Ok, The question is a lil hard to answer, But what I need are some pictures of turbo headers, the only ones i have found on the net are in cars already and that doesn't really help me. I am trying to get my single turbo setup going here, What I have though about doing is taking a set of headers that went to say a chevy or a ford, cutting the flanges and TIG welding the buick flanges that I made up, Hopefully there will be the need to bend the headers only a small but, I know that is never the case. Thanks for any replies Robert
Go here > http://www.thedinosaurgang.com/grnsheet.htm and click on "headers". Buy a box of bends and two collectors or even fab your own collectors. It will probably be eaiser than making something else work and it will end up just the way you want it.
Hey Alan, That was was pretty much what i needed, i see your using a 4 bolt turbo that was my idea also. I also saw your turbo picture what type of down pipe are you using, something like a terry houston like what is on my grand national or your own custom version that you bent up. Are you able to keep your AC or with running twins it had to go? And one more thing about how many trial fits did you have to make before they came out like they did "they do look great and like you put some serious time in them" which i don't mind since i plan on doing this the right way the first time. Sorry for all the questions Thanks Robert
For the down pipe I used 3" truck exhaust. You can buy 90 and 45 bends, and straight pipe. They also have much larger sizes! I suppose I could have worked around the AC, but I chose to remove it. I may do things a little different on the next one. I bolted the bare flanges to the heads, decided where the turbos needed to go, then connected the dots. :laugh: I work about 2 or three sections out. The box of bends is just that, a big box of all kinds of bends, from just a little to past 90. Once I decide that a tube needs to go in a certain direction I'll pick one out the box that comes the closest to what I'm looking for (if possible!). Then I form the end of the tube to fit the flange (possibly the toughest part of the whole process). Tack that tube to the flange and then start cutting other bends as you need them and tapng them together. 3M masking tape works well for this and will hold the sections tightly. Once you know the sections are where you want them, cut a little section of the tape away and tack the tube together in 2 or 3 places. (Looks like I started writing a novel, may as well continue!) You'll find that there will be some sections of tube you can't get to and weld. Before tacking the whole thing together remove the tube at the tape joint and weld these areas. "Witness lines" will help line up tubes that you can't tape on the car or you know you'll need to remove and replace. While holding the section in place, mark 2 or 3 lines from one tube to the other with a sharpie. Unbolt the flange and then you can line the sections up using the marks away from the car. Always try to make the cuts perpendicular to the tube, even in the bends. Imagine you are cutting from the center of a circle out. If you need to remove a little from the end of a section tin snips do a good job. A belt sander can be used to square up the end of a section that's been cut with tin snips or a hack saw. Hack saw! Use a fine tooth blade and a quality one at that. I like Lennox blades, they are tough to break. When you cut a tube in the middle of a bend, the cut end won't be round because of the stress in the bend. You can squeeze the end in a vise to help make it more round or use C-clamp vise grips when welding two sections together to make them match up. Use a deburring tool to remove sharp edges from inside the tubing. The ends of the tubes will have been cut with a tubing cutter and are too thin to weld effectively. Cut these back a little to remove the end. A small trailer hitch ball can be used in a vise (along with a fair sized hammer!) to help shape the opening in a section if needed. A small piece of metal the size of the exhaust port (about 1" x 2"???) and about 1" tall that is sloped in on all 4 sides (a stretched triangle?) will help form the tubes that mate to the flanges. Have it where it can be mounted in a vise also. I know you didn't ask for all that, but once I started it was hard to stop! ou: I'm not a "header expert" by any stretch, I just found out it was something I could do and I actually enjoyed it. If you have any questions, I may not have the "right" answer, but I can tell you what worked for me!
Alan I was going to pm you, but since someone else asked this question about a single turbo design... I was wondering about keeping the driver's side cast iron header and having it connected to a custom header on the passenger side. The custom header would place the turbo in about the same neighborhood as the battery (which would be relocated). It would be ceramic coated inside and out and snake under the AC compressor. I got the idea from looking at a Grand National setup and thought of a way to modify it for a v-8. Let me know what you think. Another perspective can help me catch any holes in my idea.
My guess would be to keep both sides the same. Both sides cast iron or both sides header. Not sure how flow inequalities would affect the engine, may not even be a problem. Could you do a 180 turn from the cast manifold on the passenger side and have the drivers side feed into it? This should be a little cheaper, also!
Hey guys, Using the cast manifolds was going to be my idea at first but, I wasn't sure I would get the flow I wanted even if I did some heavy porting. I could be wrong on this and kind hope i am after having the last week off, and looking at it from different ways i can make it work with the stockers instead of making my own set of headers and have a front mount intercooler like on my GN, Most likely going with the giant powerstroke ford one :grin: . Robert
Thanks for the feedback Alan. I wondered about flow myself. I'm betting that because they merge into one it will work out ok. If I'm right about your 180 suggestion, I thought of that too. Would it involve having a U-bend (or something like it) from the exit point of the passenger side? My concern was about flow and space. If anyone can think of a way to use both stock exhaust manifolds, I say go for it provided it's done right. Cast iron is fantastic for a turbo setup. It's heavy, but VERY tough. I was thinking of a log type manifold myself. The passenger side exhaust would enter at it's rear. The exit would be the part that snakes under the A/C compressor. I've seen a similar design for a Chevy single turbo manifold. Check Maximum Boost at the bottom of page 118 to see what I mean. As for a FMIC, I was wondering if some of the oval shaped tubing from Spintech would fit under the core support without being vulnerable to speed bumps etc. If not, I plan to go with water injection.
Hey alan (heres what I'm sure will be a dumb question), where can I get a box of bends? What sizes can I get them in 2.5", 3"? Thanks.
I go to the local round track place and he orders them, I think they come from Schonfeld? but I can't remember. I'll need to check. Heres one place online; http://www.stahlheaders.com/Frame Tubing.htm Click on "Bending Mistakes" near the top of the page. I'll post some more places for header parts later!
I know Alan is using a Big Block for his set-up,but I've always thought it would be real neat to use a complete GN set-up on a 350 Buick as the V-6 is just a 350 with two cylinders lopped off.The mild steel tubing headers from a stock GN may just need the extra tube for the additional cylinder welded in on each side. The factory pass. side Turbo V-6 manifold recieves the exhaust from the driver's side in the NORMAL exit location and actually exits into the turbo at the upper front. The hardest part of this deal would be comeing up with a suitable intake manifold.
