Tinman

I was picturing a twisted x-pipe, but I look forward to seeing more of your progress. Still excited to hear it.

That was my initial idea as well but it would have caused two issues. First, I would be locked into that particular X pipe and I want to experiment with different styles of X pipes in the future so I want the collector section of the exhaust to end in two flanges so different X pipes can be fabbed and installed without changes to the system beyond the X. Secondly, it would mean tying all 8 cylinders into a large section that would make it difficult to make a 8 slip fit sections at once. By going a different route, I will be able to make four slip fit connections at a time, hopefully making install and future work on the car easier.

The twisted X pipe will still exist as plan B and the way this is going, I may need a longer alphabet to label all the plans needed.

No one makes a 3 1/2" x 2 1/8" oval to 2 3/4" round transition let alone one flat on two sides. So, sheet metal, portaband, 4 1/2" angle grinder and press brake go to work.

Tacked up and ready to weld to the oval mandrel bends that begin the transition from stacked collectors to side by side pipes that will then transition to the X pipe.

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If anyone reading this is understanding how this will happen, I feel for you because your mind might be as twisted as mine. For those that have no idea what is about to happen, good for you. It shall become clear soon.

 

Evidently the biggest mover of GM parts besides GM

 

https://sdparts.com/

 

They are very nice pieces. Too nice for my build in fact-thats why Im selling them!

Ah, those gents. Link to the specific heads?

Merge collectors near done. I'll have to wait to weld the seams in the oval megaphone until the next section is at least tacked on to prevent tear dropping the seams. My desk job is taking a toll on my welding. Not a lot of torch time in the past 5 years and I'm a bit rusty, but it's coming back.

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How does that flat collector compare to the commonly-used "square" collector? It seems to have a volume that's quite large which acts as an expansion chamber. Could it be shaped like a "flat venturi" to reduce turbulence?

 

I must say that I like the top-notch craftmanship. Press on.

Thanks.

The internal volume of the collector is very close to a stacked or square collector, maybe 5-10% larger but that should work to it's favor as there is an increase in surface area that would cause a little slow to the flow.

So...that's where the noise and flames comes out...

I prefer, music and optically identifiable heat:)

A little progress. Both Collector merges tacked up.

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I'm surprised no one has asked how I'm going to weld the tubes together where they first meet at the merge. They are too close together to make a full weld around the outside and there is no way to get a torch through the 1 5/8" x 3 1/4" oval exit to weld on the inside... Pencil torch!

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Made a sample megaphone from 16ga. carbon steel at work to make sure it would work. Plasma cut on our CNC plasma table from our Vulcan ductwork and fitting software and then step broke up in our press brake. 1 3/4" x 3 1/2" o.d. to 2 1/8" x 3 1/2" o.d. to match the oval tubing I plan to use to start the X pipe with. First shot and after the tubes are trimmed to length, it should fit perfect. I'll make two more from 16ga. 304 stainless without the nasty brake mark notches tomorrow.

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Putting the jig to work one tube at a time.

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That's one tacked up. Beer was required for the tedious fitting. Cut, grind, true up on the belt sander, check on the jig, repeat again and again and.....

Not much of an exciting update. Just the start of the jig for the 4 into 1 flat merge collectors.

Some 1 3/4" round 6061 bar stock sliced, faced, drilled, and tapped on my work's metal lathe.

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Attached to a scrap piece of 3" x 3" x 3/8" angle iron.

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The pieces bent and expanded by Tubular Techniques before they are cut to merge.

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And the beginning of the layout for the jig for cutting the pieces.

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Hopefully some good progress to come this weekend...

Thanks again for all the compliments gents.

Plan B in effect, Steve at Tubular Techniques got these bent and flared for me,

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4 at 20 degrees and 4 at 7 degrees... and 2 more of each because i know I'll screw some up along the way.

Going with 4 into 1 flat collectors. I looked briefly but not too hard for off the shelf flat collectors but came up with nada. Probably because I did not look to hard, wanted to make them myself because at 40 I have almost a full head of hair and thought is was time to pull some out in frustration.

When you're done, would you think there could be a market for these done in titanium?

Possibly, but not for me. I hate making things more than once. The first challenge and execution are absolute bliss, anything after that is the ultimate in boredom. I don't even dip my french fries in ketchup equally each time, I need a new flavor mixture in each bite.

