Project: Recycle

[SCOTI]

Now the progress stuff. I messed around w/the brake lines this week in an attempt to get them finished. And yet again, the familiar theme of this project popped up.... one step forward, 2 steps back.

The brakes lines & fittings are rusting. These are new lines/fitting(s) that have yet to go outdoors & yet they're un-acceptable already. I decided I would prep & paint the brake lines that are 'within the chassis' (the lines that route from the master cyl down to the prop valve are stainless & look great) & replace an ugly fitting.

Not all of the fittings are having an issue w/the finish/plating. I cut the main culprit in the pic off to replace it w/a new fitting (w/better plating hopefully). I start my quest for the replacement fitting & it's not to be found. Pep Boys, O'Reillys, Autozone, NAPA, another local mom & pop place, as well as my local specialy hyd-hose fabricating place don't have it. I have one extra fitting but it has the same plating so I know I'll likely experience a similar result after time passes. I have a buddy @ a plating shop & I'm going to call in a favor but I'm not sure he'll be able to do 1 little fitting for me. So the brake lines have been pulled but I'm waiting to see where this fitting situation goes before continuing.

A couple of pics of the 'new' corroded brake line & fitting....

[SCOTI]

I'm also having a similar corrosion issue w/the 'new' brass prop valve. So I decided to get another p-valve made of different material. I was going to get the aluminum replacement from CPP when I came across one of the 'adjustable' style replacement p-valves.

I thought this is better for my application as I'm running a 2" stagger on the F/R tire diameters & have swapped to HD rear drums. The adj p-valve will allow me to tune the bias slightly if needed.

The adjustable p-valves are fairly close to an original GM piece but there are slight differences so they have a disclaimer that some brake line modification might be required. It is for this reason I'm on stand-by w/the brake lines. I don't want to go through the effort of getting everything cleaned up & in color only to have to re-work the lines. Hopefully it will be in my hands by mid-week.

[SCOTI]

While working through the brake line situation, I also got some work done on prepping the material for my exhaust. I have some of Speedway's Ram-Horn manifolds & when I placed the order for the prop-valve, I decided to get the tight-tuck collector pipes they offer. You get the collector flanges (3/8" thick) & the 'head' pipes that are made w/mandrel bends & designed to work w/this style of header/manifold.

Speedway offers an option on material choice for these: mild-steel or stainless. Since I work in the food manufacturing industry, I have access to food grade stainless pipe & went w/the SS option.

Yesterday, I gathered up all the various sections of pipe I've been hoarding. I 'pick' through the demo'd material as the contractors remove existing pipe when revising processing systems within the plant. I have enough material for a full length mandrel bend 2.5" exhaust including cross-over tube....

[72BlckButy]

That is going to be a killer looking exhaust...

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by 72BlckButy

That is going to be a killer looking exhaust...

It should be fairly quiet too since this pipe is a little thicker than standard exhaust tubing (SS exhaust tubing is heavier wall vs. aluminized steel). There will be a slight weight concession but it should be a good trade off.

[67cheby]

Cool..........

[watahyahknow]

youre going to need some stainless roundbar and a bit of flatbar to make the hooks for the hangers

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by watahyahknow

youre going to need some stainless roundbar and a bit of flatbar to make the hooks for the hangers

No problem w/that.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Very nice exhaust bummer about the brake line action rusting..

[watahyahknow]

usually brakeline have this ugly greenish gold plating to prevent that maibe they stopped that lately deu to cost

[crawdadfox]

Nice stuff Scoti.....you now have 94 days till Columbus!

[lakeroadster]

Scoti,

You planning to use stainless bolts or SS studs to hold the manifolds to the heads? Stainless has a higher thermal expansion rate, so using similar materials will help to avoid overstressing the fasteners due to the differential expansion.

John

[SCOTI]

The manifolds are actually just cast iron & will be coated. The exhaust collectors & tubing will be stainless; the mufflers are just aluminized tubing.

The reason for the different materials? I bought the manifolds new. I didn't care for the look of the optional 'natural' stainless manifolds & the polished stainless version didn't fit my 'theme'. My plan was to coat whatever I got in an 'as cast' color. Since their going to be coated, the cheaper iron versions will work just fine.

The exhaust 'lead' piping (collector & initial head pipe) were 'garage sale' stuff that was considered blems. I was able to get them for the cost of mild steel. Since that was cheaper & I have acess to mandrel stainless tubing, I get better material @ a much cheaper price. I already had the mufflers & really don't think it will make a difference that they're polished/aluminized steel vs. stainless (it's not like you'll ever be able to see them unless I provide picture proof ).

[likaroc13]

any idea what you're gonna use to coat the manifolds? i want to either blast & coat my stock "rusty" ones or get some new ones & coat them as well

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by likaroc13

any idea what you're gonna use to coat the manifolds? i want to either blast & coat my stock "rusty" ones or get some new ones & coat them as well

Wow.... I didn't notice this question before. I'm going to have them professionally coated w/a high temp coating similar to powder coating (pending cost). If it's too much..... VHT high-temp cast iron gray in a rattle can will get 'called-up'.

