My 89 Camaro Project

[robertisaar]

those look identical to the wheels that were on teh 85 IROC... but mine were 15s.

[Superdave]

And more parts keep rolling in....


scored another set of single stripe IROC's with tires, Richmond 3.73 gear set, Posi diff, Chrome diff cover, UMI rear control arms, Disk brake conversion stuff and a light up Z28 radio bezel (going up for sale soon).

[CNCguy]

Dave... what diameter primaries, collectors and collector length? I will make a printable template. A steady hand with a plasma cutter will get the job done also.

[Superdave]

the nibblers worked pretty good but i still couldn't get the angles right. I think i'm going to try something a little different. I need to order more tubing first though. Going back up to a 32" primary before the collector

[ForcedFirebird]

I haven't made them myself, only seen them made, but I wouldn't cut w's or anything. You can start with pipe bend of a larger diameter than your primaries, then cut them lengthwise through the bend, then weld them together.

Better yet, here's a visual (even though it's 2-1 you get the idea)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7oC44v4fy8

You will have to take 2 length-wise cuts for 3-1.

EDIT: I have one of those HF nibblers, but haven't tried it on anything that thick (I use 16ga for N/A headers).

[Superdave]

Gonna have the room to change your oil filter there?

Yep, plenty. The 3500 adapter sits a little different than the older one, it's a little lower.

Dave,
A handheld pnuematic nibbler works pretty well. I got one from Harbor Freight and was able to make several sets of merges before it died. A paper pattern, drawn in CAD, was wrapped around the tubes, traced and cut with the nibbler. The collector end was roughly formed in a vise using a chunk of round bar the same size as the collector. A little grinding, welding and they work great.

I have one, never thought to use it for this though. I was using a hack saw.. lol

Do you happen to still have your pattern? I was basically cutting a W shape in the tubes but the angles were all wrong.

[CNCguy]

I tried my hand at making true merge 3:1's and it's a huge pain in the ass without a bandsaw. I'm going to try a few different approaches before giving up though.

Dave,
A handheld pnuematic nibbler works pretty well. I got one from Harbor Freight and was able to make several sets of merges before it died. A paper pattern, drawn in CAD, was wrapped around the tubes, traced and cut with the nibbler. The collector end was roughly formed in a vise using a chunk of round bar the same size as the collector. A little grinding, welding and they work great.

[Mars]

Gonna have the room to change your oil filter there?

[Superdave]

headers are tacked together, right now they are all at 26". Depending on what i decide for collectors i may add 6". I tried my hand at making true merge 3:1's and it's a huge pain in the ass without a bandsaw. I'm going to try a few different approaches before giving up though.

Some pics...

Passenger side:



Drivers side:





If anyone else is going to build headers for a 3x00 i highly suggest that you get the D shaping tool from wot-tech. It makes life much easier.

[Superdave]

Ordered the materials to build new headers today, also stuff to build some merge collectors.

Once these are done i'll decide on the exhaust. Right now i'm leaning towards the 3" Hooker Supercomp Fbody system.

[Superdave]

The routing will be better for sure. I think i'm going to stay with 32" primaries but use a better collector design this time.

This puts me in a bad spot for my budget though.


Anyone looking to buy a $5K Oscilloscope for around $2K?

[pocket-rocket]

At least with the tubular K member you have a fair more amount of room to do it in. I bet it still beats stuffing long tubes in a J body

[Superdave]

Yep.. lol




all done. Moving onto the header situation. the SBC LT's that came with the car are pretty much worthless. I could make them work but in the end i'd have rusty spaghetti. Looks like i'll be doing another set from scratch.

[pocket-rocket]

K.I.S.S. Looks good

[Superdave]

solid mounts are tacked together...




The only flat stock i had was 3/16" thick but I think it'll be plenty strong, the square tubing is 2".


More pics tomorrow after they are fully welded.