Bronzit E30 - OBDII S52 shaved bay - weekend/autox toy - Journey

[s14brent]

It's all about quality control and intention. The aerospace manufacturer that I work for has it's own manufacturing site in China (Mexico as well) and quality is just a function of design and control. I personally don't mind tools of asian manufacture - I buy tools with a quality/cost/function balance that fits my needs at any given time. I have a harbor freight jack that I've been using regularly for the past 10 years (no joke) which is why I'm looking for a replacement/upgrade.

Agreed. There are a lot of specialty tools and even normal tools that I usually try to find a happy medium in price & quality, I don't use my tools professionally anymore, so there's no real reason to overspend. I also have back up set of tools for junkyard runs and to bring with on track days, and i'd rather not bring my nicer socket sets/ratchets/wrenches etc.

Did harbor freight use to sell an "extreme" low profile long reach jack? I have their "low profile" jack and while it is definitely slimmer than your average floorjack, the reach isn't that far. This sunex jack is lower/longer.

I think I currently have the same jack he's referencing. Pittsburgh 60678 it's a discontinued 2 ton with a weird T handle (only part i don't like about the jack). It's been awesome, and that's what i replaced the lincoln model with.

[The Dark Side of Will]

It's all about quality control and intention. The aerospace manufacturer that I work for has it's own manufacturing site in China (Mexico as well) and quality is just a function of design and control. I personally don't mind tools of asian manufacture - I buy tools with a quality/cost/function balance that fits my needs at any given time. I have a harbor freight jack that I've been using regularly for the past 10 years (no joke) which is why I'm looking for a replacement/upgrade.

China's economic practices and state-owned enterprises are predatory at best.

[jeenyus]

China's economic practices and state-owned enterprises are predatory at best.

You're not wrong, but we also have to take into consideration the demand here. If the USA didn't defer all manufacturing to China or buy the items made there we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Not to mention, President Clinton passed an egregious amount of forgien policy that supported the growth of China's Republic all under the facade of our own economic growth and development; of which were unsustainable. Not to distract from the original conversation... China is a big power that we have built on our own dollars.

[The Dark Side of Will]

You're not wrong, but we also have to take into consideration the demand here. If the USA didn't defer all manufacturing to China or buy the items made there we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

There are a lot of factors at play, including unionized workforces, anti-trust litigation by the government and straight up regulatory burden.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

I think I currently have the same jack he's referencing. Pittsburgh 60678 it's a discontinued 2 ton with a weird T handle (only part i don't like about the jack). It's been awesome, and that's what i replaced the lincoln model with.

I knew HF used to sell a longer/lower jack than the standard low profile unit I have... Dammit I wish I had bought one when they were still available. Looks like the Arcan XL2T and Sunex 6602LP are the same jack (the HF 60678 looks the same too). And the Arcan is $200 on amazon. These two seem to be the lowest/longest reach floorjacks for under $500.

What's your opinion of the HF 60678?

China's economic practices and state-owned enterprises are predatory at best.

You're not wrong, but we also have to take into consideration the demand here. If the USA didn't defer all manufacturing to China or buy the items made there we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Not to mention, President Clinton passed an egregious amount of forgien policy that supported the growth of China's Republic all under the facade of our own economic growth and development; of which were unsustainable. Not to distract from the original conversation... China is a big power that we have built on our own dollars.

There are a lot of factors at play, including unionized workforces, anti-trust litigation by the government and straight up regulatory burden.

You both make good points. We deal with some interesting issues on the financial and regulatory side which illustrate some of the points you've alluded to here. Overall it's profitable for us. The margins are there, even with the tarriffs.

Anyway...

To counteract the bad juju I've brought upon myself and my garage with all my Chinese manufactured tools, I did a thing as 'murican as I could...

[Digitalwave]

yeah the 60678 is what I have, I'm surprised they stopped selling it. It was the same thing as Sunex but half the price. I love mine, it's held up well and it works really well with my E30 and E36.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

1973 International Harvester 1110 pickup truck with a 345 V8, 4 speed manual, dana 60 rear end, no rust, straight body, mostly intact interior, and a new front grill. It doesn't run, needs a fuel pump. Got it for next to nothing. Plan is to get it running first, then make it safe to drive, then some tasteful mods and very minor resto - door seals, windshield etc, wheels, tires, 8 inch drop, fab some bumpers, maybe a grill, linex the bed, reseal the motor/trans (they're leaking everywhere) and generally just clean it up.

Should be fun for a couple of months before I sell it. I got the wife's approval by promising I wouldn't keep it... I'm excited. My first v8, first truck, first carburetor :D











Back to the normal program - been making steady progress on the header install. Utilizing v bands, pie cuts, vibrant bellows and flex coupling. Made my own Y merge too.



Things got fairly tricky here snaking both pipes just right so they would clear the floor, swaybar, each other, and leave space for the v bands.





All tacked up ready for full welding.



Having to do a lot of grinding. MIG welding stainless isn't as smooth as mild steel and I think I'm starting to tax the garage's electrical system, but this will work just fine. I intend to ceramic coat later too.



