Mallard Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 I'll start this thread by telling the story of why I bought my car and what the plans were, then I'll get on to the pictures. Having recently graduated from college (2005), working in the auto industry, and living in the Detroit area I wanted to buy a sports car and I was adamant on buying an American product. When I saw the Sky at the auto show I was very impressed with the style and called a local dealership to put down a deposit. I took delivery in May of 2006 and immediately started planning/mocking up my turbo kit. My intention was to produce this in volume as a high end kit. I took on a "business partner" who was very knowledgeable but not very organized. After over a year we ceased communication and I was left with an exhaust manifold prototype that did not fit properly and an array of random parts I had purchased. I started the project over, on my own, in the fall of 2007. I worked with a great company on the new manifold. I made the necessary changes to make it fit properly and everything was moving steadily. I had the fuel system, pipe routing, intercooler mounting/placement, and tuning all worked out. The car was going to be completed in late 2008/early 2009. Then the market fell out. In one week my wife lost her job, my daily driver died, and my job was threatened. Sadly, I had to get rid of the Sky. The project was left unfinished. Maybe someday I'll buy another Kappa used and finish the kit. At least that will give me some closure. On with the pics! Here are pictures of the first prototype. I was using a V-band flange on the manifold with a TiAL V-band stainless steel exhaust housing (GT2860). NO GASKETS! This required an external wastegate, which fit snugly between the turbo and head. This design was abandoned because I did not feel the tight placement of the wastegate could not be guaranteed with production variance. http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h92/mallard1055/DSC02949.jpg http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h92/mallard1055/DSC02950.jpg http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h92/mallard1055/DSC02948.jpg http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h92/mallard1055/P1000360.jpg I made the decision to switch to an internal wastegate in order to simplify the packaging and manifold design. This required me to change the merge collector in order to fit the new flange. The turbo placement changed slightly too, since I could pull the turbo closer to the head (and away from the power steering reservoir). Here's the completed manifold when it was tacked together. I'll have to get some pics of it now that it's done. http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h92/mallard1055/P1000806.jpg http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h92/mallard1055/P1000810.jpg http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h92/mallard1055/P1000807.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excell Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Sorry to hear the news Phil. I hope you get it together sooner than you think (or hope)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boosted98gst Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Sweet little project, hope it all comes together for you. BTW who did the manifolds? They look pretty darn good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted November 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Sorry to hear the news Phil. I hope you get it together sooner than you think (or hope)! Thanks. Things have started to look up. I got rid of the Sky almost a year ago now. My wife started a new job about 6 weeks ago and my job seems more secure. Maybe someday I'll buy another Kappa and finish this, or I might just moe on to other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excell Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Maybe someday I'll buy another Kappa and finish this, or I might just moe on to other things. I hate to even say this... but do you feel it's worth it now that they've effectively killed the Kappa? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted November 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 I hate to even say this... but do you feel it's worth it now that they've effectively killed the Kappa? Probably not, although when the 2.4L cars start getting cheap used, there may be a market for it. Otherwise, it's too small of a market and would only be good for exploring the limits of the powertrain, develop a good solution for the 2.0L SIDI (een though there are already quite a few people working on this), etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slimpsy1647545505 Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h92/mallard1055/DSC02948.jpg Sorry to hear about the series of unfortunate events man. Always liked your sky, I even did the sig for you if you remember =) On a side note, that picture looks dirty. But perhaps I'm just a perv. Here's to you gettin back on track! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin R. Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 On a side note, that picture looks dirty. But perhaps I'm just a perv. didn't notice that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImUrOBGYN Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 didn't notice that Neither did I and I'm definitely a perv. By default, then yes, Rob, you are a perv, as well.,,,,,,,, Just wanted to add some more commas,,,,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSUGT Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 that last pic needs to be on the closing credits of "SuperBad" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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