I fully endorse the "sleeper look" you're going for. Checking and re-checking fitments using mockups. Cutting costs by re-using oem junkyard parts. This series of videos aren't just simple entertainment, they're a genuine educational tool. Nice moves LT. Keep em' coming! 👍
Welding cast can be a pain. All cast is dirty. I think it turned out good. Especially for someone who doesn’t weld it often. I definitely prefer 2% lanthinated for everything on an inverter machine.
LT, the comments on the welding below are all solid and sometimes it is a combination of 2-3 little things. Use a pure tungsten or zirconiated tungsten electrode when AC welding aluminum. If you have an inverter, you can leave the tungsten pointed, if not, you need to blunt or ball the end. Sharpened end will ball up a little over time, but that depends on the welder and HZ. Set the proper gas flow rate, which should be 15 to 20 cubic feet per hour (cfh). Too high is as bad as too low. Cleaning is key. The tubes, make sure you lightly sand or wire brush both the inside and the outside. You are trying to remove the aluminum oxide. If you fail to clean the inside, you will pull that contaminant through the puddle. ALWAYS use a stainless steel brush DESIGNATED FOR ALUMINUM ONLY. Using a steel brush leaves iron contaminants behind and never use a brush used on other material. Have a designated brush for aluminum only. The other potential cause of contamination on the tubes is melt through and no purge gas. If you burn through the tube, you start sucking air from the inside of the tube where there is no shielding. I think this is the root cause of your tube contamination. You can tape the ends of the tubes and run some argon inside as a purge gas or just be careful not to penetrate all the way through. This could result in the propagation of a fatigue crack if you don't get 100% fusion so purging the inside will help a lot. It also gives some support for the molten puddle on the inside and gives it a little more surface tension and helps keep it from sagging through. The cast part......well, let's just say that not all casts are created equal. Casting is a real challenge and guess what? They are full of contaminants and trapped gases. You are basically boiling up the crud out of the casting and it is making it tough to weld. Not a lot you can do there other than good shielding and patience. Run a little hotter puddle, let the crud boil out, per say. Pulsing helps agitate the puddle and work some of that porosity out. Sometimes the only thing you can do is grind them out and weld back over them. Kevin Summers -Welding Engineer, Miller Electric
I’ve welded for 14 years and I use 2% lanthenated as an all around tungsten. It seems to be able to hold a little higher amperage and not break down as bad. Also, on you’re cast aluminum, bevel the edges where able and turn the cleaning action up on the ac frequency. Then use lower amperage than you are going to weld with to “wash” over the weld area before you get it to puddle. That should make it a little easier. Then stomp on the pedal and got to town...
Nice fabrication work and no need to apologize for anything, this stuff is never easy! It is great to see that you are using eye and hearing protection, gotta stay safe when doing projects like these! Keep up the excellent work and can't wait to see more!
Also several times I have asked for 100% argon and for some reason they have given me Argon Mix or Mig gas but I think if that were the cause the welds would probably look much worse. Other than that 2 % Lanthanated Tungsten (Blue) is pretty much the go to for AC TIG. Blue Demon is usually my go to and I've had zero issues there.
Genuine GM love it. Those used electric fans are a way better and will outlast any brand new EBAY deal out there. Kills me the garbage people buy for their projects and wonder why they are always wrenching. Do it right the first time. Digging the channel. Going to be fun to watch your shop grow too. I bet you miss all the nice gadgets you had back on the show, but nice to see you can get’er done with the good old manual stuff too. Keep up the good work.
The struggle and learning and making the best of what you have is what I dig about your channel brother. It's real and that comes through on the tubes of you. Don't apologize, just keep doing you.
We use the blue lanthanated tungsten and it seems to work pretty well, if you can balance for more cleaning vs more penatration I would do that too. I've gotten frustrated with contamination floating on the puddle too and more cleaning helped that a lot.
I am really enjoying this build. I don't feel its dragging on, it is just a lot more honest build. Showing the troubles really helps guys building in their garage.
glad you're showing everything, especially when you run into troubles and show how you worked around them, keep up the good work! Can't wait to see how this turns out. Hope you'll show the tuning process as much as possible!
Im a novice welder myself, its been a while and I could be wrong but alot of welding videos swear that when it comes to welding thin wall aluminum tubing your supposed to get the shielding gas to the inner side of the tube aswell as the outside of the tubing like normal.. and there are all kinds of wacky contraptions some guys come up with to do so... thin wall aluminum tubing is a pain no matter what anyway!.. love the content, I been thinking of turbo charging my silverado myself with some junk I have laying around! Great videos!
