The fabrication thread.
 

Here is a thread I am starting to showcase the fellow fabricators here on the forum. Post up your legitimate fabrication projects.

rules:
No lame projects (weld on muffler, bolt in cage, silvia fronts, stupid stuff)
Be informative to help others with their projects.
Showcase the production process (before, during, after)
Constructive critisism only.

I will post up some more interesting things once i get my camera from work and upload the images. I will post pics of some aluminum valve covers I made for a gt40, chassis modifications, roll cage fabrication and DIY help tips, welding pics and tips, custom 2-1/4'' headers I am making for the shop car, a 500 ci donovan fuel injected supercharged aluminum big block
(yes a real donovan)


If anyone has any questions for fab projects feel free to pm me if you think I can help out in anyway. Thanks.

Project: 69 Camaro pro touring.

mock up: (old iron block no blower)
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/DSC00739.jpg

Willwoods all around.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/DSC00740.jpg

Forgeline wheels.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/DSC00741.jpg

Custom air ride rear suspension. fabricated to hold coilovers.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/DSC00745.jpg

Yes that is a quick change on a street car.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/DSC00743.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/DSC00744.jpg

Custom fabbed t304 stainless gas tank. All tig welded.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/DSC00746.jpg

Custom subframe.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/DSC00756.jpg

Custom made subframe connectors. Now tig welded.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...t/DSC00755.jpg

I will post up action shots tomorrow.

good god.......awesome thread!

Those big chrome gills right in front of your rear wheel that serve NO purpose. Can't you remove them and weld up the holes, that would be some good fabrication.

Sorry the rear wheel vents are a trademark of the camaro, and eventhough the production can vents are only visual in purpose, they were added so that the factory team could use a functional piece. They are original and will stay in place. Besides.. I would not consider plugging some holes with a mig and sanding some bondo "fabrication".

nice project.. but that is a Ford 9", not a quick change..

Its a ford 9" fully gusseted with a quick change.

Huh? It's a ford 9" with a billet pinion support.. I am new to imports, but i've been around domestics a long time.. This is a quick change.. It's called a quick change because you can change the final drive ratio in about 5 minutes by taking that rear cover off and changing two little gears, but the ring and pinion stay the same..

that is true. Alot of circle track guys use those rear ends. I will double check the specs on our rear end tomorrow and let you know exactly what it is. From what I was told it was a quick change of some sorts.

I forsee this being a great thread. I think the thread rules should also state that it has to be the poster's fabrication. It shouldn't be some fab work that you happened to see on some random google search. This way real answers to questions about the fab work could be given. +1 to the op for a great thread idea.

Awesome thread! I am going to document the front diffuser, radiator duct, and brake/intake ducts that I am going to fab up for my front bumper. I'll be back soon!

Well I guess I could post up a turbo manifold I've helped built. This was on my car, then all of my turbo stuff got stolen :(, But anyway onto pictures. Here we are mocking up the turbo position.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...p/Turbo001.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...p/Turbo002.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...p/Turbo003.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26.../wg008copy.jpg
Here it is with runners and all welded up.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26.../gt3040002.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26.../gt3040005.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26.../gt3040006.jpg
Here's it is completely done w/ IC pipes and such
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...DSC00734-1.jpg

interesting spot for the wastegate. nice work though. :)

I don't have any pictures of any thing recent, i never remember to photograph my work. I just bought a nice camera so i will be now. I also haven't had the chance to build anything cool in a while.

Here is a set of Turbo Headers i built for a 347 powered Ford SuperCoupe, the original headers had been repaired multiple times and finally blew apart, they were also 1.5" tubing, and we stepped up to 1-5/8ths. This car made over 630Hp.
on a Fixture i threw together real fast, i made these headers from start to finish in a couple of hours.
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...c/SC_turbo.jpg
old vs. New
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h.../SC_turbo1.jpg
Finished pair, the wastegate was located on the Crossover pipe Which the customer made himself at his house.
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h.../Sc_turbo3.jpg

The first Intake manifold i had ever made bout three or four years ago, it was a employee of mine, he wanted somthing simple.
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...n_manifold.jpg

My car. This thing has been sitting collecting dust for two years, and has only ran for a week since i built this setup in 06.

