I'm lagging on the updates. The good; I now have a downpipe. The bad; the car had to donate some parts to my current daily transportation.
Over the past few weeks the downpipe slowly came together. I started with an order of material from VerociousMotorsports.com and went with the good stuff; vibrant 3" 304 stainless steel mandrel bends (180, 45, and 15 degree), two 304 vibrant O2 weld bungs, a 304 3" vibrant flexpipe with interlocking liner, and a 304 3" vibrant v-band flange/clamp assembly (some of this came in a later separate order as the assembly progressed). After ball-parking my materials I was faced with the puzzle of how I was going to make a 3" downpipe fit, and how I was going to route it where I wanted it go. The other obstacle was how to work with the material. Being a perfectionist, I wasn't thrilled that I would be working with a hacksaw, but by the end of the project I had a well rehearsed method for precious cuts. This project was also a test of patience; eyeball, mark, cut, test fit (sometimes trim), de bur, weld, fit, move onto the next length. Dad once again tackled TIG welding, taking it with him to work in the mornings, frying things up on his breaks, and bringing it home in the evening for me to try out (my Dad also gets credit for drilling of the holes for the EGT bung, and two O2 bungs, having left it in his hands after being unsuccessful and breaking some small bits). The back and forth juggling of our schedules drew fabrication out. The one thing I am disappointed about is the EGT bung Auto Meter had supplied me, which to my annoyance, turned out to be mild steel. Someday maybe I'll go through the trouble of drilling it out and putting a stainless steel one in there. For now I'll just have to look the other way.