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[wworm]

that international is awesome and so are those headers. Why both O2 bungs on one header? clearance?

[Sh3rpak!ng]

that international is awesome and so are those headers. Why both O2 bungs on one header? clearance?

thanks! one of those bungs is for the wideband sensor to my wideband gauge, otherwise each header has an O2 sensor like usual. Clearance actually wasn't an issue at all.

[s14brent]

I knew HF used to sell a longer/lower jack than the standard low profile unit I have... Dammit I wish I had bought one when they were still available. Looks like the Arcan XL2T and Sunex 6602LP are the same jack (the HF 60678 looks the same too). And the Arcan is $200 on amazon. These two seem to be the lowest/longest reach floorjacks for under $500.

What's your opinion of the HF 60678?

I haven't had a single hiccup with it. I used this with no problem (e30, e39, and my old e36 m3). The release knob can be pretty sensitive if you forget and are in a rush, but yeah it was like $110-120 and well worth every penny. I'm not sure why they would discontinue them either. I was looking at the daytona floor jacks last time i was at HF and thought they would have something comparable.

Great job on the headers. I've used helium tri-mix and ss wire, I think my wire wasn't the cleanest (should have bought a new roll instead of using what a friend had left over) and had some issues there as well, I still have the bottle in my garage of the stuff, damn it's expensive too! but yeah you have the ideal 24v header setup for sure now.
Awesome pickup. I was actually looking for an older american truck (for a short while) to haul parts and my mini bikes with. I just don't want to deal with any more carbs. I've lost so many hours tuning them on my bikes, no experience with them on cars though. I'm curious to see what you do with this one.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Things got fairly tricky here snaking both pipes just right so they would clear the floor, swaybar, each other, and leave space for the v bands.





All tacked up ready for full welding.



Having to do a lot of grinding. MIG welding stainless isn't as smooth as mild steel and I think I'm starting to tax the garage's electrical system, but this will work just fine. I intend to ceramic coat later too.



Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

How big are the collectors? The pie slice tight bends are always fun to look at, but donuts almost always are easier to work with and result in a cleaner finished product.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

yeah the 60678 is what I have, I'm surprised they stopped selling it. It was the same thing as Sunex but half the price. I love mine, it's held up well and it works really well with my E30 and E36.

I haven't had a single hiccup with it. I used this with no problem (e30, e39, and my old e36 m3). The release knob can be pretty sensitive if you forget and are in a rush, but yeah it was like $110-120 and well worth every penny. I'm not sure why they would discontinue them either. I was looking at the daytona floor jacks last time i was at HF and thought they would have something comparable.

Thanks guys. I'm going to keep an eye out for a used one or else just suck it up and buy the arcan version some day soon. Really kicking myself for not acting earlier but oh well.

Great job on the headers. I've used helium tri-mix and ss wire, I think my wire wasn't the cleanest (should have bought a new roll instead of using what a friend had left over) and had some issues there as well, I still have the bottle in my garage of the stuff, damn it's expensive too! but yeah you have the ideal 24v header setup for sure now.
Awesome pickup. I was actually looking for an older american truck (for a short while) to haul parts and my mini bikes with. I just don't want to deal with any more carbs. I've lost so many hours tuning them on my bikes, no experience with them on cars though. I'm curious to see what you do with this one.

Thanks! The prior experience has helped me get this job done fairly quick. I'm really not quite sure what's the issue with the mig welding SS - sometimes it was laying a nice smooth bead, and sometimes just spattering and nasty. Might've been the HVAC kicking on in the house and robbing amperage, but I'm not sure. The wire is also like 2-3 years old? But it's been kept in a clean box so idk.

I'm excited about the truck. Been wanting to dabble in that arena for a long time.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

How big are the collectors? The pie slice tight bends are always fun to look at, but donuts almost always are easier to work with and result in a cleaner finished product.

it's collecting to 2.25" which will eventually continue as dual tubes all the way out the back when I get around to stage 2 of this project.

It's hard to tell from the photos but pretty much all of those bends are on multiple planes so even cutting up a donut or mandrel bent tube would've more or less ended up like this. 304 SS is also damn expensive. I'll use mandrel bent tube for the rest of the exhaust where the bends are simpler with more space.


Oh and I figured out why the welding got difficult towards the end... was running out of gas

[moatilliatta]

Mmm euro header. Cool to see they fit.

I may have missed, stock engine mount heigh with bar In stock position?

Yeah, trimix doubled the last few months, I almost shitted when I got my bill..

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Mmm euro header. Cool to see they fit.

I may have missed, stock engine mount heigh with bar In stock position?

Yeah, trimix doubled the last few months, I almost shitted when I got my bill..

LOL yea, they "fit" only took some serious persuasion with hammer, angle grinder, welder, removal of engine mount and arm, and raising the motor to get them in there

I'm guessing you're referring to the swaybar position? I had to space it down about 1/4" and engine mounts/height are stock

I was fortunate to have bought that full bottle of trimix from someone on craiglist for like $90 and haven't done enough SS welding to need a refill for 3 years. Now I've got three empty bottles all need filling x2 C25 and the trimix.... not looking forward to that