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...8detsilver.jpg
Evo 8 Turbo with under 1K on it.
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...18det_Evo8.jpg

Fully wired up, and ready to run, but it hasnt in almost a year...
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...onca18det1.jpg

Thats it. I wish i had more to share. I have improved alot since alot of these were taken, It sucks i Havent been recording any of my work.

Jon

Great replies everyone.

slw240sx: Mad props on the fab skills. Making both of those in one day is awesome. Can you share with the viewers some tips on minimizing production time, and some tips on getting everything done on schedule. Such as collector placement, runner length, overall expectations for the project?

Sweet.

burnsauto: yes. Inovative placement since the usual location was not available.

Nisils14: Awesome angle on those beautiful collectors. Flow is shaking your hand with that setup. lol

Also great manifold design assuming it was thick material.

What gauge did you use?

Again. Great to see some contributions. Any pics before, after, during, to help the DIY guys ?


mods.. Sticky please

Drtyrat: I agree. Only personal work. Dont post up a pic of a F1 engine and say it is awesome.... we already know it is.

So... yea. Only cool fab stuff that pertains to you.

racepar1: I would really like to see your documented build of that.

Thanks! It's just the usual sch10 304SS piping.

Gimme a week or two as I need to repair the cracks in the bumper first, but I promise I will write it up and take my time so I have a good product at the end not some piece of crap.

schedule 10 is cool. I assumed it was 304

Is there anything you can give out for info to help the DIY or newbies?
Let us know what you did to figure out the runner length, collector placement, etc. lets spread it out.

No hurry. I would just like to see it. Also please show what little tricks you use.

Me personally I would try to show any tricks i use. Such as using a radius gauge set, contour guages, hell even a protractor. anything to make this thread useful in a way that is beyond visually attractive.

Luke you've nailed it on the head, there needs to be more informative posts on zilvia, and this is a step in the right direction.

Subscribed

love this thread idea..this is coming from someone who will be getting into fab very soon.

might i add that perhaps some details on what techniques were used to fab. ie, what equipment was used to bend tubing, what was used for mockups, what type of welding, what equipment was used for welding, etc..

just a though for us fab wannabes.

+1 for unique thread idea.

This is the only parts i have really made on my own other then bracket for holding the IC and a cart for parts:

S13 Hatch Harness Bar Version 1. Cost me $25-$35 to make using Steel from various places.
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...2_159_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...2_163_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...2_162_full.jpg


I have since changed it, and added pieces that go off the cross bar that for where the harnesses bolt to. And Things off the back that have 1/4 steel bars that go down and bolt to where the rear seat belts bolted to. I will take new pics later.

I also made some custom reinforcement for my clearanced S13 bumper stupport using 1 1/2 inch angle iron.

Oh snap, very nice KA-T_240! I like the idea of that.

PMing you about that bar :)

This would be awesome if you could make a vertical stabilizer that would go down to where the seatbelt bolts in under the door.

I already did that :2f2f: Just need to take pics of it. That was the start and didnt have it all finalized and was a dumbass and painted it before it was done.

Great idea blu808, that camaro looks amazing, awsome fab work.

Heres my first project I decided to tackle last year when I was 16, my first time welding/fabricating. Its nothing compared to the other projects but I figured I'd contribute to get this thread going.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...0/DSC00829.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...0/DSC00831.jpg

It is bolted to the floor, I know not a good spot but there was no other easy solution. I'll be taking it out to paint it soon, when I do I'm going to re-inforce the floor mounting point, redo some welds and maybe extend the uprights around further. The sheet steel is 11 gauge, and the tubing is 1", 0.095" wall steel, $30 for all the metal.

what would the purpose of the piece to the floor be?

Thanks for the comments guys.

KA_T; Nice harness bar. Looks well though out and finished. Im glad you put some down tubes on it.

sidewayz240: That is a cool strut tower bar. I like the brackets you made to hold the cross bars. Im assuming that was mig welded?

hahaha

I'm sorry I have to laught at this....I can just picture the look on your face while you are saying this

A triangle is stronger than a straight piece.

If you look at most roll cage designs they are mostly all comprised of triangles.

^
WOW, as soon as i read that i was like OMG, I am retarted!

Thanks for the compliments. I will probably take pics of the finished harness bar tomorrow.


