SR20DE header build

[GoldHawg]

I've been working on my Cutlass exhaust lately, putting in a new (to me) set of Hooker blackheart stainless headers, and that has me having to redo the downstream exhaust that I did 7 years ago. My welding still isn't the best, but its lightyears away from where it was. I have been welding on the older cats to reuse them in the system. You can see where I am skill-wise with adding a connecting piece to the catalytic convertor. I have nice colors on the weld, but I'm not as even as I'd like and the starts/stops aren't smooth. I have a picture of what I'd like my header weld to look like also included, and the question is, how do I get that look given my skills? Stay tuned....

[GoldHawg]

Yep, that is a work of art! (Like a Picaso, or a Garfunkel)

Well not really, but given that I'm spending about a gazillion $$ to learn how to build this header, the finished product really ought to be a work of art. Unfortunately my welding, while certainly structurally more than adequate to accomplish the task, is not the work of art that it needs to be. My welding just isn't crummy enough. That's right I really need,
Crummy Welding!

I really enjoy the welding tips and tricks video that Jody Collier puts out, and I've been able to learn a lot more about welding watching his videos than from my community college classes--the real trick to welding is watching the puddle and I could never see with the instructor trying to show me--but with modern cameras and filters and youtube, I can learn a lot more. Jody also has a podcast that I listen to, and he partners with Jonathan Lewis and Roy Crumrine, of Crummy Welding, who is an absolute Tig artist. Turns out Roy moved up to Ohio last year, and only lives about 30 min from me. You can check out his work on his website:
https://crummywelding.com/our-work
Roy has never done a header though, but his first header is....for an SR20DE in a Datsun roadster! Two of them, that is. Here are some pictures of the finished products. I think I can now agree with notoptoy--this finished welding makes these a work of art!

[notoptoy]

It's beauty AND the beast all in one. NIce looking pieces!

[GoldHawg]

Ooh...aah. Go Shannon Go! Can't wait to see what this does. Jet Hot sure makes a nice coating.

[sfdaugherty]

I will be installing the header next weekend.

I hope I can get it in without scratching it.

Shannon

[Gregs672000]

Wow, that looks really nice! All the work paid off, and illustrated the amount of effort required sometimes vs the 30 second fix seen on TV restoration shows, eh?

[notoptoy]

Amazing, it really is artwork. I would be proud to hang that on the wall, but then it would be a waste of great engineering and fabricating skills!

[onsight512]

That looks fantastic!

[bobd]

Is it too soon to ask if you are going to build any more of these?

[GoldHawg]

Is it too soon to ask if you are going to build any more of these?

Unfortunately yes. These will be very expensive and we need to see what kind of actual performance increase they provide. Let's see how Shannon's install goes and then we'll think about it. I wouldn't mind doing some group batches if there was demand, but at the price it would take to do, we need to see a healthy improvement.

[theunz]

There is something artistically pleasing about a nice header design. I remember sitting in my high school classes drawing headers instead of paying attention. Hmmm..maybe that's why I have to do everything myself instead of paying to have it done

[GoldHawg]

Well, let's just say that doing a pathfinder from almost 1400 miles away is difficult. Shannon reports that the install in a car with everything hooked up is likely the most difficult thing he has done on a Datsun. Not for the faint of heart. He did end up scratching his nice coating to get it in. And then he had a final location that wasn't centered with his exhaust hole in the crossmember. I put the merge collector as tight as I could toward the engine, and it fit nicely with my angle on my car, but I had rebuilt the front crossmember. So this is what we're dealing with:

[GoldHawg]

So this is now the difficult phase--I have to fix this from far far away. Hopefully Shannon's measuring skills are on track! So we need to move over the tube distance by 3/4". I had a friend mock the 2 1/8" tubing I was using in on solidworks, so I could print paper copies to take a crack at cutting the tube to get it exactly right. Only took a few pages to get the right angle to get exactly the 3/4" offset we agreed to.

[GoldHawg]

So Shannon took VERY careful measurements to get the distance to his catalytic converter, and we agreed for me to weld a tab that will be bigger than he needs, and he will then cut the 5/8" hole for the exhaust bracket. I sure hope I did this right! Sending it to him on Monday!

[s15to311]

Beautiful work! The flex pipe section looks very similar to mine