Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

I'm sure hoping it will. I'll be sure to post pictures as I move along. New tools are great but man some of them are pricey. I still WANT a tube bender, notcher, vice... the list goes on.

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

Tools sure add up. One thing to consider is how often you might use them. Notcher/bender aren't the most commonly used tools in the average garage. I bent the bars at a friends and used a cheap a$s notcher to get my cage bars where I wanted them. If usage is low a cheaper set may be an option. I've always been a fan of manual benders as you get the feel and know the bend and recoil.

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

Good point. I will either try and snag my dads bender or will get a manual. Like you say, I certainly don't use it enough to need a hydraulic set up or something else. But there are a few tools I feel I should invest in, such as the port a band I just purchased.

I did get some work done tonight. I finished welding in the new mount for the turbo right up close to the passenger headlight area where the battery used to go. Its not quite in that pocket but its pointing into that area. I ordered a K&N filter today from Induction Performance and they told me the dimensions and I check good on that for where the turbo is now. The only thing I have to do is modify the inner fender well....again. Thats ok, I'm getting good at re-doing work. Down pipe should be pretty straight forward, I think I even have all of the bends I need, just maybe need a few more v band assemblies. That is all for now.

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

Ok, I've got a question that I'm hoping you guys can help with. For those of you with your turbo fixed to the frame, what did you use between the turbo and exhaust to allow it to flex? I have an extremely short run from my passenger header to where the turbo flange is mounted (welded) to the frame- roughly ~4 inches PLUS its a 90* turn. So that doesn't leave me much room to add something real flexible there. I'm thinking I might have to run a short piece of pipe out of the turbo flange to a braided flex tube, then have the hot side connect into that piece. Anyone have pictures of how they did theres?

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

I've got a better idea now. I think I can weld the passenger exhaust to the turbo flange and then cut the bracket that holds my turbo flange to the frame. A little bit of re work but I think it will turn out better. This will make the turbo flange permanently mounted to the header and will avoid using some sort of flexible joint between them. Since the turbo is hanging so far out it will create a lot of stress on the header but I think I can fix that by bracing the header more and by running a brace to the turbo as well. What do ya'll use? 3/8" round stock?

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

I built a stand that attached to the motor and had no flex point in the hotside.

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

This is what I will be doing. As it sits right now though the flange is welded to the frame, not attached to the motor. I figured that would be bad.

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

Well, I really need some help with what I'm trying to do. I've been pulling my hair out and its really starting to piss me off with having to re-do things multiple times. Its just adding time and lots of money to the car.....anyways, I digress.

I'm trying to merge the passenger side header to the cross over pipe and I'm having a hard time figuring out how to do it. I got a hole saw and it works ok, actually not as good as I was hoping. Any ideas of how to extend the tube from the passenger header to the cross over pipe? If I could just get that to extend over I would have a good idea of where to drill the hole at. I know it seems pretty trivial but I have no ideas that will work well. help! please!

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Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

could you take a small straight edge and transfer the od of the pass. side over,do this in several spots around the pipe, would give you a close proximity of where you wanna put your hole Brad

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

Yeah I think that's what I'm going to have to do. I tried it once but it looked funky. I think I'll try it again though. Thanks for the reply.

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

Dont use a hole saw . I would take a piece of pipe and cut and grind until it fits , then mark the pipe it will attach to .

Sorry if I'm not explaining it right .

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

I would be thinking of putting a 90* onto the tube you have on the header, aiming to go into the turbo...You'll end up with a more natural flow path instead of a "T" like merge. At that point, a slice to just short of the centerline of each tube should get you what you need...Which is what Dave (blown385) was describing. Lorne

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

Good info. What you don't see is that there is a very short piece that I cut from a 180* U bend. So it technically isn't quite a "T" merge which is what I was trying to avoid. It will flow into the merge a little nicer than just a straight shot. Sorry I didn't list that info. I think I'm going to get some construction paper and basically mimic the merge and cut/trim that until it looks good and then transfer that to the actual steel. Now that I think about it i can actually wrap the steel in the paper and just trace my line. I will post pictures of what I do and hopefully it works well.

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

I changed things around a bit. Here is what i came up with.

I took the day off work today to start on the exhaust and I'm hoping I can get most of it done today, at least so it fits under the car so I can pull this motor out for what I'm hoping is the last time.

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Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

Heres the cross over shortened up

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Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

Checking in--- Any progress?

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

Thanks for checking in. Yes there has been progress I have just been forgetting to post up. The headers and merge are 95% done, just needs some finishing grinding. The exhaust and down pipe is basically in the same boat, just need to add a turn down at the tail end and it will be done. I'm currently trying to re shape te inner fender again as I moved the turbo further out. I'm thinking of scraping the whole fender and starting from scratch and building a custom inner fender bent up on a brake. I can't find any sort of "custom" inner fender for a chevelle. Camaros and Novas you can find them all day. any ideas or links?????

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

I don't know of any you can buy. I've seen several over the years. One thing that adds difficulty is the curved fender lip. If you start your sheet higher than that you can square it up and brake it from there. Will take time and I would imagine more than one piece of sheet joined together.

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

i agree that it would probably take more than one sheet bent and then welded together. I was thinking of pulling off the fender right above the arch, almost where the hood fits down too. It's kind of hard to explain without a picture and pointing to it but if I make any progress in that area I will certainly post pictures. I might start with a cardboard mock up.

 

Re: 1970 chevelle, blowthrough 383 w/GT45 & 5 speed

I think starting on the flat part above the arch is a good place to start. Cardboard mock up is also a good method to use.