I may have a problem. Yet another unfinished turbo Sami?

[Scott Cee AKA 2drx4]

That setup should work pretty rad, even if it looks a bit like it came out of Lethbridge.

[Joe_the_ice_man]

Yeah, at least the housing is hidden behind the engine, looking at it in the light of day i think I'm gonna re do the piping once I get everything installed. I realized I have a PA pipe bender stashed away, but I dont know if I am brave enough to try aluminum, let alone if I have the right dies.

[arse_sidewards]

I'd bend it.

Bed the tube with layers of flashing, beer cans, whatever, if it doesn't fit right.

I've had the pins dent thin wall shit pretty readily so I'd go ahead and mod them to replace them with something with more area before even thinking about aluminum.

[Joe_the_ice_man]

Yeah, covering the rollers was something I had in mind too, was thinking I'd cut some steel tube lengthwise that it would bed into and run that against the rollers. And on that note, if I don't have a small enough die, I could probably use the pipe bender to make one.

Another thing a coworker suggested is to pack the tube with sand and tack a plate over each end to help keep it from collapsing

[arse_sidewards]

Yeah, covering the rollers was something I had in mind too, was thinking I'd cut some steel tube lengthwise that it would bed into and run that against the rollers.

I've thought about that. There was a picture of it floating around the internet back in the day but I can't find it now.

I think L channel might be a better move though. With a tube you have one line of contact down the center line. With L channel you'd have two lines of contact.

[Joe_the_ice_man]

I think L channel might be a better move though. With a tube you have one line of contact down the center line. With L channel you'd have two lines of contact.

That's a good thought, I have a lot more scrap angle iron than tube, so I may try that first.

[Joe_the_ice_man]

Well. Guess I gotta redo the thermostat housing too, it fits really well, until you try and install lines onto the heater core.

I have the engine physically present now and am working on peripherals

[Joe_the_ice_man]

There are a lot of things in this swap that make it seem like it was meant to be, for example, flywheel and transmission bolt up perfectly

Water pump inlet changes right over

Down to little things like evap lines hooking up and the main caps on the FWD 16v having threads for the RWD oil pump pickup.

[Joe_the_ice_man]

Crappy thermostat housing MK2.

It needed to be a lot lower profile if I wanted to keep a functioning heater core, which was kinda important to me, so start from scratch, but with the motor in the buggy this time.

This one WILL clear all my hoses and crap. And the thermostat will be even more accessible.

Again, still early in my aluminium/TIG learning, so please don't judge too hard.

[Joe_the_ice_man]

Finished the Methbridge coolant pipe MK2 after work today as well. The aluminum tube I have is stamped 6061, so I decided I wasn't brave enough to attempt bending it.

[Scott Cee AKA 2drx4]

As long as those welds hold pressure, it should all work minty enough, even if it looks like a modern art project.

[Joe_the_ice_man]

Honestly I'm more concerned about my gasket surfaces, though the last weld before the rad hose is a little questionable, being that I attempted to weld the old cast hose barb onto new tube...I boiled a lot of dross out of that puddle and even though the surface looks ok, I got a feeling theres porosity in there.

If I understand right, a cooling system shouldn't ever run more than 20psi anyway, right?

[Scott Cee AKA 2drx4]

It'll only make as much pressure as the radiator cap is rated for, plus a tad bit more due to pump pressure, restrictions, uneven heating, etc. So 15psi maybe. Honestly the pinholes will probably seal themselves up over a little while as long as you use tap water and they're not too big.

You can always lap the gasket surfaces on a sheet of glass that has some sandpaper taped to it. Slow, but it works.

[arse_sidewards]

You can always lap the gasket surfaces on a sheet of glass that has some sandpaper taped to it. Slow, but it works.

Use a belt sander for initial flattening. Find adjustment from there can be done by hand.

[Joe_the_ice_man]

Belt sander ain't a bad idea, I'd just have to dig it out of the basement. As far as final lapping, I have an actual surface plate I can use, used it on heads in the past... Honestly the biggest issue is convincing myself to take the time for all that because I lack patience.