Don't know what you're talking about with the welds not looking good on the cast Aluminum. TI think they look good and I'm sure they will def work just fine, and the best part is they get you one step closer to firing this baby up and roasting some tires. I'm super interested to see the power numbers it will make with the turbo. Keep the great content coming man, this has been an awesome project to follow.
Me being self taught, , I’ve found with an inverter AC machine, ceriated is the best choice for aluminum, steel and stainless. Use a dedicated grinder for tungsten to eliminate contamination. Are you using a regular collet body or a gas lens? I’ve found a regular collet seems to work better for AC for me. I know furick’s gas lens cups aren’t recommended for AC welding. I also had a similar issue with the base metal balling up and not creating a shiny puddle like you want. Few senior welders I know told me I didn’t have enough heat. Keep in mind with aluminum as you know, it dissipates heat better so he heat doesn’t stay localized like steel/stainless, it moves away from the joint. Tweak the balance too for more cleaning action. Love the builds man! I’m a GM truck/OBS guy myself!
Great Job LT, don’t forget to get some oil paint on that truck frame. Trust me when I tell you rust is a major issue on that year GM truck. Brake lines under the drivers seat is also a spot to watch.
you are correct, rust is a major problem, but luckily the climate I live in is VERY dry and the UglyTruck doesnt get driven in the show. but someday, the frame will get painted
@@LawrenceTolman nhoilpaint.com works great if you don’t mind getting smudge up every time you touch the undercarriage. We need you back on the east coast! Pennsylvania you would fit right in being from Maine LOL
LT, the Harbor Freight Bandsaws are only @ $100 and work very well. I even clamp mine (on the handle) in the vise and use it vertically. I bought a switch pedal from Amazon and use it to control the power. I bought several of them for my bench grinder, belt sander, and bandsaw. You could move the pedal around, but at @ $20, it doesn't make sense. I have used my bandsaw to cut 3" stainless for exhaust and it works well. When cutting stainless, speed matters and that bandsaw clamped upright in the vise with a foot pedal for power works excellent. I use a zip tie to hold the power button. Then you can take it out of the vise, cut the zip tie and use it normally whenever you need to.
I do enjoy seeing all of the steps and stuff you struggle with. Makes it much more real. Like us regular guys. Budget stuff is awesome. Keep up the great vids LT!
Are you sharpening the tungsten to a point? You'll have better results with a rounded tip for AC TIG. You also mentioned argon flow - double check you don't have any leaks (soapy water trick) the smallest of leaks may effect the flow or even contaminate the gas itself. Only other thing I can think of since its a cast part it may just have a lot of porosity and its off gassing. You can pre heat or bake the part to help with that (400 degrees or so for 30 mins) . That's how powder coaters deal with off gassing aluminum parts they're coating.
I do sharpen em to a point, and just let em ball up slightly. I did think about possible gas contamination, but didnt have time run to the welding store to swap it out...
And purple sucks. Is crap alternative to red. Blue 2% lanthanated is best for all metals. Watch Jody aka welding tips and tricks Kanekid uses layzr tungsten for all
I worked as a mechanic at a canoe rental and found myself also fixing their banged up aluminum canoes (sigh). If you think working on clean thick charge pipes is hard, try thin gauge, scratched to hell and contaminated with river essence. Sometimes I would have to spray the aluminum with a water bottle to regulate the temperature so I wouldn't burn through. All things considered my welds looked like your good pass. I discovered the cleanliness of the metal wasn't as much of an issue as the size/brand of the tungsten, size of the cup and the flow. Also if your using a grinder to sharpen your tungsten, you could be contaminating it with whatever contaminants are stuck in your grinding stone. Glancing at your cup, it looks very, very narrow. I would experiment with a bigger cup. Molten aluminum majorly different than steel and steel is nothing like bronze, etc. They are very different animals.
I have an 8.1 in a 93 c3500. I absolutely love that engine. I have towed some really heavy loads and alot of it. Sadly the truck is pretty tired now. It's had 3 transmissions and I rebuilt the rear end once. I have no complaints though. The truck has paid for itself many times over with the loads it's hauled. Keep on keepin' on.
I never welded Aluminum you're probably better than me. From other welders & my teacher cleaning is key before welding. From watching you I can see why welders charge more to weld aluminum. Don't worry you did great LT. BEsides welding cast is always a pain in the you know where! Look forward to seeing the exhaust system, fuel system upgrade, & finally tunning on the Dyno👍👌
2% lanthenated (blue) is the best for inverters. I weld on aircraft and it's all I use anymore. Also 12-14cfh is a good gas flow for a 6 or 7 cup. Easiest way to tell is double the number of your cup. #5 takes 10-12 cfh, 6 takes 12-14 and so on.