I would like to do my own cage. But don't think my fab skills are up to the task. I can weld good, just need to practice for a while again. I guess, if I take my time I could probably do it. I have the design I would like to use in my head, and its differant then any of the premade cages.

Check out Bend tech. They make a software program that will help you design cages, chassis, anything tube related.

The basic version is cheap, and it will tell you where to bend, where to cut, what angle to cut, how much your project will weigh, and you can look at it on the computer in 3d.

I use the pro addition and is worth every penny.

Thanks, yes it was all mig welded, not the best penitration but its holding up. The V pattern is to add the the strength and add some vertical support ontop of the lateral support a normal strut bar gives you.

Next is to think up a Front stb that ties into the firewall. any input on how to do this? a single mounting point in the center or dual, one on each side?

And this bend tech, you can purchase it off their website in guessing? sounds like it may be very useful.

yes off their website.


Ok. I promised action shots yesterday, and some actual fabrication shots.
Well. Here ya go.

My day at work today.

8:00am. Get to work. Notice that the new flanges for the 2-1/4" headers I am going to be building have come in.

Stainless 304 nice and thick.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric091.jpg

Then i notice that they were square/oval instead of circular. Great!

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric092.jpg

This means that i will have to modify each tube to fit inside the flange.
This involved alot of hitting, bending, and a tourch.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric095.jpg

Well after going that for awhile I was actually ready to start mocking up the headers.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric097.jpg

Yup.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric098.jpg

yup.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric099.jpg

Then Paul decided to interupt me to weld an a/n fitting onto a catch can.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric100.jpg

Tig welded. polarity= ac, argon shielding gas, 140 amps of power, aluminum filler rod.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric101.jpg

Then it was back to the headers.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric131.jpg

Heres the first completed runner.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric132.jpg

Heres the 2nd runner on the welding table.
Tig welded, polarity= DC-, 2% tungsten electrode, 115 amps of power, argon shielding gas, 308 filler rod.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric133.jpg

2nd runner in place. Notice the width of the weld bead, is about the thickness of a pencil tip.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric134.jpg

Here is more pics of the runner being mocked up.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric126.jpg

Tacked into place.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric125.jpg

3rd runner in place.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric135.jpg

Well i decided to start mocking up the other side since I am waiting on a starter and should have that in place while building the 4th runner.

Well the supercharger sits on the other side. So i grabbed that heavy thing and put it on. This is to make sure the header does not get in the way after its finished. Thats what mock up is for.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric136.jpg

big blower

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric137.jpg

Its heavy.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric138.jpg

Its big.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric139.jpg

Then i realize that our expensive valve covers dont fit with the blower in place. Great! So i mark where it needs to be clearanced.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric141.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric142.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric143.jpg

And chop it out using my air saw.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric144.jpg

Then i made a radius piece to put in place.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric148.jpg

And a side plate.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric149.jpg

And tig welded them in.
ac, pure tungsten, argon, aluminum rod, 145 amps.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric152.jpg

then ground it smooth for clearance.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric153.jpg

It fits. Yay!

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric155.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric156.jpg

But it sits too far back :-( the blower bracket is pushing on the flange of the valve cover. So I throw that on the mill and shave it down.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric157.jpg

1/16" should work.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric159.jpg

Sweet !

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric160.jpg

It works.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric154.jpg

wow, great skills keep the pics coming

Well about that time I noticed that the tranny crossmember was hanging too low. So i decided to make a new one to clear the exhaust we will be building.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric104.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric102.jpg

Chop off the old ends and rotate them to the correct angle.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric105.jpg

Fabbed up a new bracket.
All tig welded.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric106.jpg

Made some slots on the mill.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric107.jpg

Made a box plate to eliminate any flex since this thing will have over 1000 whp.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric110.jpg

Then made some frame gussets for the tranny mount.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric113.jpg

Tig welded them all in.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric114.jpg

Then made some upper arms out of 1/2 stainless tubing. Added some roll cage brackets, and mounts for the tranny tunnel.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric117.jpg

yup.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric118.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric112.jpg

Then from inside the car, I cut out the dynamat from the tranny tunnel, and drilled a hole.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric119.jpg

Then I tig welded a nut to a washer and put it in place.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric121.jpg

Tack welded it in with the tig.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric122.jpg

Then put the dynamat back over for a seamless finish.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric120.jpg

Well thats it for today.

