LeBaron Intercooler install done!

[crazymadbastard]

Just have to do a few minor things like painting.add 1 more bracket, figure out how to mount the radiator to the top support and figure out where to mount the flip light motor.

I used a brand new t2 radiator I won on EBAY, an autochrome ebay intercooler, siliconeintakes.com for the hoses and t-bolt clamps (I got better lock nuts though-the ones included were very easy to remove once they were tightened), racing-solutions for the 3" mandrel kit and an Audi BOV. All the vendors i used were great!

I have about 8-10 hours into this so far. I am learning how to fabricate and MIG weld so it takes a bit of time. One tool that made it TONS easier was a borrowed hand bandsaw- WOW can't even imagine trying this without it.

Now for the slide show.

Here are some pics where the 3 pipes meet, you can see how tight the fit is:




Here is another view under the hood, this is where the pipes leave the bay, I plan on fitting a long and skinny K&N in there, any suggestions or part numbers? :





This is a view without the pipes in the way:





This is behind the bumper from bellow, I used button head bolts just in case someone really likes my IC and has visegrips... I also needed the extra clearance under the pass side headlight bucket:




A view from the grill:




Here are all the pipes, I just have to pressure test the whole thing and hope for no leaks, and paint them. I built up welded beads at the tips of the pipes so they won't burst off under pressure. I have high temp silver- aluminum paint so that may be the color I go with.




Some things I would do differently if I had to do it again:
Think a little harder and longer before cutting sh!t up!
Go with 2.5' pipes, it will fit easier. Go with a narrower but taller IC, same side in/out like this one though.

The budget was a concern, so the decisions I made were to minimize cost, like instead of using expensive silicone elbows & clamps,I used mandrel bends and welded them. In the end I think it fits better with less parts to worry about busting loose. I will post more pics when I am done. Thanks for visiting!

[4cfed]

looks good!!!
maybe grind the welds down and fill them with jb weld and smooth them out before painting for acleaner look?

[The Pope]

I would run the 2.5" lines and run the BOV near the TB. Air is going through a 2.5" IC and out into a 2 3/8" TB with 3" between. When you let off the gas the boost air changes dirrecton and goes towards the turbo to get out of the BOV. Stick it at the TB and the air keeps moving the same dirrection. I am doing the same IC on a GLHS but plan to use stock lines accept for the 2 90s needed. Trying to keep it looking stock. On my CSX I bought the "other" $120 IC, the 24" x 3" core IC, that requires a lot more trouble though but has 3" inlet / outlet.

[LynX853]

awesome job, cheak mine out!

My front mount on LeBaron with pics!

[crazymadbastard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LynX853 awesome job, cheak mine out! My front mount on LeBaron with pics!

Thanks.
I did, did you finish it yet? How's it running on th T1 electronics? How much boost? I think I am going to run on t1 electronics till spring.
I hope we don't run lean...

[LynX853]

just under 15psi with the stock cal, but i also got +40's in and just turned down the fuel pressure

[paratender2003]

looks good! i like the cooler set up!

[crazymadbastard]

Thanks for the compliments.
Update- the siliconeintake clamps suck worse than I thought! I already stripped 3 of them after clamping them down for a leak test. Let's see how their customer service is.

My butt welds on the 3 in pipes did ok with minimal leaks. The bov flange-not so good ran out of wire also. bleh.

[northern GLH]

LOOKS GREAT !! I like the bosch by pass, using it as a blow off ,Cool!!

[LynX853]

oh your using a bosch bypass valve? I used that before I got my RFL... they ARE prone to leaking!! i didn't know mine leaked untill I put on my rfl, and noticed a significant power increase, just giving you a heads up!

[puppet]

Lookin' good bro!

[Baron von John]

I have a lot of car racing experience, even though I only have been in the TD world a short time. So, take this for what it is. I would cut the solid pipes in the middle of a near vertical section and add in some rubber hose. I see you have a flex joint, but it looks comressed already.

The reason is that these motors move around in the engine bay. If you have the stock bobble strut like I do, it will move an inch or more fore and aft under power, worse if you get wheel hop. With a solid bobble, it will still move some though not as much. Solid pipes will not flex, so the entire system is forced to flex at the two little silicone hose sections. That might be why your clamps are failing.

[crazymadbastard]

Thanks Baron for the suggestions, the hump hoses are not compressed or strechted in the pics, the clamps failed when I had to tighten them down, I used a rigid 18v mini impact on them, so maybe the shock made the bolt threads strip. Maybe when everything is clean, I won't have to tighten them down so much to get them to seal.

I ended up getting some 5 minute epoxy from home depot to seal all the welds, worked well at sealing the tiny leaks. Looks a bit nasty so I will see about more sanding and some bondo work the next time the pipes have to come off.

[crazymadbastard]

Ok so I put the car on the road, made nice power! Blew the clutch to bits- it was a sachs clutch- tired and worn. replaced it with a 6puck hd from TU and aluminum flywheel. btw, siliconeintakes.com has super customer service, they replaced a part after the 90 period no problem! check their site out, they have new intercoolers and all the stuff you need without having to resort to radiator hoses or ebay. Here are the finished goods:

[Turbo-Baron]

Very nice. I need to do the same thing soon