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Quote:

Originally Posted by The WidowMaker (Post 407525)

thanks buddy. and thanks again for the call. its guys like you that make this site great.

i dont really have any more pics of the build process, just where it sits now. i did most of the machine work with a wood router with the exception of the inside of the triangles. i cut the perimeter with the router and hoggged out the rest of the material with the mill. the top piece started as a flat 1/8" piece of aluminum. i routed a 90* V cut into the back to about half the depth. this allowed me to ease it over to the bends that i needed and kept them razor straight. i did however have an issue doing the same for the flares. different piece of aluminum, and no matter what i did as far as cut depth, the piece would split before hitting a 90* bend. i welded the back of them, but they no where near as easy as the main piece. im not sure if they were different grade metals or what, im just glad the 48" wide piece wasnt the tough one.

what still amazes me is how easy aluminum is to work with. i still cant weld worth crap, but you can knock the welds down and then clean them up with 80 grit on a block. not as fast as wood, but way faster than i would ever have thought. and i still cant believe the finished product turns out as good as it does after seeing it part way through the process with extra material lumped everywhere.

Thanks for the info. I'm gonna go back through and check the pictures/compare it to what you said. I've got a single turbo up front and I'm realizing that I may need to shift things around a lot more than originally planned with an intercooler/radiator/fans etc.

let me know if i can clarify anything. its hard to type, but would be really easy to show you in person. if you have a tig making the top piece is actually pretty simple. really time consuming, but simple. i also say this with never having take a car to a painter. they may bust my ass because of my finish work, but it looks good to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The WidowMaker (Post 407654)

****. I just now noticed you're in Huntington beach! I was just working in Long Beach for about 7 weeks and yesterday I came home for good. I would have LOVED to see your car in person- if that would have even been possible.

It's kind of hard to follow part of your last post about how you built it. I understand the large triangle piece which you did with a mill (which is completely bad ass) but initially I was referring to the top piece of the core support as you also described. I would be more inclined to fab one out of steel because for me it's a bit more forgiving. I'm going to go back to my shop tomorrow and do some brain storming. I really appreciate your help in trying to explain and help me.

the top piece isnt that difficult. i just made it wide enough to fit over the top piece of the core support. it drops down about 1.25" in the front and 3/4" in the rear to give it a clean look and to hide the back lip of the original core support. if i had to guess, its probably about 2.25" wide at the top. i was able to heat it with just a plumbing torch and get a nice radius drop down towards the ends.

i agree that sheet metal is easy to work with, but you cant beat the rigidity of the 1/8" aluminum and the ability to work the welds with just 80 grit on a block. there would be no way to sand out the welds as easily with sheet metal and i would fear the normal issues of grinding too thin with 18 ga. if i lose .030 on the 1/8" piece its no big deal at all. plus, the weight difference is minimal, but theres no warping or twisting etc... the bends dont affect the rest of the metal and it can be bolted down without denting as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The WidowMaker (Post 407732)

ahhh I gotcha. I didn't realize that the 1/8" aluminum just covers the stock steel piece. That makes since and I understand what you're saying about grinding aluminum vs. the mild steel. I'll have to try working with the AL a little more. How did you attach the aluminum to the stock steel? Is it just bolted at the ends under the fender? This last post totally cleared everything up, the "V" cut to make the 90* bend etc. all makes sense now. Thank you again.:cheers:

Glad to see your back making progress again.

Quote:

Glad to see your back making progress again.

thanks mike. and thanks again for the radiator. it looks bitchin

just a little update for today. i ended up getting the ends of the bottom piece welded on and smoothed out. now i just need to finish the back lip, weld the two pieces together and figure out how im going to mount the latch. its going to use the stock piece with some mods. more pics to come.

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_1460.jpg

here are the latest pics. its now one piece and the back lip is complete. i will work on the latch later this week and still need to add 2 more bolts into the grille and the bolts on the end of the closeout to the fender. the radiator is still just sitting on the metal, so it will come up ~1/4" to make it the same level as the closeout.

i also plan to call steve at RED about sleeving a block. still hunting for a gen IV aluminum 5.3 block that i can use. ive been convinced that theres no reason to pay for an ls2 or 3 only to sleeve it. im also going to start calling around again for some builders. im actually hoping i can find someone local instead of trying to play phone tag with texas just trying to get a quote.

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_1527.jpg
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_1528.jpg
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/a...i/IMG_1529.jpg

looking good. theres bound to be someone that is good with LS motors around you down there.