DIY Tubular T3 Manifold, Top Mount Turbo (PIC HEAVY!) NOW RUNNING

Ok been a long while since i planed to start making this so here it is

It may be usefull help to folks who also wants to give it a go and make their own manifold

So step one will be buying or having made all the flanges you will need for your application as well as mandrell bent fittings

For flanges i am using 10mm thick stainless steel laser cut for precise fit 316 grade

Fittings are 1.5" Sh40 so quite thick side wall and perfect I.D. of around 41mm which matches my ports perfectly

Flanges came from Ebay apart from main Cylinder head flange which i got from Andy Waite (Ak Bodycraft) white mk1 4wd owner, as he had one spare

All bends came from firm in Blackburn called Eurostainless





So i started with making a collector first, with a little help from my mate who is a fabricator and has band saw which helps with cutting stainless tube

Sorry no pics taken during making of collector but you get the idea











With engine in place its wise to check carefully where abouts you want the turbo to sit as its critical for making sure everything will have space to run like downpipe, wastegate, screemer pipe etc

Once you happy with placement of turbo its time to fix collector temporarily where it will need to be so pipes can be made, as in pics above

Next step is playing about with fittings to create individual runners

You will need to be carefull here to make sure there will be no clashing and that you can get to all joints for welding

For today i got as far as placing and temp fixing collector where it needs to be and making runner number 1, TBC tomorrow

 

Looking good so far sam, ill be following this with interest !

 

Nice one Sam! Thanks for putting this up

I was just on the Eurostainless website the other night

Keep us updated dude!

 

How do costs for all the pipes and flanges add up compared to buying a built mani?

 

I'v spent circa 170ish i think so it will work out hell of alot cheaper and this way i can make it custom fit. Will consider having it ceramic coated once its all made and tested/proven to work and perfect fit

 

I've just invested in a TIG machine with the intention of building a manifold, so I'm grateful for this thread and will follow with great interest.

 

Definitely worth diying if you can then

 

Thanks for putting this up Sambo. Do those pipe sections come pre-chamfered for good welding penetration, or did you have to do it yourself?

 

Those pipes are 'butt' weld ends and come like that.

 

Great work Sam.

 

Good stuff, looking good so far!

What make / model did you go for?

 

Thanks for great coments lads, good to know few will benefit from the thread

So today was a good day i am pleased with the outcome

Gota bad case of weld burnt face tho but its not the first time, and cheaper then sunbed i guess lol

On with pics and tips now. Tools wise today me n Bob have used

Angle grinder with 1mm cutting discs, Inox (Stainless steel) one and grinding disc

Air Die grinder with Carbide Steel rotary Burr bit for deburring after cutting tube

Grips (Pliers) for holding fittings together during tack welding

Mig welder with stainless wire, obviously Tig would of been better but hey Mig did the job


Started with making runner number 4








On with runner number 3, here i needed to extend couple of 90deg bends so vice and thin cutting disc came in handy, steady hand required!















Then on with runner number 2














Trying the turbo on making sure it is still where i want it to be














Trying how downpipe will look like







There you go, all in one piece now, removed from spare head and will be trial fitted to engine in place to tripple check all clearances are still good and to decide on final placement of Tail gate and route downpipe and screemer pipe will take

then off again for Tig welding and blasting/cleaning before final fittment


As it looks away from head

 

Just to add word of warning, use a guard on your angle grinder, dont be Ding bat like me as today i nearly ended up with ruined gentlemens area as the disc broke and shrapnel was everywhere!

 

Thought you didn't bother with all that H&S namby pamby rubbish Sam......

 

Looks crackin' does that mate! You make it look easy

 

Good work. Is it going to be TIG'd or MIG'd to finish it off?

 

you know this, but I will say it anyhows just in case,
If TIGing, you will be back purging it yea? and also, the head flange, must be bolted to a flat strong surface to keep it flat as it will want to distort like a mofo otherwise.

head flange looks familiar.. Its one of mine

 

Deffo Tig-ed as i need welds to fully penetrate thick tube walls for max strength, dont think Mig is man enough and Tig is alot tidier

 

Yep Bill flange came from you i beleive, if and when you getting a batch going again i will be deffo having few if you dont mind, this one is first class

And yes i am aware of warping issues thats why i will have flange end welds done last whilst bolted to the head as much as possible and whole lot will be back purged

Runners one and four can be welded nearly fully in place as they are

Runners two and three will be welded in place as much as possible to make sure they dont distort as they will have to be removed for welding hard to get to places near runners one and four

Then put back on for final welding of all remainig sections

I was led to believe when welding stainless manifolds its very important to take your time and do it bit by bit to allow cooling, it certantly cant be rushed or it will be well twisted!