It's def good to show all the issues that come with these builds took me over the course of a year to do a supercharger build which was easier or rather less fab work than a turbo. Then I found it was all a waste because I was using the powerdyne supercharger and it only made like 40 more horsepower and 60 more foot pounds of torque basically bump me up from like 260 horsepower and 240 foot pounds of torque to 305 and 300 but I eventually replaced it with a vortec V3 and life was good. I also went with a liquid to air intercooler which made the plumbing a heck of a lot easier
I've got a suburban and they came with the larger radiator so it went in fine and I'm to cheap to spend more on the harness than I did on the fans and luckily it came with the plugs with some wire so I bought some pins for the ecu and relays
Take the pipe and put it in a bucket with simple green a let it stay in there for about 24 hours and then take it out and rinse it with just water, or take a tooth brush and clean it. After that let it dry and grab your welder and tray again. You can by simple green in Home Depot or auto zone or advance, I like your Chanel and your work so keep going. I have a project with my sons that wi are bulding and later i'm going to show you some pictures, GOD BLESS YOU
Preheat the pipes before you weld it. Also put a weld around the pipe 1 inch back from the ends so your couplers can’t slide off when you get the boost up.
Great work. I had some mild steel header pipes do the same thing the other day. Three sections welded beautifully and 3/4's of the way around the last section it started popping and blowing back. Finally cut the bad section out and welded some new metal in and no more issues except I wasn't happy with how it looked. I believe there is alot more garbage ending up in material today. I am no expert welder by any means but do take alot of pride in how stuff turns out. Keep up the great work and the great channel.
LT is killing it!! It takes time and the attention to detail is something else!! Man as long as those welds hold under pressure it’s a win! Cast is super tricky! Subs are coming!! When the first burnout happens in ol ugly truck it will be a 50,000 sub day!! 👍👏🙌🤙
Cast aluminum is harder weld... pretty. Because it absorbs a lot more contaminants. There are ways to make it look presentable, though. It sounds like you're penetrating through to the inside of the tube that isn't shielded and the weld is getting oxidized. I prefer thoriated tungsten for pretty much everything, but they can be hard to find. Lanthanated works pretty well on al. If you respond to this comment, I'll consider subscribing.
I use pure tungsten for aluminum. Lanthinated is a good all around if you don't want to have multiple tungstens. I would also use a bigger cup or even better go to a gas lense for better gas shielding. A mix of helium and argon is great for aluminum as well.
Coming out awesome man. It’s funny I am a beginner at welding and recently doing a floor pan, custom firewall for a 60 Electra vintage air install and ran into some odd issues where my welds just weren’t laying out right on steel. The local welding supply had given me “universal” Tungsten. I switched back to the red and the difference was day and night. Identical to what you were seeing on the aluminum except I was on steel. I couldn’t figure it out for an entire day.
Your a better welder than i am i love the build im doing a 5.3 swap from a 4.3 and doing a turbo i know the heart ache its coming but troubles and tribulations happen anyways awesome build i like all the steps you show im waiting on your oil feed install thats where i am
For a proper weld you MUST purge the interior of the tube. Pure tungsten works best. Ball the tungsten tip. Clean all parts chemically and physically immediately before welding and at each start up. Do not short the tungsten to the work at any time. That's the professional and correct procedure. I've been welding for 39 yrs.
Looks good. I've never learned to weld but I've heard it said..."A grinder and paint will make me the welder I ain't". Reminds me of the drywall-er saying..."That's what they make mud and sandpaper for." (:-)
Pulse weld your thinner aluminum. Also pre heat with the tig torch first before welding. Clean clean clean. Aluminum is garbage as is. 2% thoriated or pure tungsten. Pre heat the aluminum to about 150-200 degrees for better bead start and stops.
@@LawrenceTolman pulse is where its at. Once you get it down you will not want to go back. But I watched your other videos on this 8.1 and its definitely moving right along. Welds are looking better too. I've been a professional welder for almost 15 years now. Practice makes perfect.
Love this project! Coming along nicely buddy! Always great to see somebody do something other then a ls small block! 8.1 is a good motor but not many people do anything with them.
Also helium purge gas and torch shield gas works best. Argon gas works as well but helium gives superior results and makes the process much easier with better results.
I specialize in welding aluminum. I use primarily Lanthanated or Ceriated for inverter machines for my large transformer machines I use pure tungsten which is the absolute best but you shouldn’t use those on an inverter. Practice doesn’t make perfect perfect practice makes perfect find someone who’s really good at welding aluminum have them set you up and then weld your butt off. Then you’ll get good. And cast aluminum usually sucks no matter how good you are.