Hope you enjoyed this. I will try to post up my fun days at work if you guys would like to see.

i cant weld yet....i was advised by my shop foreman to buy a 400 mig welder from home depot, and to start with gas first....

any suggestions?

mig is in general the most used type of welding for diy welders. If you are going to learn mig then only do it with shielding gas. Flux core (gasless) is retarded, and will not leave a nice weld and will not be structural.

You can find a decent miller 110v mig at home depot or other welding stores. The nice thing about a 110v is that it is portable, can plug in anywhere, and is stable and easy to weld on really thin metal.

5 years ago I bought a miller 110v mig welder with the gas attachment for $400 from home depot. It is still working strong and has been used heavily.

Luke,

i used to have a fixture for my little shop press to put runners into so i could square/rectangle hem. If i can find it ill take a picture of it maybe you can check it out and make somthing similar to square those up, you shouldnt have to use a torch and i try to avoid the heat as much as i can..
Also do you have and "10 to 1's" from MAC?
These, they work great for making gougeless bends on the edges of the tubes.
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...c/100_4559.jpg
I also on 1-3/4 and 2" primarys that use Square ports i will build small sections of straights that weld to the flange then the bend. I machine a solid bar stock of aluminum to fit snuggly inside a straight section of tube then bend the edges into the square pound out the alum mandrel and it keeps your tube perfectly round to weld the bend on to it.

I have built dozens of Domestic turbo headers, so this stuff is natural to me, but i have a hard time explaining how i do stuff or why. My biggest Suggestion to anyone getting started, the best way to get the best results is to get organized, get your work area cleaned up and all the tools you need in order, the more organized you are the faster and happier you can work. the better you clean your materials the better the end result. Right now my Fab area is a complete disaster area and i cant get any work done fast, im taking a half day tomorrow to clean up the shop and mainly my fab area and organize all my materials and tools. ill get some pictures of my setup, i dont have alot of baller tools, i stifle my self because of it, but i also like to build my own tools as i need them.

Jon

Jon. great post.

any pics would be great. I dont have any tools for that since i usually use round flanges. Also. Great advice on keeping everything organized, and material clean...

rps13....just be carefull with cheap welders from places like home depot, because even though they look the same on the outside, sometimes the internals are compromised. for example you could have a plastic drive wheel or you could have a very low duty cycle so your welder can only work 2 out of 10 minutes to weld anything of a decent thickness.

-Matt

Matt. Good suggestion.

Im not sure about your local home depots but around here they only carry Miller. If you purchase a Miller you will be ok.

Stay away from the cheap off brands. Even the cheaper hobart welders are garbage.

I have question about a certain tool that metal fabricators use to cut through sheet metal. Its almost like a pair of metal shears stuffed inside this one handheld device but instead its offered in either Air power-Electric powered.

I have a fiberglass drop in vent that I want to rivit on then mold onto an extra hood that i have laying around but I have no idea what the correct name of that tool is,nor where to look for it. If anybody has any other suggestions on what I can use to cut through the top part of a hood to do this? I was thinking of cutting it out with an angle grinder but I need peoples insight on whats best to use in order to do this.

well what i think you are speaking of is an air shear. That will work fine. A careful hand with a die grinder or air saw will work as well. Maybe even a good dremel if you are doing this at home and dont have the other options.

is this what you were referring too?

http://www.coastaltool.com/a/port/images/ptx6.jpg

Do not, I repeat Do Not buy these from harbor freight.... they suck...
I picked up a cheap electric set of shears from there last night for a quick project and for 40$ they cut everything i needed really well..
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...tty_Shears.jpg

god you guys make me wish I could do that shit...

Ok, here are some shitty pics of my harness bar with all the stuff finished. As I look at this, I see some things i would change(move the bar further back. less make the pieces that the harness bolt onto more level. Paint it FLAT black, it glares in my mirror. lol. But, it was our first time doing this. Can always improve on later projects.