Will a slight difference in length really effect sound that much?

 

And man- I have to tell you the SOUND is worth the effort. WOW!

I was looking at a 3" difference. Might not make a difference in sound and maybe negligible in performance but neither am I willing to compromise to that extent.

After hearing the difference from the unequal length and the equal length headers I built for the 3800 V6 in the FC, I'm thinking there is quite a bit to keeping the tubes equal. It went from sounding good for a 90 degree V6 to sounding quite good for any engine let alone one of the worst sounding configurations known to modern motoring that is the 90 degree V6.

Agreed, all of the headaches are worth it for the music possibly at hand.

Primary tube #3 complete.

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And damn! #1 primary at it's shortest route would end up a touch over 40" long. Making the #1 primary the priority, the #5 will suffer the same fate. And looking to the passenger side I fear problems will be worse due to the spark plug angle. I've had plan B on the back burner, time to incorporate it. This will happen no matter how many headaches caused or beers drank pondering possibilities.

Impressive. Hopefully you're able to eliminate any noise from the pipes vibrating and hitting each other.

 

 

Can't wait to hear the end result

Thanks. Once they are all tied together they should be fine. I am a bit worried about header to frame contact as the motor rocks, might need to go with stiffer motor mounts if it becomes an issue.

Awesome Job, Matt. Is this Rob's?

Thanks. Nope, this one is mine. Picked up an 03 Z06 back in October.

Version 1.2

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At this point all four driver side primaries are past the pinch point and left long, trimming will be done tube by tube as they make their way towards the header flange. The bottom of the #5 tube will end up around 1/2" below the oil pan which does bother me but I knew concessions would need to be made to make it happen.

Dude...that sounds AWESOME! Chevy SB2 with a Ford 4-speed?

Thanks. Jerico 4 speed actually.

Matt,

 

I like the idea and the noises generated very much.

 

One thing that comes up in my mind is thermal insulation. The tunnel area, for some reasons, transfers a significant amount of heat into the cabin. The exact cause is unknown to me, but I think it was from the convection from the engine bay and then was aggravated by the two exhaust pipes under the tunnel plate. With increased combined surface area of four primaries in each side, I suspect there would be a significant increase in heat transferred into the cabin.

 

By how much is ground clearance reduced by stacking the primary pipes in such fashion? Does the lowest point of the collectors still sit above the frame rails? Would a "tri-Y" design simplify and reduce the plumbing while keeping the same objective?

Ever since I purchased it I have been reading on the Corvette forums about the tunnel heat issue. These have a similar surface area to a set of longtubes so I'm not too concerned with heat, if I do have problems cooking the interior I will look into some shielding and insulation.

Ground clearance is not a problem at the collectors, they are higher than the floorboards. I am having issues where the primaries wrap around the bellhousing to block mating area and the #5 tube will probably end up 1/2" lower than the oil pan. I will also run into issues with the #6 tube as it crosses under the top four, I'm guessing it will be 1/2" lower as well.

Damn Matt, I noticed the beard first

 

The car does sound amazing, though.

The beard is where my wizardly powers come from.

I distinctly remember when Sterling Marlin showed up in the mid 90's at Daytona with these headers and it was the talk of the 500 that year. Car sounded awesome and if memory serves he even won that year.

 

Excited to continue to follow this.

I remember that as well. Not sure how well they would do with long primaries at the 9000+ RPM they spin at now. Would be awesome to hear a full field of 43 cars with 180 degree headers screaming down the front stretch of a super speedway.

Next step, driver side primary routing. Cylinders 1,3,5,and 7 will enter the top of the collectors. 1 and 7 on the driver side and 3 and 5 into the passenger side. Afterwards the passenger side cylinders will enter the collectors. 4 and 6 to the driver side and 2 and 8 into the passenger side.

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Damn! Failure #1. With this configuration the #3 primary length can not be kept at 38"... Version 1.2 to follow.

That sounds crazy! Are those collectors welded to those braces? Also, holy beard man..

The brace is just a jig to locate the collectors. New hangers will be made to support the forward section of the exhaust.

Yea, the beard damn near got sucked down the throttle body. Need to tie that fucker up before it catches fire when welding.

To make as much room as possible, I ground the bellhousing cover exhaust bracket bosses off and countersunk the mounting bolt holes and used flathead allen bolts from https://www.mcmaster.com/#

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