LT, you need the cheap HF Bauer bandsaw and one of the swag offroad band saw tables, and instead of getting the one that has legs buy yourself a sturdier welding table and then you can clamp the band saw stand in the vice!!!
@5:23 Thought we were going to get a message about your huge new sponsor lol! Drats! Great idea on putting sandpaper on the table to make a flat surface.
LT! Fire extinguisher... perhaps it is out of the viewing area. Please make sure you have a large fire extinguisher available in working order. Two might be even better.
Either thoriated (red), ceriated (orange), or rare earth (gray) would be your best bet. Not sure on your machine but I would use these before lanthanated tungsten. I'll run a torch over the casting but thats me. Looks good though.
2% lanthanated is pretty standard for inverters. It works well for aluminum and ferrous. It's all I use now. There are some fancy newer mixes, but I don't think they are needed. When you prep your tungsten Sharpen it to a point then grind the point off to a small flat. Once welding, That will give you a small ball and prevent the tiny tip from melting off. Check your balance (cleaning) settings. Typically 70% works well, but depending on your machine, that might get reversed as different manufacturers refer to it different ways. I don't like sandpaper on aluminum for welding. I have seen (ZIRCONIUM?) and scotch bright contaminate welds. You get a pile of crud. You really should be using a dedicated stainless wire brush, then acetone or 100% isopropyl to wipe down (WEAR GLOVES! acetone is absorbed through your skin). Take the above and do test welds on your material to determine settings and see if you can't get cleaner welds
Try taking the intercooler outlet and go along the bottom of the core support towards the driver side and come up along the computer then across the top of the rad into the throttle body .sounds long but gives you a clean run and decent spots for your bov and your iat sensor .also of you decide to run meth later on you have a decent straight run
Could be bad gas. I like green band Tungsten which is pure for aluminum. I also think since that pipe is polished some of the polishing compound might be coming out and also it’s very thin you could be overheating it well smaller sections At a time let it cool and then keep going see how that works.
Glad I saw this, just got some efans today from the yard and ran me 30 bucks. I’m waiting on a harness now but I’m looking for a place to relocate the tcm since mine has the 5 speed Allison any ideas ?
What would be the disadvantages to horizontally mounting the intercooler over the intake and say using a cowl hood? I contemplated this on my 5.3 after I’d installed a large trans cooler up front.
I guess you could in the same way that the STI subarus do, but the disadvantage would be heat soak, airflow across the core, and I imagine you'd need a massive hood. but, I have seen guys do that with a liquid to air intercooler that doesnt need ambient air flowing across its core.
The pipe is so thin once it's totally molten oxygen is making it's way in from the other side. You could do a colder weld or backpurge the pipe with argon
Did you try using a bit of purge on that cast?? Even a bit of pre heat might have helped to reduce the impurities. I know it’s no cure just what I was taught.
Yes preheat, my first experiences with alum welding even stick welding it was angry with even trying to start an arc, but after about 400f of preheat the alum sticks lit rite up and continued the heat thru about 6 inches of weld. all practice but there was a PRE HEAT explanation that seemed to make sense and after trying it for myself it kicked ass, get a propane or map gas or butane torch and a temp gun and get about 450f that way you have time to glove up and a few xtra seconds to begin welding without burning yourself, i did, on the now stupid hot aluminum. I like the tungston change up those new welds look amazing but any weld that makes boost is a good weld in my book!! Keep up the content... my 05 xtra cab is gonna start 2021 and possibly chase your truck in numbers... hehehe!!
As I have asked before in this build series... please let me know what fuel pump works best for your application. Again, I daily drive a 2005 GMC 5500 with an 8.1.... I'm burning them up every 35 to 90 days. I'm only asking for your help once again. Keep up the good work.
Sorry if I didn’t see this before. I’m gonna be using a Walbro fuel pump, but there are a lot of good ones out there. Have you checked your fuel filter for restriction or maybe wiring for bad grounds or low voltage at the pump? It seems like there might be something causing the fuel pumps to burn up so quickly.
@@LawrenceTolman been there got the shirt. I drive a rollback tow truck for a living. 300 miles a day is nothing for me. Truck by itself is 12,000. And I regularly tow and haul 10,000 on the deck..... so yeah, I beat the snot outta this truck and get paid pretty good to do so. I will keep up on the progress of the build, just let me/us know what part numbers and brands as you go. And keep the content coming
Don't apologise for doing fab work, that's the main reason I'm watching!
thanks for that!
But I heat that u talk like you did on the show its hard to connect with you
Me too!
