot, the dreaded cylinder 4 ... or as I call it 'hell tube' At least I have cut all of the segments on my day off today and can start assembly tomorrow. Will be 3D printing some 'helper jigs' tonight where I have bends that meet other bends at an angle etc. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted November 27, 2021 One tube to go now !!! Hell tube came up fairly well ... I decided to close up the gaps in the 'seamless' donuts where I had bend meeting bend and it gave a very pleasing joint. However, at some point you have to transition back to the straight tube and there is a substantial size mismatch 😕 REALLY wishing the donuts were perfect as it would reduce the fab time by nearly half I'd say. Will be a lot more work during the final welding also to diddle around with the gaps and oval vs round tube etc. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted December 2, 2021 Huzzah I've completed my scale model of the large colon !! The last tube will unfortunately need a tweak as I had to improvise a little when building it up (only one of the six) and its interfering with a bolt head from the starter motor 😕 It fits if I take the bolt out ... maybe i can weld the starter to the block I managed to crack the secret code of twists and turns needed to get them installed as well which is good news but a little nerve wracking ! 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted December 4, 2021 Ohhh look something that's not header related !! Got my fictional model badge ready to go on 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted December 9, 2021 Got the heat shields glass bead blasted to give them a freshen up and applied some VHT high temp silver ... they look fairly good now and a lot cheaper than replacements Finish welded the first header tube ... got some distorsion issues to take care of unfortunately 😕 Will have to experiment a bit with the subsequent tubes to try and minimise, else all of the hard work making them accurate for the collectors is out the window. And some clearances to the engine and trans might also be compromised which would be a real ball ache. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2476 Report post Posted December 10, 2021 Amazing build, love the detail! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted December 19, 2021 Still here ... still doing headers pretty much, will be half way through the finish welding tonight and completed the most difficult side of the engine. Did something fun today also and added the elusive 337 Ci boot badges Other pic shows what I've been doing to bridge some of the gap left in the donut sections ... those things have been such a nightmare 😕 Really could use some thin strip stainless ... could make some but yeeaaaa. Also had a hose fitting burst in the garage, super lucky is just blasted straight down from the roof and just splashed over everything. 7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2312 Report post Posted December 19, 2021 This is coming along great, so much effort. It's great to see! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted December 20, 2021 19 hours ago, Michael. said: so much effort Yeeeaaauuuuuurrrp Here are the bank 2 headers finish welded apart from the flanges. Not sure how I am going to rectify the distortion caused by the welding just yet ... a real bummer and something the experienced header builder would expect. Should have build and welded one or two sections as I went. Still, they look good in a picture 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2312 Report post Posted December 21, 2021 Looking beauitful! How many mm are things off with the distortion? I was always worried about that when doing my headers but given the thickness wasn't an issue. A bit of heat and some strategic wacks or prying with a metal bar will likely be the go to sort it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted December 21, 2021 14 hours ago, Michael. said: How many mm are things off with the distortion? I was always worried about that when doing my headers but given the thickness wasn't an issue. A bit of heat and some strategic wacks or prying with a metal bar will likely be the go to sort it. The worst one is the middle tube, you can see its also twisted where the flange is 😕 Otherwise they are probably 10-15mm out i guess ? Will install them into the car and see how it all looks as I hope for a Christmas miracle hah. Priority at the moment is to start on the other side's welding so I can use the remaining gas and get another bottle to complete things over the holidays. Should have my drive shaft back this week also which will allow me to start looking at the integrated transmission mount and driveshaft hoop etc. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted December 22, 2021 I needed a change of scene and to see some progress so decided to put the rear bumper back on. Installed new inner tail lights and bulbs also, yay its looking complete ... from the rear Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 782 Report post Posted December 23, 2021 Big day today in general !! Got the drive shaft back and it looks really great ... was worth them noting 'fussy paint job' on the job card As per everything these days it was super expensive but at least they did a really great job. Went for the big boy 1350 slip yoke (because why not) which makes the OEM middle joint look positively puny. Also has a new CV on the end as the old one was poked apparently. Not directly swap project related but I installed my AliExpress air and oil separator for the compressor which is pretty sweet. Also washed the car with my apprentice, SO satisfying as it had 18 months of garage dust all over it (plus a dead cockroach). The E46 is such a classic good looking car 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2312 Report post Posted December 25, 2021 Getting the driveshaft done is oddly satisfying as you now know you can now physically put the power down with the new engine. A very fun part of the build process sorting out such vital parts. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
