making turbo manifolds from scratch

[TomsMR2]

for mild steel manifolds.. what are you guys using?

i can weld 1/4 steel... maybe a bit thicker, im not positive.

so i was planning on getting a 1/4 inch thick strip of steel, tracing the flange and drilling it out. then welding unequal tubes to a flange, top mount style.

things i should look out for? suggestions? too thin? thanks

[WDRacing]

Needs to be bigger then 1/4 inch I think, I'll ask my metals tech guy tonight and get back with on that.

WD

[TomsMR2]

.. thinking about it.. i think i can go thicker than that, regardless of the welder. i think i can go upto 1/4in on the actual runners (which is overkill :P). i think i could run a 10 inch thick (theoretically) flange with up to 1/4 inch runners and the weld would hold.. i think.

if you could get a definate answer tho, that'd be really helpful, thanks WD

[cfinch]

http://www.sdsefi.com/techheader.htmIm building my header similar to that the bends cost me about $5-6 each 12 - 90s and 2 45s i needed 4 of the 45s and 10 90s but i spent all day finding a piping place that caried them and thats all they had. I had a local shop order me the flanges for my car for $55 for both. It wound up being about $135 alot better than $5-600 and all you need is to weld it all together. I get my flanges friday and start working on it ill post up some pics of how it goes.

[hannibal]

This site sells manifold kits. It comes with the exhaust flange, 2 90 bends, 2 T sections, and the turbo mounting flange. You just gotta weld it together. IIRC, it uses 1/4" thick piping.http://www.iboost.orgSite is under construction. Not a whole lot of info.

[SingleCamSam]

What kind of welders are you guys using for this? I have a handler 175amp MIG welder, think it'll make strong enough welds for a manifold?

[TomsMR2]

^ thats enough to melt your manifold in half.

[WDRacing]

My buddy says 1/4 will work but he'd use somthing thicker do to thermal expansion and what not. Also, make sure you cut some thermal reliefs inbetween each runner.

WD

[U12 2NR]

iboost seems to be garbage...most of it isn't functioning. good luck getting a phone number to call. anyway jgstools.com sells unfinished log manifolds. they also sell the head flange, which i bought, it's worth every cent. now all i have to do is the tubing, which i've already done, i just need to weld it up. tracing out your own flange is rather easy, but i didn't want to be bothered with having to drill the holes (don't have a drill press), nor machining it to be flat.

[TomsMR2]

im gonna drill the holes with a hand drill....

[U12 2NR]

it's a bit more tricky than that man, if you're talking about SOHC KA. You can't use use a strip of metal, it has to be cut to make space for the spark plug wires. Using a regular drill will work, but if you see the CNC cut one from JGS tools, you would ditch that idea instantly, guaranteed. 1/2" thick stainless steel, perfectly matched holes.

[95_240sx]

I have a JGS on my car and it is extremely high quality, except i couldnt get my turbo to fit without modifying the flanges they give you to weld onto the manifold to let them set down higher up.

Rick

[SSS]

im gonna drill the holes with a hand drill....

Go and spend the money on a bench top drill press. They're not that expensive.

[TomsMR2]

a hole is a hole is a hole. why do you think a press would do any better of a job? granted, its easier, but thats about it.

[TomsMR2]

some clown is always like "oH YoU NeEd SpEcIaL ToOls To Do It!!1" . then people believe that. soon people are gonna think you need full CNC lathes to change your oil.

[SSS]

Sorry TomsMR2, i just thought that for the $40-50 USD you can buy a reasonable bench top press that would make the job go heaps quicker and would be a bit more accurate, less time you have to spend with a die grinder on the flange later on.

[Xero]

wait, you DON'T needa CNC lathe to change your oil? DAMN!! what about a mill? can a CNC mill change your oil?

BTW, you CAN do it with a a drill, but the mill is still gonna be more accurate, I wouldn't want my hole to be off center and have a nasty exhaust leak at the manifold,

HOWEVER!!!! just make a jig, for those that don't know what a jig is, it's a fixture that guides the cutting bit, a fixture just holds a part down (gotta love being a Machinist, huh?) just make sure that hole going where you want it, take the time to do it right the first time,

[SSS]

Yes. yes, that would work too. :rockon I would probably go down that path Xero, all depending on how much i was charged for it.

[U12 2NR]

JGS flange:

http://www.hipershine.com/Stan...1.jpg

http://www.hipershine.com/Stan...2.jpg

http://www.hipershine.com/Stan...3.jpg

I'd like to see hand tools do that.

Why spend money on tools (even a drill press) unless you'll need to use it again down the line? I don't like to buy tools to only use them once. For the price of a drill press you can have the JGS flange already cut perfectly. Anyway..making your own keeps costs down so best of luck.

[Xero]

Yes. yes, that would work too. :rockon I would probably go down that path Xero, all depending on how much i was charged for it.

just make a jig, don't pay someone to do it, or am I misunderstanding your post,

[IowaSilvia_S13]

people with no mechanical inclination need not apply to this thread. If your not a tool maker, cnc machinist, etc. Shut the F up. You don't have a clue. Don't buy a drill press and try to make your own flange. You'll prolly get hurt free floating a 1" hole in it any ways. I'll start making them for you at work and sell them to you. I'll profit and you can buy .. how's that

[Xero]

personally, I looked at the JGS Tools manifold, and that's what I'm going with, $250 and I can mount it any damn way I please, top mount, bottom mount, whatever,

[IowaSilvia_S13]

yeah.. but you're a machinist right? no prob. for you or me to do that...

[U12 2NR]

iowasilvia..you're one cool guy. i wanna become a machinist just like you, but i gotta study hard. wish me luck.

[Xero]

but this is a thread about making manifolds from scratch, so I'd assume that people would have some sort of mechanical or fabricating skillz, then again, Iunno, I see where your coming from, thank god I chose this as a major, woo!! start college this fall, woo!! already got 450hours, woo!!

[TomsMR2]

im confident in my fabricating skill... maybe i dont do it the *right* way, but its my way, and it works

if the end product works, i dont care how i got there lol.

and $40 drill presses? i was under the impression they were in the hundreds... you cant even find a decent hand drill for 40 bucks, much less a press.

[TomsMR2]

i dont post in your toilet, dont **** in my thread

[Xero]

if your gonna do it yourself, my suggestion is a jig, or something so you know that the hole won't be off at some odd angle, and not make a good seal with the head, but it can be done with a hand drill, it'll come out fine,

and yes, drill presses that are worth anything are pretty expensive,