I enjoy this build dragging on. It's cool to see all the things that go into each step
And sometimes you learn something useful
Agreed. Definitely beats watching it on PN only to have an ad pop up and coverup the area of detail you need to focus on.
This is so much better than the show because it feels so much more reall seeing all of the steps along the way.
thanks!
I fully endorse the "sleeper look" you're going for. Checking and re-checking fitments using mockups. Cutting costs by re-using oem junkyard parts. This series of videos aren't just simple entertainment, they're a genuine educational tool. Nice moves LT. Keep em' coming! 👍
Dang this fan mod is awesome to know! Thanks! The fans I was looking at we’re going to cost $400+!
less than $200 for fans and control wiring, plus the ECM works with e-fans just like factory
@@LawrenceTolman I want to do this conversion to my ‘02 Suburban 1500. Would this work?
Love the fact that you're asking for advice. I would love to know the answer to the welding issue myself!
Welding cast can be a pain. All cast is dirty. I think it turned out good. Especially for someone who doesn’t weld it often. I definitely prefer 2% lanthinated for everything on an inverter machine.
Not sure if you mentioned it already. But I would paint the intercooler black to keep with the sleeper theme. Keep up the great work!
Don’t ever be embarrassed when you’re learning by doing it. That’s the only way to get better!
Love seeing you struggle you normally seem so sure of yourself. Very relatable. Would like you see your do more work like this!
I love walking around salvage yards
there are so many things I want to take home from the junk yards
LT, the comments on the welding below are all solid and sometimes it is a combination of 2-3 little things. Use a pure tungsten or zirconiated tungsten electrode when AC welding aluminum. If you have an inverter, you can leave the tungsten pointed, if not, you need to blunt or ball the end. Sharpened end will ball up a little over time, but that depends on the welder and HZ. Set the proper gas flow rate, which should be 15 to 20 cubic feet per hour (cfh). Too high is as bad as too low. Cleaning is key. The tubes, make sure you lightly sand or wire brush both the inside and the outside. You are trying to remove the aluminum oxide. If you fail to clean the inside, you will pull that contaminant through the puddle. ALWAYS use a stainless steel brush DESIGNATED FOR ALUMINUM ONLY. Using a steel brush leaves iron contaminants behind and never use a brush used on other material. Have a designated brush for aluminum only. The other potential cause of contamination on the tubes is melt through and no purge gas. If you burn through the tube, you start sucking air from the inside of the tube where there is no shielding. I think this is the root cause of your tube contamination. You can tape the ends of the tubes and run some argon inside as a purge gas or just be careful not to penetrate all the way through. This could result in the propagation of a fatigue crack if you don't get 100% fusion so purging the inside will help a lot. It also gives some support for the molten puddle on the inside and gives it a little more surface tension and helps keep it from sagging through.
The cast part......well, let's just say that not all casts are created equal. Casting is a real challenge and guess what? They are full of contaminants and trapped gases. You are basically boiling up the crud out of the casting and it is making it tough to weld. Not a lot you can do there other than good shielding and patience. Run a little hotter puddle, let the crud boil out, per say. Pulsing helps agitate the puddle and work some of that porosity out. Sometimes the only thing you can do is grind them out and weld back over them.
Kevin Summers -Welding Engineer, Miller Electric
I’ve welded for 14 years and I use 2% lanthenated as an all around tungsten. It seems to be able to hold a little higher amperage and not break down as bad. Also, on you’re cast aluminum, bevel the edges where able and turn the cleaning action up on the ac frequency. Then use lower amperage than you are going to weld with to “wash” over the weld area before you get it to puddle. That should make it a little easier. Then stomp on the pedal and got to town...
Finally, someone who shows everything involved in a build. Drives me nuts with these half hour to hour shows doing a complete build.
yeah, its hard to show everything in a single 30 minute TV show for sure.
Nice fabrication work and no need to apologize for anything, this stuff is never easy! It is great to see that you are using eye and hearing protection, gotta stay safe when doing projects like these! Keep up the excellent work and can't wait to see more!
The grey and purple tungsten work great. You also could be running into some bad contaminated shielding gas. I've ran into that before at my old job.
Also several times I have asked for 100% argon and for some reason they have given me Argon Mix or Mig gas but I think if that were the cause the welds would probably look much worse. Other than that 2 % Lanthanated Tungsten (Blue) is pretty much the go to for AC TIG. Blue Demon is usually my go to and I've had zero issues there.
Genuine GM love it. Those used electric fans are a way better and will outlast any brand new EBAY deal out there. Kills me the garbage people buy for their projects and wonder why they are always wrenching. Do it right the first time. