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I could literally go buy a band saw and welder and still come out cheaper than what these guys are trying to charge me. Problem is I dont have the skillset to weld stainless or aluminum so I cant go that route. I know there are options out there, its just going to take me longer than I wanted to take to get this done. I'm meeting up with someone who does custom header work on Monday, hopefully that ends well.
As far as pictures go, theres not much to show. I have a bunch of parts laying around. Seeing as I havent got the project started due to this whole issue im talking about.
You could always build the system yourself and pay a mechanic to weld it (nice side job for them) or bring it all by a welding facility
For fabrication purposes build a template out of cardboard tubing which you can easily make to the desired shapes/ sizes, ones the mockup is complete cut open all the tubes and trace onto steel pipes
OK so I was able to come across some piping for a rear mounted twin setup. Luckily my turbo was delayed due to some machining setbacks at comp. I want to thank Jon at Huron Speed for being kind enough to let me apply my money to a set of new comp oil-less, tripple ball bearing, billet 6267s so I could take advantage of the pre-fabbed twin pipes I am purchasing.
So new build commences and everything but another wastegate and some more water lines is ordered. I'll be running twin 6267s with .63 A/R and a full Fore Innovations tripple walbro 450 setup for Flex Fuel. Cunningham Motorsports will be doing the flex fuel setup and tuning for me. As soon as the progress starts I'll update you guys with some pictures and more information. Hopefully my 6 liter can light these 62mm's up at a decent RPM.
Look for a sale thread on my brand new Treadstone single turbo intercooler, 3" aluminum piping, clamps, couplers etc. as I wont be needing them anymore. All Brand new in the box
You could always build the system yourself and pay a mechanic to weld it (nice side job for them) or bring it all by a welding facility
For fabrication purposes build a template out of cardboard tubing which you can easily make to the desired shapes/ sizes, ones the mockup is complete cut open all the tubes and trace onto steel pipes
Thats actually a great idea. I didnt even think about buying cardboard tubing. I considered cutting the pipes and doing the work myself but with the price of stainelss I didnt want to screw up a bunch of bends or create more welds than necessary. I have a buddy who will probably move forward with a single rear on his C5Z, maybe we'll go that route with his.
OK, thanks to Matt at FSP I have all of my fuel supply needs met. We worked out a deal on a Triple Pump Fore Innovations setup with the Walbro 450's, including all the bells and whistles, for my Flex Fuel needs
As soon as I get this set of snails from comp, I'll get the car in for the fuel pump installation and flex fuel tune.
I could literally go buy a band saw and welder and still come out cheaper than what these guys are trying to charge me. Problem is I dont have the skillset to weld stainless or aluminum so I cant go that route.
And "these guys" DO have the skills and experience....thats what youre paying for, not the tools that they have.
I could literally go buy a band saw and welder and still come out cheaper than what these guys are trying to charge me. Problem is I dont have the skillset to weld stainless or aluminum so I cant go that route. I know there are options out there, its just going to take me longer than I wanted to take to get this done. I'm meeting up with someone who does custom header work on Monday, hopefully that ends well.
As far as pictures go, theres not much to show. I have a bunch of parts laying around. Seeing as I havent got the project started due to this whole issue im talking about.
While most people could build a custom twin turbo system, few can make it look like a factory options and fewer are willing to help you with issues two years after writing the check.
While saving money is great any car of this caliber will be subject to part failure and "ghosts". Having a reputable shop with experience and a desire to get you up and running as quickly as possible is priceless.
Also if you build this yourself who is going to tune it? If I was a tuner I would be hesitant to tune something I did not personally oversee for liability reasons.
And "these guys" DO have the skills and experience....thats what youre paying for, not the tools that they have.
While I agree with this 100%, a skilled fabricator charging the prices that 'these guys' wanted should be able to build a system of this caliber in far less time than I was quoted. I understand time is money with this type of profession. I'm an engineer with years of schooling and a graduate degree. I still couldnt imagine getting paid what I wouldve paid the few who I talked to, to do this work.
