Esser's Second FD Build - Big Turbo Street Killer

[digitalsolo]

Top shelf build, for sure!

[FC3S Murray]

Ugggg.....car porn

[Esser]

Rear end setup is complete. It consists of:

Grannas built 8.8 with a Tru-Trac and 3.08 gears
DSS pro level axles and hubs




Turbo hot side is mocked up. Many things were accomplished here. A full 4in downpipe has been incorporated and fits all the way to the back of the car. The hot side primaries are equal length into the turbo, this should help with turbo spool and sound. And we are able to fit a true cold air intake. The idea here is efficiency: there are zero hard bends or sudden 90degree turns for the air to take, all smooth on both hot and cold side. All the cold side piping is 3.5" to match the exit of the turbo. This is something I wanted to incorporate to keep any sort of power hinderance down.

[freeskier7791]

any reason not to run stainless turbo headers

[kinger]

Sick on so many levels!  That poor alt looks like its going to get cooked but hopefully the heat shielding keeps him happy.  Impressive to get a 4" to fit.  Fabricator has skills!

[Esser]

any reason not to run stainless turbo headers

I researched it a lot and debated it, but the truck manifolds just fit really well in the FD chassis and are a solid base for the turbo build. They also are proven to support huge power (1500hp+) and I don't plan to make anywhere near that. They also provide excellent spark plug access and aren't prone to cracking. I didn't see enough justification for it with this build.

Sick on so many levels!  That poor alt looks like its going to get cooked but hopefully the heat shielding keeps him happy.  Impressive to get a 4" to fit.  Fabricator has skills!

Yep it is very close to the alternator - that section will be wrapped and currently working on a heat shield for the alternator. Things get really tight in the FD!

[Esser]

Hot side is welded up, waste gates are in. My fab guy is the real deal - all welds are back purged and no corners are cut.
Waste gates are dual 46mm and are placed equal distance from the turbo.



















Marking placement for 02 sensor here:


Downpipe:


As we finished up the hotside I had the wastegate area braced. We have a double slip on each side so nothing is stressed when heated up.



Then I tossed the hot side in the back of my truck to get cerakoted



Finished product:

[paul_3rdgen]

Beautifully done as expected!   Kit potential [emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[digitalsolo]

Wow!   That’s great fab work!

[freeskier7791]

agreed fab work looks top notch.  I need to get a backpurge setup.  I just scrapped some truck manifolds and couldnt believe how heavy they were but that also means they won't warp or crack.

[Esser]

Loaded up from the fab shop and headed back home for further tear down.





Also messed with some wheel configurations to see what I could fit





Pushed it into the driveway and pulled off the rest of the turbo kit and started pulling the engine.





This ls6 is destined to go into my Datsun 



and here we are left with the bare engine bay



So it this point in time I decided that I did not want to leave any stones unturned, and I decided I wanted to do the full engine bay repaint. Instead of scuffing the factory bay paint I called a buddy over to blast the engine bay down the bare metal while it was in my driveway. Then we degreased it and instantly put a layer of primer sealer on the metal to keep it from rusting.







I had him blast the wheel well areas too, so I went in with 3M undercoating and painted those areas







Then we let it dry for a couple days in the garage, and started sanding for the at home bay paint.



Three coats of color:





Three coats of clear:









I rolled it inside and dried it in the heat. I started the process of cleaning up all the components to re-install starting with the brake booster and brake lines. I used the rotary shack ABS delete kit, which incorporates a wilwood prop valve.

[Esser]

The samberg subframe was able to go back in. I will note that this is the early gen samberg subframe that aligns with the C5 corvette mounts. It sits the engine about a half inch further towards the rear of the car than the current version ronin kit. This was desirable for fitting all of the turbo stuff up front! I added the Grannas manual steering rack. I had planned on keeping it power steering but decided against it for now. I was starting to become a nit picky weight watcher and it seemed like a good idea for an all out build.




I modified the wheel liners and cut them in half so only the front was used to cover up the giant holes in the bay. Again, i did it for weight savings.




I sourced two catch cans (one for each valve cover) from jegs, I found some of plastic construction so they dont weigh much at all. then I made my own mount for them.











And there is just something about a clean empty engine bay that excites me... idk what it is haha. Like endless opportunities on a clean slate.

[digitalsolo]

That bay looks great!

[wickedrx7]

Very nice work Kelly!  Agreed on the satisfaction a nicely painted engine bay gives. Be careful of the disappointment when you scratch your firewall installing the engine. Ask me how I know…

[stubbyfoil]

Man, the fab work and engine bay look great! This reminds me so much of my old Turbo LS2 project! I think youre doing a much better job with cooling and component placement! My old T6 turbo did not allow room for ANYTHING! Keep up the great work!! This thing will SHRED!