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Then each tube could be sealed off, back purged with Argon, and fully seam welded. Once each tube was leak free it was then welded into the flanges and collectors.
Ryan even installed the "cones" inside the merge collectors, for that last little bit of flow. The headers were quickly installed shortly after being final welded, so I didn't get the "glamor shots" they deserved. But no matter - they are done!
DRIVESHAFT BUILT & INSTALLED
We measured for a custom driveshaft to fit this E46 with a T56 Magnum and the 8.8" diff housing. When we went to install it, we found we had left the factory brackets for the 2-piece BMW propshaft's center bearing and they were in the way of the fat 3" diameter aluminum driveshaft.
A little spot weld drilling and some cutting removed the offending brackets, which we didn't need in any case. Much bigger diameter driveshaft stuffed up as high as possible to give exhaust clearance in this tunnel.
With the newly acquired input flange for the pinion added (per our driveshaft company's recommendation for the torque this unit will see) the driveshaft was bolted in place. One step closer to moving under its own power.
OIL LINES BEING BUILT
With an external, 4-stage dry sump oil pump, remote oil tank, twin oil coolers, and a breather tank this car will need a lot of oil lines run over the course of weeks. Since we are already a dealer for Fragola, and to save some time, we did not farm this plumbing work out like we sometimes do.
Ryan designed an oil system routing and made us a parts list, then we ordered a boat load of AN fittings, hoses ends, and hose. After various components were mounted the hoses were built one by one, tested, and installed.
Instead of boring you with a lot of step by step pictures of hoses being made, let's move on.
CHASSIS WIRING
Speaking of exciting, let's look at a bunch of pictures of custom chassis wiring! I have dozens!
I'm kidding, of course. Not many people like working on automotive wiring, much less building it, or watching it being built. But we do have a lot of pictures of this progress to show the customer as this work stretched out for a bit.
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