Lastly, I pressure tested the intake with intercooler to 25 psi. It should handle that with ease but it was still quite terrifying. Using soapy water I did observe that many of the seams of the 3D print were not 100% air tight. It’s not enough to be an issue but I’m going to try to seal it up anyway. Will follow up with how that goes.

Those small bolted on parts on the back are just block off plates. I added ports for the intake the air temp sensor in three locations. I don’t think I’ll use the ones on the back but they make for good inspection ports as my borescope fits in the hole.

Hoping to finish and paint next weekend!

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I also made progress on the exhaust. I tacked everything in place but now I’m wondering if I should go with a flex joint instead of the v-band clamp. The turbo mount to the head is very rigid and I’m concerned that the exhaust will expand enough when hot to create issues.

This is one of those things that I’m 97% sure is fine but it might be worth being extra cautious. I’d go with one of these: https://www.aceraceparts.com/products/2-500-flex-bellow-assembly-304-stainless?variant=32529494532 which can handle pre turbo temps and pressure.

Any opinions?

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Man that is sick! Good luck on the outcome! This will be a GameChanger.

Other level

Yes

this is my most favorite thread on this forum. And will be for quite some time: I cannot imagine what build could top this one.

Congratulations on the significant progress. Things are looking even more impressive as you work your way through this outstanding build which, to me, is very relevant to my own current pursuits and is extremely interesting to follow.

I am really excited to see how everything holds up in real world conditions once it is all installed and running.

Trying to finalize the paint for the manifold by testing on some old 3D prints. I tried SEM texture paint with various blacks on top. I just did a VHT wrinkle finish.

I was really surprised to see the print lines show up through the wrinkle paint. There is just no way I’m going to finish this thing to be fully smooth so I need to texture of some kind. I think I’ll end up going with the wrinkle paint, but I’ll do a little sanding before primer to help with the finish.

The process is sand > flame treat > plastic adhesion promoter > primer > paint. It’s a pain but nothing wants to stick to nylon. Hopefully this will prove to be durable.

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Sir, that is some innovation you're doing there.

I feel like a caveman.

Cerakote sticks to nylon.

I'm also finishing up development of nickel plating plastic and carbon fiber parts.

I never knew Cerakote stuck to nylon. Is there anything that stuff can’t do?! That would be the best option but I really don’t want to have to finish the print lines all the way to smooth.

I’ve done it a few times with FDM prints and it takes hours. This is also carbon fiber nylon and I’d rather not have carbon dust everywhere

Cerakote would definitely be the best option, but I think I’m gonna go with the wrinkle paint. I think it will look good and the sample I painted seems to have really good adhesion. We’ll see…

Really amazing work on this project. The attention to detail is so great.

Following!

That is some nice custom work you are doing! I'm wondering why not leave the 3D printed parts in natural color instead of painting/Cerakote?

I really could have left it unpainted. I think the glued seams bugged me more than anything. Looked too home made.

I spent the morning painting and I’m pretty happy with the result. Again, I was not going for perfection. Sanding a 3D print to a perfect smooth finish is an all day affair. I spent about an hour sanding in total.

My process was:
sanding > clean > Spray Max adhesion promoter > Spray Max 2K primer > light sanding > Spray Max 2K hot rod black

It’s a little more gloss than I’d like but I’m happy with it. It looks like an OE finish to me. The imperfections aren’t too bad…almost looks like a casting or something.

I opted out of the wrinkle black. Didn’t feel right for the car and my test spray wasn’t very durable. The 2K paint should handle more abuse.

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I know sanding PETG is like trying to keep a boat from sinking using a teaspoon.

Stuff does not sand easy.

Looks great! I’d be super happy with that finish.

You really took it to a different level. Very very nice job!