Tools: hacksaw, mitre box, C-clamp, dremel,
screwdriver, sockets, masking tape/
white-out, & tape measure.
Materials: Two 90 degree 2.5" mandrel
bent pipe, one 90 degree and one 45 degree 2" mandrel
bent pipes, one 17" and one 8" straight pipe
segments, 12" 2.5"id and 8" 2"id radiator hose
( cut into 4" segments ), 19 2.25" hose clamps,
8 2.75" hose clamps, JB Weld epoxy.
The piping I used for the intake side of the
turbo were exclusively mandrel bends and
straight exhaust pipe purchased from either
JC Whitney or the local PEP Boys. I didn't want
to have to go to a muffler shop to get anything
custom made. The only modification involved
cutting the pipe segments and making
4" couplers out of section of radiator "stick " hose
bought from Napa ( Napa turned out to be the
best choice for the radiator hose ) Here you can
see what was used and get an idea of what
was cut to fit. The intake pipe to the turbo was 2.5"
while the charge pipe coming off the turbo
and IC were 2" plus the 2.75" to 2" reducer ( red coupler ).
I used two 90 degree radiator hose pieces
and a 45 degree radiator hose segment, these were
just preformed pieces I picked out at NAPA
that looked like they would work, they had a little bit
cut off as well to make them fit.
Here is the intake piping as installed.
The couplings were 4" segements cut from sections of
straight radiator hose. The charge pipes
are double clamped since they don't have a flared end
on them to keep them connected. Right
by the throttle body you can see two vaccum fittings I
took from the original intake hose and epoxied
to the new pipe.
An alternate view (the battery is not in place
in this shot). At some point I will get some mandrel bent
pieces assembled that offer an even straighter,
open path and does away with the rubber 90 degree bends.
This is KwakSpeed Racing's exclusive quarter
million dollar pipe cutting machine. It worked great
although sometimes took a little while to
cut through the metal and rubber.
Here is where my IC sits. The top had
a bracket already that bolted to one of the bolts (actually
a longer bolt was used) from the battery tray,
the bottom is held in place by a brace that bolts
from a hole tapped in the IC to a bolt for
the underside splash shield. Fitment involved trimming
a little inner fender sheet metal and cutting
off the bottom of the fenderwell splash shield. I'd also
like to pop rivet louvers into my splashshield,
ala DSM cars, to aid in flow through the IC.
A top view. You can see the IC poking
out of the enlarged resonator hole and a second
hole I cut for the IC inlet. I used
a dremel cutting disk making dashed lines in a circle, then
a grinding stone to smooth it out. The
bare metal was then painted and vacuum hose, slit
down the center, was used to line the edges
of the holes.
And this guy would have been damn useful to
help with the custom piping.
UPDATE: I was never really happy about using
rubber bends in my intake pipes but the 4" radius mandrel
bends I used were too big so I was stuck with
the 90 degree radiator hose segments. When I saw that Summit
sold some tight radius (3" radius) 180 degree
mandrel bends I ordered a 2" ID 6"/15" leg J- pipe by Hooker.
This thing cut in half and was perfect to
replace my two 90 degree rubber bends. You can see here and in the
pic at the top of this page what was replaced.
I have revised the parts list accordingly.
