Adoom

Got some motivation to continue with the exhaust manifold. I'm just gonna do a log on the passenger side because there's no steering shaft to try get around. Hopefully that doesn't make the exhaust sound weird. Did just a little bit of welding and realised Argon is on empty! Fuuuuck, I only just filled up the week before xmas. At 8L/m that's about 3.5 hours of solid welding.... have I really done that much?! Not sure if it's worth the effort of using mandrel bends for the two middle runners.... they will only be 15-20mm long... is it going to make any difference if I just use straight pipe. I made a cone to step up the size, looks much better than that factory one where it seems like they just fill the gap with weld.

There it is on the engine. I may need to replace those straight fittings with 90's... I'll see when the engine is back in the hole.

Turns out they only needed to be angled a tiny bit. Trying to weld the bit in the middle is such a PITA, needs more tungsten stick out, but not enough gas coverage had to turn the amps up to 100 to get the puddle to start in the root of the gap. So shit was getting thermonuclear hot. There was some damage to the threads, but I cleaned them up with the tiny triangle file, and the sealing surface is still okay, so it will still seal. I had to mill some pockets for the nuts. And they both screw on. I did check that it still fits on the engine. Paint hasn't cured fully, I'll bolt it to the engine an a few days.

Good idea. I managed to sort it another way.

The original oil filter housing wants to be in the same space as the steering rack. So I decided to modify it and make it remote. This was my first attempt at aluminium welding, so it's a bit lumpy. It turned out okay. But I messed up drilling the engine side to straighten up the holes and cut into the sealing surface. So I had to make a new one. but it has a funny shaped figure 8 o'ring. So I had to break out the rotary table and use it for the first time. It turned out quite well. The holes are actually too close together for the AN fittings so I need to find some solution to that.

Posted in the discussion thread by mistake. Plasma cutter and carbide burr. Zip zap. It's in and diff is now self supporting. I still need to fill in the small square hole. And pull the diff out so I can finish welding the back.

Yeh, I'll probably do that.

The rear mount for the diff is a stud that goes into a bush that presses into a sleeve. This required the making of round things with holes. And a rectangle with round holes. It's not this blurry in real life...sigh. So this bush presses into the sleeve. I need to weld the sleeve into the subframe. Initially I was going to guess and progressively hack until the hole seemed in the right place. But then I had a better idea. I drilled and tapped some round bar so I could screw it onto the stud to extend it. Then made this extremely complicated block to hold my pen so I could draw the hole. I haven't decided what I will cut the hole with yet. Angle grinder and power file probably. I did think of making the hole with a hole saw, but I don't have one the right size and trying to make something to guide it seemed way more complicated than this method. My next trick will be to weld the sleeve in without warping it and making it impossible to press the bush in. Maybe if I press the bush in first and use compressed air to cool the weld while only doing short runs.

What a PITA to try get the pipe ends to fit properly. I'd get one end right, then the other end would be clocked wrong, or too short. I ended up using a too short pipe with one end that fitted correctly, then wrapped it in a thick paper sleeve which I could slide and twist and trim the end with a razor till the paper end fitted properly. Then I'd wrap the whole thing in another bit of paper to create a template to transfer to a fresh bit of pipe. It still took all day. Front of the diff is now supported by the cradle, not the jig. I've got to turn it over so I can finish the welds underneath. But it's too damn to hot be wearing overalls and a welding helmet in the shed now.

I welded in some flat plates where I will build some three sided pyramids out of tube to support the diff cradle thing. And here are some pictures of the drive flanges, just because. And I have been paying attention to how the diff will go in. I have not made it so it will be impossible to remove.

Is it possible to fit spacers under the steering rack, to lift it up in relation to the balljoint? That should have the same effect.

Have you seen the LVVTA bumpsteer docs on this page? https://www.lvvta.org.nz/documents.html#infosheets There are two of them almost half way down. I made a more budget version of this bumpsteer gauge. Make your pins 575mm apart so you get the same readings as you would with the LVVTA tool. This lets you do one side at a time. The LVVTA device requires you to measure both sides simultaneously.

I made some round things with holes in them. Then made different round things with threaded holes in them. Then zip zapped them together. Then I joined them together with a more different round thing with holes in it. It is the start of the diff.... cradle? thing which will be about here. It's currently still thermonuclear, hence the holding aid. I worked out that I needed to narrow the subframe a further 50mm if I wanted to actually fit tires on my wheels. Which I do... I think I've narrowed it a total of 250mm. Because the diff sits off center, I needed to make some clearance for the inner CV flange, just on one side. Damn thing really wants to become a pretzel from all the welding, one corner of the frame has lifted 5mm off the table, but I can flatten it out just by standing on it. So It's got ALL the clamps. Hopefully once the diff cradle is done, it will brace it enough to keep it flat.

Cut out the rust. Stole a bit from the other car. Then spent what must have been HOURS getting it to fit properly. I did minimal linishing at the back because it's hidden behind the dash. Then I cut out a new bit for the front and spent another age getting it to fit.

Fuck I hope I don't ever need to remove this.

Found what was causing the intermittent wire feed when I used 0.6mm. Turns out the drive motor can move a little on it's mounting bolts, 10 or so years of tightening the roller had shifted the drive wheel down a little bit so the mechanism bottoms out before it's tight enough for the thinner wire. Fixed now. YAY! It was so frustrating. Zip zap. Got rid of the ugly seam flange thing. Welded inside first. Then cut off the flange and welded the outside. Then linished and used the knotted wire brush to show up any gaps I missed. Then weld and repeat until no gaps. I also welded up some rivet and bolt holes that are no longer required. I need to cut some round patches for the original heater pipe holes because I've relocated them. I've also welded in the modified cross member, but the photo was blurry. I still need to make some filler bits for the 'corners'.

Since I had decided on the path the extractors needed to go to miss the steering, I decided to take the engine out and do the rest of the extractors on the engine stand. I have some stuff to do while it's out. Like fix the one rusty bit on the firewall. Clean up the rest of the tar seam sealer. Remove the big seam where the firewall joins the transmission tunnel, this will get me a bit more room around the back of the engine. I also cut out part of the cross member that makes it really hard to install the gearbox and temporarily tekscrewed in the modified section I made several posts back. Was a filthy job. I was getting showered with dirt and grinding dust. Fortunately it was cold, so I could wear overalls and a beanie and safety glasses and ear defenders without dying of heat exhaustion.

Is it 1/2" Whitworth? Slightly larger than 1/2" UNF.

I was grinding them sharp. Like in image 'A'. I also tried different tapers. But the arc would always fuck off to the side, it didn't matter what what current level. Then I ground them like 'B' with a flat on the end, it's less than a mm. That has given me a consistent arc.

This shit takes fucking ages to do. There's no way I could afford to pay someone to do it. I made enough room to get at the engine mount bolt. Once the pipes are welded to the flange, I have to lift the engine slightly to get the flange over the studs because it hits the chassis rail. I'm aiming to be able to remove the engine with the exhaust attached. I don't even get a straight run through this gap. To keep clear of the universal, that pipe is rotated towards the block, then I can use ~25mm straight before a 14 degree bend. Then a bit more straight I think.

The issue was my grind on the electrode, I'd ground it to a sharp point. I ground a small flat on the end and the arc was much better. But I did think of the magnet issue. I thought it might have been my fitbit, so tried taking that off too.

I've made a start on the convoluted snake nest that will be the exhaust manifold. The steering shaft and engine mounts are leaving me with fuck all options. I also have to avoid blocking any bolts that will make it impossible to install the exhaust. That rear stud needs to be replaced with a bolt, it only clears the universal joint by a few mm. The only direction the two rear ports can go is under the steering shaft. To do that I have to make pie-cut bends, the smallest donuts are too big. They will merge right away into a 2" pipe, then there will be a v-band clamp. The two front ports also merge into a 2" pipe then there is a v-band clamp. There will be a 2" pipe running under the engine mount that joins the two v-bands, then crosses over to the other bank in the gap between the sump and bellhousing. There will be another v-band just before the cross over pipe merges with the 2" pipe from the other bank. The two 2" pipes from each bank will merge into the final 2.5" pipe. Here's my start on the piping for the front two ports. The v-band won't be exactly there, it's just precariously balanced for the photo. My tig welding has improved a little since I started.

I tried relocating the earth so it was connected to the pipe rather than my "welding table"(a bit of 25mm steel plate). It appears that grinding a small flat on the end of the electrode has sorted it.

Yes, positive ground. I have ground them like the top picture, but I have a point, not a flat. I have come across conflicting information whether there should be a point or a flat end at low currents. I will try it with a flat tip today. Hopefully that's it,.

So I have a DC tig welding issue. I'm still new to tig. I'm trying to weld some mild steel exhaust tube, so it's 1.6mm thick. The arc is not shooting straight out the end of the electrode, it's pissing off at an angle, about 45 degrees. If I get it REALLY close to the puddle, it looks like it's straight, but really, it's still at an angle. I'm using 30-35 amps. I've made sure I have a good connection with the ground clamp. I've cleaned the work with acetone. I've tried striking an arc on a thick steel plate and turning up the amps to 170. But it's still doing it. I assumed it was the grind on the electrode. I tried regrinding it by hand. I tried turning it in the drill while grinding it on the bench grinder. I've tried a really sharp point and a not so sharp point. I've tried a different electrode. I've tried a shorter stick out. It all seems to make no difference. WTF else should I try?