I did a little cleanup ... notice the "hole" in this picture? It was caused by me "skipping" over the tack weld.



All fixed!



Considering all the pipe cleanup that is needed after using a chop saw to cut the tubing, I needed to add a new tool to the arsenal.



It came in VERY handy today when I was able to sand down the warped flange ... completely flat now!

Today was spent cleaning up the garage and trying to get more organized so I could arrange the tools in a "production" type environment so I could cut, debur and weld without much fuss. In order to clear up wall space on the back wall AND to help fabricate the kit, I decided to mount the engine to the spare sub-frame fairly well elevated off the ground. This will aid greatly in the tube running & fabrication:





Back to the tubing ... got started on the front 90 degree bend/socket to go around the oil pan and meet up with the rear bank exhaust. In this pic you can see how much I had to cut down the socket & "leg" off the 90 degree bend. Needless to say, the sander was invaluable!



Everything lined up nice & flush and I was able to bevel the edges (for full penetration of the weld)



A closeup of the tack welds.



I will not be seaming the tacks until the entire up-pipe is complete. I hope to be at that point in about 2 weeks ... I'm still waiting on a shipment of 15 degree bends that I will be using to fabricate my 2" in, 2.5" out 2 into 1 collector. I'm getting pretty good with the welder and have no doubt that I can make this merge collector without much trouble.

For Sale: 1997 Explorer XLT V8 AWD