Today was another good day. Things are coming along. Got another 8" of snow on Sunday so that kind of put a crimp in my mood. Spring was almost here!
Anyway, got a lot of stuff over the past week (see last post). The HEI is a monster of a part. Surprised at it's size! Replacing that was a little more difficult than I expected. I need to replace the ignition wire (wasn't expecting that) per instructions. For those who dont know, their is a resistance wire from the firewall to the stock coil. Without removing that wire, the car wont run right at idle (warm). So I still need to replace that wire, otherwise the HEI is installed and set as best as I can set it while the car still isn't in running form.
Also got the oil feed system established. What does everyone use for sealing the thread on the fittings? I've never done this before, so I just used plumbers tape on the threads. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me?
Also got a closer look at my pre-turbo piping. It's going to be VERY tough to get the pipe right. To be honest, it's the thing that scares me the most about this whole project. The Upper control arm is scary close to the exhaust outlet. I'm very impressed with the quality of the pipe though. It's 16ga mild steel from mandrel-bends.com It was only 13.50 for the 180* bend and they shipped it 2 day. No complaints their.
Here are my Boost and Water Temp gauge. The Temp gauge is electrical since I plan on swapping over to a pull electric fan. Also should note I got a great deal on a Wideband from a Honda forum for $120 shipped. Only used for 5,000 miles and comes with everything a new setup would have. I should have that next week sometime.
I'm on spring break from classes starting next week. I plan on getting the pre-turbo mocked up and installed.
Does anyone have any ideas for sealing up the gap between intake and exhaust manifold? I have the Clifford so it doesn't use the heat riser. I've managed to grind the exhaust mani down so I can mount the exh/int mani's on the head, but there is still a little gap between the two. Should I get a gasket and hope it seats? Or hope I can find a welder to braze the gap shut? I need some ideas. There is definitely enough room for a leak.
