Das Beast: My E30 track / street build

[dvallis]

New fans are here. Exactly 23" x 12". Will fit perfectly in the front frame box.

[dvallis]

Spent the afternoon fabricating brackets for the fans. Most of the time was planning and getting materials.



Here's the end result. Looking good. Very solid. The fans don't move at all. Everything is held on with lath screws until we weld it all in place.



I need to swap out the rear cross bar for mild steel. I grabbed a bar of aluminum stock by mistake.



New intercooler mounting location allows more airflow to the radiator. Will need to cut a big ass air intake in the bumper though.

[dvallis]

Continuing the front end work. Test fitting the intercooler.



Making the mounting brackets from 14 gauge perforated steel flat stock.



Getting there. You can see where I'm going with this.



Final touch for stability. You wouldn't believe how ridiculously solid this is. I can literally stand on it. Will support the intercooler no problem.



That's more like it. This is sexy.



Will be doing the intercooler top bracket and bumper air intake mod next.

[2mAn]

That's more like it. This is sexy.







Will be doing the intercooler top bracket and bumper air intake mod next.

You should look at Charlie's (Sh3pak!ing) thread. He drilled some nice holes in his bumper to get the air through.

It's coming along!

[dvallis]

Link to the thread? No members listed under Sh3pak!ing.

[2mAn]

Das Beast: My E30 track / street build

Link to the thread? No members listed under Sh3pak!ing.

It's because his name is ridiculous and I always misspell it

Sh3rpak!ng

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=345894

[dvallis]

So, that link gave me a great idea. He drilled bumper vents with a hole saw, which is a very simple, efficient way to do it.



I'm not fond of the round hole look, but it gave me an idea. If I start with the round holes then connect each pair, the result is OEM-ish looking rectangular vents. Exactly what I wanted. :devil:



That's a great $0 solution. I might even add some black mesh to finish it off.

[2mAn]

I wouldnt do the middle vent that way because the trim is split, maybe just two big ones?

I would try to replicate the lower vents in the IS cowcatcher lip

[dvallis]

Get my grille on

So, look what arrived today. 16"x48" perforated hex grill mesh sheet in black. 77% open area for excellent airflow to the intercooler and radiator.

I was going to use this just for inlets, but it's so nice I may also fab a custom grille with it



It's more open than it looks from a distance. Also has nice 3D profile.

[downforce22]

looking good, glad you flipped the intercooler. curious to see how your mesh ends up looking

[dvallis]

Alright, time to finish off the front end hardware.

First thing is the radiator bottom bracket. We want it to be quick release for fast change if damaged. Two part bracket gets it done.



New bracket goes here, but old radiator mounts are too high.



Angle grinder made quick work of them.



Bracket tacked in place with lath screws. So far so good.



Radiator in place with top brackets holding it as well. Fits great. Very solid.



Intercooler mounted with top bracket in place. Between that and the large bottom bracket it's definitely not going anywhere.



Here's the final product. It's a nice piece of work. Looks OEM. Will have good airflow.



Best thing is it fades right into the stock bodywork. Won't even be able to tell it's there with the grille and headlights on.

[doorman]

Great progress!!

[dvallis]

Learning To Weld

Keep in mind while reading this post that my father is a Master Welder. He's done it all ... TIG, MIG, Arc, welding overhead, standing inside marine diesel engines and hanging in the air building hydroelectric dams. His welding bead looks like a machine did it. Soooo ... there will be some humor when you see my first attempts at MIG welding.

Started practicing on 12 gauge scrap steel and 18 gauge left overs from the car. First try was damn ugly. Lots of burn through. And the wire welded itself to the tip. Which I had to file and re-bore. Ugh.



After a call to Dad: Lower voltage, lower wire feed speed, tip further from the metal, don't stay in one place. Still a disaster.



But, I'm nothing if not determined. Bolted on some more scrap and kept practicing. Worked from left to right. By the last bracket its starting to look not so much a disaster.



Kept at it until I was able to do this. Not bad. At least good enough to weld the radiator and intercooler brackets. I'm ok at making spot welds. Still terrible at laying a bead along the edge of the bracket. Will stick to what works.



Thanks for the tips Dad. Hope you get a laugh from the pictures. :devil:

[badwella]

Awesome thread, man. Just sat down from page 1 and read it all. Definitely going to check in on this regularly.

Check out Weldingtipsandtricks.com and his Youtube channel as well. Loads to learn from there if you haven't already been watching. Mostly TIG, but good MIG lessons too.

Also, trying to weld through paint is going to make your welds look like dogsh*t regardless of your welder settings (unless you are using special weld-thru primer). Runs a high risk of porosity too. Use a flap disc and get down to clean bare metal and your beads will lay down much better.

[dvallis]

Das Beast Fabrication Shop

"Luke, I am your fathah"



Electrochromic helmet makes welding 1000X easier. Now I can SEE the frigging bead!

Much better. I also had an "Ah Ha" moment while welding. After that it became a lot easier. Shows in the results.



Mostly finished and welded bracket system. Notice I moved the outside 45 degree bends lower to make room for intercooler plumbing.



Test fitting the intercooler plumbing.



My new favorite tool. Plasma cutter.



It did a great job making a hole for the intercooler plumbing.



Valence bolted in place with new brackets and ready for paint. Will finish the bumper tomorrow.