turdle's mounty moves on

[CDW6212R]

Yes, the elbow gained a little over the 70mm stock size, but as you mentioned it is so thin that not much could be removed. I paid $50 to have someone good with porting to work on the inner short side as much as possible. He smoothed the rest and only the entry was a disappointment. But that's okay because that's the part I could work on easily.

If I had to have an elbow of some kind made, I would cut the EGR mounting portion from a stock piece, and meld it into the custom part. I like the EGR system on the GT40P 302's, it's very simple and easy to work with. Thank goodness we don't have to deal with air pumps and all the lines, hoses, and vacuum switches like the 86-94 junk.

 

[pufferfish]

Can't wait to see you finish this project.

i get really excited every time i try to pass in my turd mounty. cant wait to never have to think about whether i have enough time to make the pass again! i get sooo impatient with projects. it drives my wife nuts

 

[pufferfish]

i don't have a pic of it, but when i had this thing in my 95 mustang with the spyder intake, the elbow was too tall to clear the factory hood and strut tower brace, so i made my own from aluminum intake tube and machined the flanges as well as a boss for the EGR valve. it worked out really slick and put everything where it was supposed to go. i think i would do something similar this time around. maybe out of steel though. i changed from a MIG to a TIG welder and i just am not getting the hang of welding aluminum with this guy. steel is a breeze.

 

[Turdle]

Hmm, is it an ac tig?

Are you "balling" your tungsten?

 

[pufferfish]

it is a miller with the ac square wave and i use pure argon. i put a "squared" tip on the tungsten and then it balls on the first arc. i think it has more to do with the fact that it didn't come with a foot pedal. there is a dial on the handle for regulating the amps. its pretty cumbersome on steel, but impossible to get good penetration without burning it out on aluminum. there is a connector for the foot pedal. i just never got one. i don't see having the time to hone my craft on this go around. but maybe after this project.

 

[pufferfish]

so, i got a few hours last night to freeze my butt off and try to finish the passenger side header. just about there. i need to figure out how i am going to connect my downpipe to it. i can't make the header any longer, because it won't slide out or in if it gains a single inch. i have enough room for a v-band clamp flange, but the downtube wont fit through the space between the frame and transmission with the mating flange on it. my original thought was to weld the downtube to the header and make the connection in the open area after the bellhousing, but i'd never get it out or in. maybe i will see if disconnecting the passenger side motor mount and tilting the engine will give me enough room.

i tell ya, unless i get a new heat source in my garage this winter, progress will be super slow. its going to be a cold one this year!

 

[Mountaineer1113]

...

You know... that damn heater/AC box seems to be a main problem with headers on the passenger side.

What heater source are you working with right now?

 

[pufferfish]

yeah, i wish it was easier to remove the a/c box to at least get it in and out for fitting and welding. i had to remove the cover and the core just to get it flexible enough to get the header in and out and it barely does the job. 1.75" primaries makes for a really big package!

i have a kerosene drum furnace from about the 1940's. it works well, but takes 1 hour just to get up to temp. takes about 4 hours to get the garage to about 50 degrees in the daed of winter. since i don't have that kind of time these days, i am now using my camping heater. its a small propane bottle mounted heater. think its around 9000btu. it was not really helping much. more of a warm up spot when passing by it. i have plans of getting a new high efficiency furnace for my house. that would be a nice addition to the garage...along with some insulation.

 

[Turdle]

The header looks good!!

These work well, in a pinch. They can be sealed into a zip lock baggie and reused. They heat for well over 8 hours.


http://www.thermacare.com/Default.aspx?source=Google$Heat%20Wraps$heat%20wrap$heat%20wraps$Broad

I find the lower back one helps keep your body core warm. The smaller ones can be tucked into strategic areas.

 

[pufferfish]

thats a good idea. i will have to give that a try.

 

[2000StreetRod]

torque monster headers

That's a nice looking header installation. You may have to use the stock type two bolt flange connection instead of the v-band type. You probably won't be removing and installing very often after your final installation.

Since I have no welding equipment or skills, if I decide to install a 5.8L I'll probably contact Torque Monster about building a set of headers. I believe he already adjusts his standard 5.0L headers for various EGR configurations.

 

[CDW6212R]

That header is looking good. Have you planned for the EGR connection for it yet?

 

[pufferfish]

in the interest of moving forward, i am going to concentrate my next effort on getting the driver side header fabbed to the same point as the pass side. thats my biggest challenge right now. i can weld in a port for the egr tube easily. the header connection to the downtube will be something to figure out, but it can be deferred as both sides should have the same connection and i am unsure of space constraints on the driver side right now.

also, i am settled on the tfs-r now. between the cost and rarity of the 351w lower and the cost to have the explorer upper ported and shipped, i found a tfs-r used that would be less money and end up with better flow. thanks for the advice on that one. for a minimal visual impact, i will end up with a better intake.

i picked up a few parts at the pick-n-pull on friday. i got the front diff needed, so i can now fab the drivers header. another item i got was a pair of stock valvecovers to keep more of the stocker look and clear the a/c box. with my polylocks, though, i will need to find some 3/8" spacer gaskets. i have seen a few different types out there, so it shouldnt be a big deal to get them to work.

 

[CDW6212R]

Isn't the 86-93 Mustang valve cover a little taller than ours? I'm using an aftermarket pair that I'd call mid-length. The choice of top outlets you have to think about too, for oil fill etc.

How much have you looked at the area along the frame where the aluminum shield is? That's where the fuel and brake lines run, plus the emissions pipe. I'm wondering how much space is around there to be able to reroute those. There is room on top of the frame just behind the left control arm to run them to the engine etc. It's the distance between there and through the frame back to the inner frame opening I wonder about. There may be room to make the lines/pipes run through there, but as a hard line or not is the question. The brake line is the tough one. Regards,

 

[pufferfish]

the drivers header tucks between the oil pan and front driveshaft, so the fuel and brake lines shouldn't be much of an issue outside of getting the tubes snaked around the steering column shaft.

yeah, the oil fill neck was a big issue in selecting other valve covers. i just decided it would be easier to space the stock valve covers than to try to make something else fit. they also have good attachment points for the plug wires.

 

[97sprt4x4]

i know you won't be doing any offroading with the truck, but have you planned for compression and decompression of the suspension with the axle and header? i haven't towed much of anything so i'm not sure if towing affects the front end at all.

Justin

 

[pufferfish]

suspension motion won't be a problem. the front diff is fixed to the frame, so the driveshaft won't move. the cv shafts aren't near the exhaust. the header tubes sit inboard of the upper a-arm mount, so it can't hit them.

 

[pufferfish]

OMG! the driver side header is a pain in the nuts! so, i planned on running primary #7 over the steering shaft and back around to the collector. to facilitate removing and installing, i would pull the top part of the steering shaft slip joint out. unbolted just fine, but it stops before disconnecting from the lower shaft. guess its not meant to be pulled apart?

new plan...the #7 cylinder is going to get a bit choked off because i am doing a sharp and immediate turn down to stay on the inside of the steering shaft. its not my favorite idea, but i don't know what else to do. there isn't enough room for 3 primary tubes to run between the motor mount and the header, so i can't run it forward and loop it back. i am open to ideas. has anyone been able to remove the upper steering shaft from the slip joint without destroying it?

 

[Turdle]

Remove it from the rack?

 

[pufferfish]

i will look at doing that.