First post:
Pics:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...HarnssBar7.jpgof how it is finished
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...HarnssBar6.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2.../HarnssBar.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...HarnssBar5.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...HarnssBar4.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...HarnssBar2.jpg

I've never understood what the little skinnier bar that forms a "hole" between the bigger bar versus the little bar did, like shown in this pic that I quoted from KA-T_240 here:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...HarnssBar6.jpg


BTW, nice harness bar man :)

I use the "loop" so that the extra part of my harnesses don't go sliding around. From what I understand, they used to use a harness that wrapped around the bar to hold in place. But Not sure.

you don't rely on that as your only seatbelt do you? that looks extremely unsafe. In an accident that bar can and will swing at your head.

I would suggest taking out the interior panels then making that bar mount in at least one more place on the chassis, ad a 1.8th square to the sheet metal along with a anchor point.

Jon

It has a 2nd mount location on a bracket it looks like.
in a lower pic.
A for effort.

Joe I may sell my welder...I need a TIG badly.

It is designed like any other harness bar does. Like the Sparco and Cusco ones. All the bolts are in the spots used for the seatbelts from the factory. If the design is dangerous why would those companies make them like that?

I know its not the same as mounting them to a cage which can't move(at least it shouldn't). I was concerned about the bar moving. Thats why I added the bars that go down. Also, with the angle of the body/ B pillars and how the plates that go back to the bar, it is impossible for it to go up and get to my head, it also would hit the ceiling first.

I plan on getting a cage in the future. It just is not a option at the moment. out of curiousity, how much would those of you that do cages charge for a
6-point?

LMK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!

Harness bar looks good. From what I see it has 4 mounting points.

gj

You sir are correct!

What I don't get it why did you put the small rod bracket on the bar, but then weld on mounts so you could bolt the harness to the bar? Why not wrap the harness around the bar?

And another note, flat stock is horrible under compression. It doesn't look like it will be an issue because in a front impact it would probably be loaded in tension, but just for future reference. And especially a piece that long, it would buckle real quick.

I am not aware of any racing body that allows wrap around style mounting any more.

I'm not aware than any santioning body doesn't allow wrap around mounting any more. Do you have anything to prove that? I just checked SCCA and NASA general rules for 2008 in the Driver restraint section and they made no mention that wrap around mounting is not allowed. And why wouldn't it be? A wrap around harness is going to be stronger than a bolted in harness. Just look at the possible failure points. You have a bolt in single shear holding in each shoulder strap. And with the eye mounts the load is concentrated more on a small edge of the harness. But even ignoring that and assuming everything equal, I would trust a roll cage to hold me in place over 3/8" bolts in single shear.

But my main point, was why have the harness guides if you aren't going to use them?

maybe its just the camera angles, and how i am judging the angles. i worry about the points that it can move on, it looks as the bar could move at the bolted points, allowing the bar to swing down and forward,even with the down bars it looks like they could all offer movement when forced with a lot of pressure.Thats what 1/8th strip stock? it could bow under forward load which could possibly allow the bars to gain motion. which if that happens, even a few inches, that could be enough to allow you to move to far.
Don't Take this as im trying to knock your work, i just worry about safety. when it comes to building something that is as important as restraints. i like to over build just to be on the safe side.

I think a way to make that design more solid would be to use some small DOM, or even square tubing to mount to the lap belt mount on the rocker to make it form a triangle with the Harness bar and the vertical support. I was also saying maybe make the mounting point on the bar be bolted in at 2 spots on the B pillar, possibly on a horizontal plane and using some plate steel at the bolt locations to help disperse any load it might see.

Jon

I like getting CC. I do not do much fab work. Learning things is good.

I am not really aware of any other place to mount on the B-Pillar. There are some spots but not any that allow placement of a bolt that is of any decent size/able to bear any load with out adding metal and stuff...... I would rather start working on a cage then doing that.

I am confused by what you were trying to suggest for design.

about the harness bar...

it looks you put some genuine thought into it, and it came out pretty well...i only have once concern.

granted you used the same mounting points as lets say a cusco cage...its not a cage..and will flex differently..especially when in an accident. from the looks of the photo's, it looks as if you took a hard enough front end hit, it would just move forward..using the bolt on the b pillar as a pivot point.

i know you realized this, and you put the mount on the bottom near the back seat..but that can still pivot...not much...but it can still move.

what would make it work a little better was if the lower piece of flat stock, was welded up near where it meets with the harness bar..this will prevent it from swinging in an accident.

I did not say it mounted to the same spots as a cusco cage. And was not compairing it at all to a cage. I was reffering to the harness bars that sparco and other companys make.