I've been chipping away @ BS stuff.... I've literally spent a week working on the 3/8" hard fuel line. It's ok looking & should be functional but when I do my next one, I'll spend the coin for some of the black nylon/braided high end fuel hose w/AN style fittings. No rattle worries, easier for routing in those ultra hard to reach spots, & smaller installation headache. The hardline would have been much easier to do w/the motor & Dropmember frame reinforcment brackets not in place but I felt everything needs to be installed so you don't have any 'oops'.

Now that the fuel line is in place, it uses all of the available space above the R&P frame notch on the pass side which is where the rear hard brake line was also routed. I'll have to re-make that line & route it down the driver side & across the back of the crossmember (my brake lines were routed like a 73-80 model truck).

I started mocking up the 2.5" exhaust too. Should look very nice when done (much nicer than taking it to a muffler shop & subsequent 1.5hr install).

[MattA]

It is looking real good. Just keep plugging away, you WILL be driving it before too much longer.

[flips72]

lookin good, i really like the ram horns they are going to look great on your truck.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by flips72

lookin good, i really like the ram horns they are going to look great on your truck.

I would have preferred the original style 2.5" ram-horn manifolds but the outlets dump straight down vs. these which dump @ a slight angle toward the block. These are growing on me though....

[flips72]

i honestly believe i like the ones you have, the casting just seems so much cleaner, if i wasnt allready running headers i would be hunting a set.

[SCOTI]

I wanted to do a little test work today to see how well things went together, give me ideas, & allow time for researching answers if necessary.

I did 3 different butt welds on some 2.5" scrap stainless from the recycle bin (seems fitting no? ). I played around w/the migs temp & speed settings after the switch from solid steel wire to the solid ss wire & wound up where I was set previously before the wire switch. I was also still using the 75/25 Ar/CO2 gas mix for the mild steel vs. the spec'd Tri-mix (90/7.5/2.5 He/Ar/CO2) for stainless.

I wasn't real happy w/the amount of spatter & it was very difficult to visually see my seam as I welded. I also didn't want to have to grind off everything but I just didn't like the appearance of the 'semi-ground' weld.

I'll pick-up a bottle of the 'correct' gas tomorrow am (pending the local suppliers recommendations) & melt a few more 'recycled' pieces of pipe....

[shortbed70]

Did you try straight helium? I thing thats what I used last time I welded SS and if I remember it welded alot hotter so adjust accordingly. Nice work BTW.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by shortbed70

Did you try straight helium? I thing thats what I used last time I welded SS and if I remember it welded alot hotter so adjust accordingly. Nice work BTW.

I just used what I already had.

Research suggests the 75/25 will work leaving more carbon deposit in the weld area vs Tri-mix. This might be critical for some applications, but a ss exhaust most likely isn't one of them. The Tri-mix is supposed to allow the weld puddle to lay flatter everything else being equal. I figure I'll see what the supplier says/recommends.

I'll prob also make some quickie shields to keep spatter to a minimum controlled area (and get some anti-spatter spray).

For the record.... there's 3 splices in that pic .

[lakeroadster]

Scoti,

You don't want to use the 75/25. Way to much CO2. Those carbon deposits will turn into rust pretty quick due to the corrosive nature of the exhaust gases. The stainless exhaust with carbon deposits will corrode quicker in the weld heat affected zone than just plain old steel due to carbide precipitation at the grain boundaries. Basically crazy fast corrosion adjacent to the welds.

As you stated, a 90% Argon / 7.5% Helium / 2.5% CO2 "tri-mix" is pretty much the industry standard for short circuit welding of stainless with GMAW (mig).

But 98% Ar & 2% CO2 is probably your best bet. Check out this information from Ed Craig's website: Ed Craig: MIG Welding Gases. This guy is a hoot, he does his own research to evaluate what works best and doesn't do the "we have always done it that way" approach to anything. Really interesting guy and a wealth of knowledge. We used his expertise at "my day job" and his no bull$hit approach is refreshing in the field of welding.

[SCOTI]

I came across that info last night when searching. I was going to see what the supplier said & bring that to the table (should also be cheaper). Thanks for looking out for us!

[SCOTI]

My local supplier (AirGas distributor) didn't have the 98/2 mix.

But, after BS-ing w/the guy & telling him what I was up to, he helped me out. He filled a small (40#) bottle of the Tri-mix for me to see if it worked. I got the bottle, a new lighter shade tinted lense, & interior lense for my helmet for $23 . I also found the brake line clips I needed @ a local Smileys Racing center (pkg of 4 for $4). So far so good for a Saturday morning....

I headed to the shop (work) but there was some 'company' work going on. The maint team had the overhead door open & there was a pretty good wind current today so I didn't get to try the new gas. Instead I focused on finishing the brake lines. I had to shave down one of the new brake line clips slightly to fit my thicker frame material (these are made for .125" tabs) but they work like they're supposed to & the rear brake flex hose is now secured to the frame. This let me determine the cushion clamp placement for the line as it routes toward the front of the chassis (trying to keep everything from looking like an after-thought). I also worked on the re-routing of the front-to-rear brake hardline. I was able to re-route this line partially down the driver side & across the main engine x-member. I still need fittings & an additional union but the parts store had to order them in.

Nothing really to show other than the 're-bent' brake line & the brake line clips....