I compiled some of the Updates I posted on local sites as I was building the car. Here's some of what went into it:
Well, one of the most complicated steps of installing the turbos was designing and fabricating the wastegate boxes.
To start, I used long thin bolts and a series of nuts to attach the turbos while being able to slide them up and down the length of the bolts to mock up the right distance and angles needed. The object was to determine what dimensions would work equally well for both sides while locating the turbos symmetrically in the engine bay as much as possible. This step was the most involved. But once done right, the same angles could be used to build both boxes. This is more complicated than it seems as the final angles are kinda complicated. I was working on 3 axis and the two flanges do not sit level with one another.
After a long time of measuring, scratching my head, and re-measuring- I presented the challenge to my cousin, Sean, to make the design a reality. He tacked together a mockup as a base version which I used to measure and re-measure again. After some minor changes, I settled on the final design and angles and it was ready to begin the real fabricating. We went up to his work, LG Motorsports, and got to work.
Starting with a 3" round tube, cut to length, he cut the precise angles into the ends. Since I already had the flanges from PT&E we needed to match the round tube to the rectangular openings in the flanges and turbos. To do this, he used a body hammer and angle iron to shape the round tube perfectly to fit. In the mean time, I was cleaning and tapping the flanges, foreseeing that the design left little space for nut/bolt combinations.
What we had now were two center sections with flanges, which were exactly the same. Since the turbos don't have a right and left side, simply flipping one box over for the other side mounts the turbos equally, and precisely opposite.
After assigning the boxes to their respective sides, Sean took a hole saw and cut out openings for the actual wastegate tubes and flanges. They're basically at 45 degree angles from the the headers and follow the lines of the inner fenders and tuck under the hood, while making sure to aim the outlet side towards the rear (note: the HKS wastegate flanges are NOT square and need to be installed appropriately).
I bolted up the turbos and boxes and everything fits perfectly. All the measuring and planning fell into place as the turbos are situated symmetrically in their place.
I then took it all apart again and dropped them off with my brother-in-law, Brandon, to grind all the seams and welds smooth in preparation for ceramic coating (being unemployed right now, he has time to do a good job on such a silly detail).