THe one my friend bought(cusco) for his STi, only has 1/4 peaces of like "ready rod" for the support to go down.

KA-T: You were correct with your design based on what sparco used. The other people were correct with their remarks about flat stock bending under load.

I would not worry about it too much. Looks like you have 1/8" thickness on the down bars, and since rotational angle of the harness bar would pull up in a crash, then it would only pull on the flat stock. This was also mentioned.

On that note good points from both parties, but we would prob all agree if we viewed this bar in person.


"No brawling, or its 15 days in the county jail."

yeah, its def. a good idea ka-t and the execution of it was pretty good as well :)

beats the hell out of what other people do (ex: bolting the harness down on the floor.....can we say spinal compression?)

Some stuff ive made...

WRX Exhaust
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/7...1072211qh9.jpg

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/7...072102afg9.jpg

IC piping
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/4...8210640rz5.jpg

Cage
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/8...8210459ga2.jpg

Back of my phone
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/242...8210346xi5.jpg

your good :D

Very nice.

What were the specs on the welding process? Looks like tig on the exh but there is a mig gun sitting next to it.

I know the cage and IC pipes are MIG welded from when I saw them. I can not remember if the WRX exhaust was MIG or TIG. I believe it was TIG though.

exhaust is tig, cage is mig, ic piping is both (got frusterated with the tig so went back and forth)

I really dont know much about TIG welding i just play around untill it works, the WRX exhaust was DC 70-80amps. no idea what kind of electrode is in there or the size.

Thats cool. hard to tell in the pics but the exh looks cool. Remember when you tig to always sharpen your tungsten when welding steel.

Heres a sr20det tip if you guys dont know this allready.

The stock sr oil pickup is only tack welded in 4 small spots.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ickupwelds.jpg

This leads to vibration breaking those tacks and the oil pickup falling off. The end result is a blown motor.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...keet/owned.jpg

The correct way to solve this is to completely clean the metal on the pickup, then using a tig welder (no spatter), weld a thin non penatrive bead around the pickup tube.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...oilpickup1.jpg

Then since there was heat applied to the gasket surface it needs to be decked. You can do this with a file.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...oilpickup1.jpg

2 mins later.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...filepickup.jpg

Perfect flat surface for a strong pickup. Make sure to clean any dirt/shavings off before install.

Hope this might save a engine.


Heres a stock s13 seat my roomate fabricated into a bride seat.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...deretarded.jpg

wow i love this thread
Xracer, or anyone else who knows, how did you get that burnt tip look on the exhaust and on your phone cover, just a propane torch or something hotter? and on the exhaust how did you get it so perfect?

t99ol:

The answer to all fabrication questions is patience and not getting ahead of yourself.

i know this is majorly off-topic, but it DOES have to do with fabrication...can someone kindly post the link to the build thread where the guy was doing the full S15 conversion to the S13 hatch? i remember he was using all-metal for the rear fenders and it was a really badass build, isn't finished yet though...should've subscribed to it but forgot :/


feel free to neg rep and shout at me all you want, but i DID search, just couldn't find it for the life of me.


*edit: preferably in PM so we don't cloud up this thread with unneeded junk*

No neg rep for you. That is a good post but his thread is more of body work than fab. Body work is like fab but involves too much bs. I would just like to see actual fab in this thread. Thanks. :-)

i'll throw up some pics of the intake manifold im working on when im done with it

hey i remember that oil pickup trick from when you posted it up with the engine build (which was a sweet build up IMO!)

def. one of the better tricks i learned from you :)

Great thread ! it's inspiring !

on that WRX exhaust was that 16Ga SS? if so 70-80amps is way too hot, try going down between 35-55amps. you might have to run slower, but you will get penetration.

We just lost the motor in one of our cars because of the oil pickup shearing off, but it sheared off at the bottom the tube was still attached. it looks like the motor was dropped on its pan from a forklift and they put a fresh pan on it to hide the damage. I will be welding the new pickup to be more sturdy.

Is that a Gas lenses your using or a normal cup? i used a #7 i think it is Gas lense for almost everything.

In the oil pickup pic it is just a standard number 5 cup.
I usually use a #6 with a gas lenses.

