I'm pretty sure dad said he was using a different tip to the one he uses with stainless. But when he turned it up, the tip just melted.

I just bought the cat from the local exhaust joint that i got the rest for. Paid $13 pm for the 2 1/4" tube, $220 for the cat, $45 for the flex and i think around $8 for the flanges and gaskets. The pipe for the exhaust manifold was only $5pm which i thought was pretty cheap and all the buttwelds were about $7 each. Everything was sourced from the local exhaust and steel places except for the buttwelds where i had to go to Smorgans because i couldn't find any anywhere!

I'm gonna have to look for that file again. I think HPDesign has put up a thread about some CAD files as well so i'll see what i can find. From memory they were really big files and didn't email too well but i'll give it a shot.


Also, what do you guys reckon about this thing - sounds and looks good but is it more for w@nk factor than anything else?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Powerpro-TWIN-EE ... dZViewItem

Dad said he used the Red Tip for welding the aluminium. Is this good, or should we be using white?

Depends on your setup, but best results for aluminium are with a high frequency tig welder & zirconiated (white) tungstens.

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Too many cars, and too little time.

Ahah!! We got some nice welds with white!!! We did a bit more research and with a bit more practice i think we'll get some pretty good results. I have decided to give the stock throttle body a shot, I figure a SR20DET has 55mm for a 2 litre engine, 46mm should be fine for a 1.3l. From what i can tell, the throttle body is heated. I'd say for places like canada and places where its freezing. I think i'll be right to get rid of it.

On to the Exhaust Manifold -

I had the pipe machined out so it was time to put it all together. I set it up and gave it a quick tack with the MIG. I used the laser cut flange to get it in the right spot.





Then got dad to give it a shot with the TIG.



Came up great! Only thing was the heat we had put into we had banana-ed it a fair bit, so while it was hot we chucked it in the press and bent it back a bit, then with a bit of shrinking were able to get it straight enough for what we need. Once it had cooled down, I got into grinding out the runners so they had nice smooth entries. Don't know if you can tell from the pic.



Then i put it back in the mill and decked the runners so i could but up the flange. Gave it a little tack and presto!



Came time to fit it up. Because we haven't welded up the flange yet, it was still pretty straight and fit really well. Had great clearance with the front grill and the support bracket. Now i have to work out exactly what i want to do with the turbo. I think i'll go here. I can cut the log off about 100mm earlier, this means i can make up a reasonably nice flowing join to the turbo. Hopefully have another update soon with the turbo mounted in place.

looks fantastic - can definitely see the flow work on the entries

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

Take it easy when welding that flange on as it will bannana too.

I welded flange on from the inside then decked it to get a flat surface, it came up alright.

Dan

Yes, very nice.

Should perform just fine!

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"Not Speeding Officer..........Qualifying"

Just a quick one. Welded up a bit more of the manifold to get it in pretty much the right position. Originally i had 3 90's basically butting up against each other but looked like some really tight bends so i made it with some 45's and a little straight as well. I might have to heat it up a bit and pull it away from the front grill just a tiny bit. I've got plenty of room to keep the cable clutch and it should miss the thermostat/outlet for the coolant so i'm pretty stoked. Just have to start making up the dump now and try and find a nice place for a radiator and intercooler.

Nice work. Maybe you could just put a couple of plastic spacers under the grill?

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Too many cars, and too little time.

Nice work mate, should be a missile once it's finished...

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May the fork be with you.

Hopefully it doesn't explode though...

Yeah i thought about spacing the grill, just to get a bit more space but then read somewhere about an absolute grilling a guy got on here about doing that I've got plenty of space... and hopefully i can bend it back enough. I think also i need 10mm between the engine and the body so i'm gonna have to do something.

Ok, Uni has been a bit full on so i haven't had much of a chance to get onto the mini. Finished welding up the manifold which looks great, and machined the face that sits on the head, bought a new gasket so i cant wait to put it on. I just have to machine the turbo flange, clean up the welds and make it look nice. Not sure whether i'm going to coat it or not. What are everybodies thoughts, is it worth the money?








And on the subject of money, i lashed out and bought some rotors that just came today . I think i pretty much have everything i need to put these bad boys together. A word of warning to anyone that wants brakes, by the time you stuff around buying bits here and there, you might as well just go out and buy a set already put together from a mini specialist. I have spent way tooooo much money on this set. It better work!!!Actually, I was going to buy new studs, are they any different to mini disc brake studs? On the second pic there is a wire coming out of the Green Stuff Pads, is that just an optional sensor? Can i take it out?

So i've also bought some brake caliper paint, i think there is something about the heat that bonds to a hard finish. Can i use this on my hubs and drive flanges? If not, what should i be using? Can i just mask up the insides where the pistons and seals are and then just spray at will. I've got little plugs in all the holes so it should be right yeah?

For the little extra cost I think it would be worth it.
You have the best looking log style manifold I've ever seen

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Too many cars, and too little time.

IS this file available to download? I'd love a copy.

Cheers

Dicko

Haven't hosted it, slacker that I am

but check your email tonight...

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Too many cars, and too little time.