SkinnyG's '61 Chevy Apache 10

Worked on piping today.

New wrench thrown into the mix - the "Deluxe Heater" is becoming another packaging issue for the exhaust pipes. 

And I had to move the turbo forward an inch so I could actually use a v-band clamp on the passenger manifold.  Which means the air filter no longer fits the way I had it.

I may need to sit down and think.

In reply to SkinnyG :

T.T.W.O. 

(Think twice, wrench once)

SkinnyG said:

Worked on piping today.

New wrench thrown into the mix - the "Deluxe Heater" is becoming another packaging issue for the exhaust pipes. 

And I had to move the turbo forward an inch so I could actually use a v-band clamp on the passenger manifold.  Which means the air filter no longer fits the way I had it.

I may need to sit down and think.

This is about the point where I gained a lot of respect for automotive designers who not only have to design components, but negotiate with other teams for real estate in the vehicle.

BIG dump of wet snow today.  Hauled out the snow blower. Then dropped the kids off at the grand parents' to go sledding. Then off to the auto parts store to not pickup the 4" stainless tubing that wasn't stainless. Then back to the shop.

Progress today:

god i love these body style trucks

The video works - the title screen isn't working.

In reply to SkinnyG :

Outstanding video, as always. Do you work from a script, or just ramble the voiceover as you watch the high-speed playback?

Not sure why the title image isn't showing up.

Thank you for the kind words!

Rarely do I write a script of where I want to go with it; I usually just ramble a voiceover, then trim things out or re-record sections as need be. Often I speed up or slow down the video to make sure I can transition to the next part well. Most of my videos I completely wing the narrative.

I am in awe of so many people's video production skills.  However, I am NOT willing to put in the actual time it truly takes to pull that level of quality off. It is very easy for me to set up a time-lapse camera and do my hobby, than it is to craft a visual extravaganza.  I believe it's important to just be myself, and do what I do, and if it takes off and becomes awesome, hooray.

In the mean time, I have videos that have helped a lot of people, and that's my main motivation for doing them.

Not much done this week (work. Bah.). 

Cab mounts arrived.

Supplier seems to have misplaced the ten foot section of 4" stainless exhaust pipe.

Hope to finish the crossover this weekend.

Got some of the crossover done, and a couple more pieces of it ready to go. Hope to have more time tomorrow.

Got distracted today adding rubber sealing flaps on my old Bolens 824 snow blower.  The snow blower now throws the snow almost 3X farther, and didn't plug up once. Wheeee!!

Crossover pipe done, waiting on 4" downpipe to come in:

4" pipe is in.

And it's -17°C today (1.4°F).  While I -do- have heat in the shop, it sure is warm and cozy by the fireplace here in the house.....

Too darn cold out here.  Haven't done anything yet.

The outlet of the turbo is 2.5", the intercooler and piping is 3", and the TB is 4".

I figured the pipe sizing  would be wisest to run 2.5" piping from the turbo, then run a 2.5"-to-3" coupler at the intercooler, then 3" from the intercooler all the way up to a 3"-to-4" elbow at the throttle body. 

I did not have these tubes and couplers in my VS Racing turbo kit, but I found a supplier out of China, and gambled, thinking that by the time it all arrived, the exhaust should be done and I would be well into plumbing the intercooler.  Ordered on Dec 31, and they arrived on the Jan 15th.  That's pretty quick for China!

Excited to get into the shop today, but.....

Spent a couple hours shopping with the boys, blowing off Christmas money.  Finally a warm day (-5°C).

Then snow-blowed a couple of driveways.

Then re-bushed the pivots on my antiquated and abused horizontal bandsaw so I can do more accurate cuts. Pie-cut a number of pieces of 4" tubing to see if my theoretical bend radius was going to work out, but then it was supper time. 

Really didn't get much done, but there is always tomorrow.

Oh, also tweaked the engine dip stick tube into a happy place.  Took way less time than doing so did on the V8 Firefly.

Still working out Argon flow, cup size, amperage, travel, etc..  I don't have a lot of experience welding stainless. And then ran out of Argon. Again.

In reply to SkinnyG :

You can weld just about anything with a size 8 cup and gas lens, 20-25 cfh of argon, 3/32" tungsten and the necessary fill wire. I use 1/16" on sheet metal thinner than 10 gauge, and 3/32" on everything else unless I need to fill a gap. Then I bust out the 1/8" wire, but it's a pain to work with at lower amperages.

I did the hot side with a pyrex 8 cup and gas lens and 3/32", 25cfh, but I didn't have the tungsten super super sharp, and things got hot in a hurry.

This go-round I switched to my 1/16" tung, gas lens and ceramic 7 cup, and sharpened the tung to a point.  Much happier with the result, but I am thinking of picking up a 10 if it will fit either of my gas lenses.

I'm very confident in my steel and aluminum TIG welding.  I just haven't mastered the dance of stainless yet.

In reply to SkinnyG :

I've noticed that stainless seems more sensitive to the shape of the tungsten than mild or aluminum. Finer point will give less penetration and a wider arc spread, coarser point will give better penetration and a narrower arc. For most stuff, I use about a 30-40 degree angle on the point. 

So normally I sharpen the tung with a taper that is about 2-1/2 times the diameter.

Are you saying I should trying something maybe a whole lot stubbier?  Like 1-1/2 times the diameter?

In reply to SkinnyG :

Yeah. I'm not sure why, but with stainless it seems to make a difference. The only time I go with needle sharp tungsten is when I'm welding 14g or thinner sheet metal. (I work in a food processing factory, we deal with stainless everything...)

https://www.weld.com/blog/tungsten-grind-angles-matter

Did not get as much done as I wanted.  Saturday was filled with family stuff, so I only got 25% of what I wanted done.

Gas lens, pyrex cup, 3/32" tung, sharpened a little less pointy as per your recommendations. I switched to 0.035" filler as recommended by a fabricator buddy.  It was easier to move quick with the thinner filler.

Running this pipe down was a lot less fun than it looks. I -can- actually get to the spark plugs. Needs another wiggle to get down to the frame, but it's close. 

In reply to SkinnyG :

Those look good! Now you just need to keep going. That '61 is going to make beautiful noises when you're done...

Went back into the shop after supper to work a bit more on the exhaust.  Got it ready for welding, but will sleep on it.

Also started plumbing the wastegate into the exhaust.  Ready for welding, maybe tomorrow.

New semester starts tomorrow, so I'm going  to be busy again for a bit.

Day two of the semester down. Bloody exhausting performing an extrovert role as an introvert.

But, pushed myself to put an hour in the shop today, cutting the hole and welding half the wastegate merge pipe in place.  

I am very happy to be using a gas lens - fair amount of stick out to get into some of the tight spots, using tinfoil backing to hold the Argon in.

And the welds are looking much better with the shallower tip on the tungsten.  Doesn't make sense to me why, but it's working.  Thanks!