This is the current setup.
#6 with GL

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...lectric125.jpg

Im Kinda new on these forums mostly cause i havnt posted much at all. But I had to post on this thread. LOVE all the work you guys did. hope you like mine too. This is the pix of my Cage construction among other things in the project. I copied and pasted this from my blog so I kinda worded it for anyone that could be reading it. Tell me what you think....this was my first time doing any serious fabrication work!

In this photo, i have removed most of the interior, next is the dash and carpeting.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-00-0A_001.jpg
Believe me, the dash was fun to remove. ahhh yes.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-01-1A_002.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-02-2A_003.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-03-3A_004.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-04-4A_005.jpg

and now to remove this black tar looking stuff which is sound deadening material. or as i like to refer to it....Dead Weight.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-05-5A_006.jpg

Im going to use Dry Ice to remove this tar crap. it freezes it and makes it extremly easy to remove. great stuff!
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...17-17A_018.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...20-20A_021.jpg

and now to grind out the chassis seam sealer! this stuff is a messy pain! after i grinded top surface i used an acedline torch and scrapers to get the rest out of the crack. this way i can stitch weld the seams! (also notice the gas tank is removed, always remove this and the ECU before any welding on the car)
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...21-21A_022.jpg

Ugh, that took a long time! ok now for something easy! stiffer engine and transmission mounts from MEGAN RACING JAPAN! They fit KA and SR. So when i find the sr front clip i want (i hope before end of april!) i can still use them!!!
first lift the car, and support the engine/transmission.....
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-12A_013-1.jpg
here are the stock mounts....
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...13-13A_014.jpg

and here are the MEGAN RACING mounts!
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...14-14A_015.jpg

OK OK back to business! time to bend some Tubing for the Roll Cage! Im using 1.5" X .120" DOM Tubing. incase you dont know 1.5" is the outside diameter and .120" is the wall thickness.
drawing blueprints with measurments taken from the car, and using the bending die to find the tangent lines.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...24-24A_025.jpg

Time to start bending!!! (the dumbass next to the tubing bender isnt me, haha)
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-06-6A_007.jpg

The Main Hoop is easy to bend! But the A Pillar down bars are the hardest! They are a compound bend! ahhh!
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...23-23A_024.jpg
Okay, now its time to make the mounting plates for the main hoop. it needs to be mounted on a flat surface, so here we go!
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-02-2A_003.jpg

and now to make the mounting plate to fit this spot perfectly!
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-01-1A_002.jpg

does it fit? OH YES!
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-03-3A_004.jpg

OK now to Do fitment of the main parts of the rollcage, and after some fine tuning, metal grinding and some positioning, im going to tack weld them in place. when i am happy with it, i will fully weld it all together!
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-08-8A_009.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...14-14A_015.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...12-12A_013.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-09-9A_010.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-08-8A_009.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-05-5A_006.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-04-4A_005.jpg

ok now for the rear down bars, im taking them to the rear strut towers. and im going to use an exsisting hole to run them thru the chassis bracing. something like this...
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-07-7A_008.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...-06-6A_007.jpg

Thats all the pix i have of this work right now. Ill have more up later. unfortunatly when the chassis was done and i was ready for the new engine the car got hit by a truck and now I have to start over. Next one should be better right?

Wow great work. Nice shop, and great approach. Cant wait to see the finished product.

Are you going to do any gusseting or any dimple died gusseting?

Luke

dimple died guesseting was def in the plans before the truck smashed that car. So that wont happen untill i start the next car.

that shop is the Wyotech Chassis Fabrication building in SAC, CA.

really? I didnt know wyotech did anything cool.

any other cool stuff they do?

Whos got tips on welding aluminum. I get increasingly pissed off everytime i try to weld it. also how about 90 degree joints and aluminum pipe.

whats happening when your tryin...I have a miller econo tig and when I use realy thick aluminum I have trouble but welder isnt the best for heavy fab and the duty cycle sucks so I have to go mad slow and let the machine cool.

are you prepin the tungsten the right way for aluminum? just a question dont get offended

i can make nice beads on just flat piece of aluminum but anything that is round (tube) or joints is another story. just getting 2 pieces to join together is the problem.

How many amps are you using on Aluminum tube? how are you cleaning it? how are you prepping your tungsten? how thick is your filler? how is your machine setup?

Aluminum can be very tricky to weld, and takes a little bit of time to learn how it reacts