The tool statement wasnt more than anything but an example of how much they were trying to charge me. It wasnt a take away of what these fabricators' time is worth. To be frank, $7000 for a Y-Pipe into 2.5" exhaust and the cold pipe fabrication seems a bit steep. Especially when I already have the flanges, vband headers and most of the piping. I did most of the homework, had a multitude of pictures, information etc. for them to go off of as well.
Thats just my .02 though, I know this work isnt cheap and I dont want cheap parts on my corvette. I went an alternate route and ended up saving over 3 grand, so it worked out for me.
Sinister, that seems to be the issue at the moment. While I'm using all quality parts (i.e. precision, comp, tial) I'm still only able to find one person to tune the car and hes not very readily available. I wish I wouldve know this from the get-go and It might have changed my mind on how I approached this build.
Any tuner worth his salt should be able to tune the car. Not saying take it to just anyone, but any setup can break on the dyno during a tuning session and tuners will warn you of the possibility. If I had to have some high $ shop do all my builds or oversee them, I probably wouldn't have ever had any. Some of us like to build our own setups, some don't have the money to have someone else do it, and some don't trust anyone else to build their cars. I don't see you having a problem getting it tuned, except for maybe having to travel farther than you would like. Can't wait to see the results. Good luck.
Cunningham has done some insane turbo LS builds and tunes so I'm sure you're in good hands with them but I've had nothing but good things to say about Matt at GP tuning so far, who is helping tune and get my car working properly as we speak. I've been to about every LS shop in California at some point and only two tuners I'd use are Matt or Ryan at Cunningham. have had some very bad and expensive experiences at all the other shops in CA everyone talks about.
Cunningham has done some insane turbo LS builds and tunes so I'm sure you're in good hands with them but I've had nothing but good things to say about Matt at GP tuning so far, who is helping tune and get my car working properly as we speak. I've been to about every LS shop in California at some point and only two tuners I'd use are Matt or Ryan at Cunningham. have had some very bad and expensive experiences at all the other shops in CA everyone talks about.
Cunningham is really where I would like to go. Its within miles of my house so its not only convenient but I heard he's really well versed in the flex fuel systems. The only problem with him is that it seems hes so busy and its hard to get in contact most of the time. I'll check out Matt as I've never heard of GP, I appreciate that feedback.
Considering trying to drop the rear out of the car in my garage to get the fore system installed and I just picked up an RPS Street Lite Twin Disk. I need to install my coilovers as well as gutted cats. It seems like most of this needs to be done to drop the rear anyhow so maybe I can do it all at once.
Anyone have any experience pulling the rear end out and dropping the tanks in a garage w/o a lift? I know its probably a pain but can it be done? Im worried about being able to get the car up high enough to do the job. I dont mind spending a few bucks on a proper trans jack or some extra stands etc. as its about a grand just to get the fore kit installed, not counting the clutch, coilovers or cats.
You also have to take into consideration that when a fabricator charges you for a job, that labor cost also includes, welding gas, blades, etc. That quote could also include back purging which uses more than double the argon. By the time all said and done with a rear mount turbo kit on a vette theres probably around 75-100Ft of welding. It may not seem like a lot of work but in reality it is.
If he was charging 7k just for labor, thats extremely ridiculous. Depending on his skill level, etc it should be half of that if not a third.
You also have to take into consideration that when a fabricator charges you for a job, that labor cost also includes, welding gas, blades, etc. That quote could also include back purging which uses more than double the argon. By the time all said and done with a rear mount turbo kit on a vette theres probably around 75-100Ft of welding. It may not seem like a lot of work but in reality it is.
If he was charging 7k just for labor, thats extremely ridiculous. Depending on his skill level, etc it should be half of that if not a third.
I was going into it expecting to pay about 4k so half would be pretty close to my estimation. 7 is just plain dumb. I wouldve bought a fabberge kit or upp kit before I did that. After everything is said and done I'm still well above what one of those kits would have cost me. Given, Im running one of the best fuel systems available for the corvette and that cost me over 2 grand in itself.
06-18-2015, 04:39 PM
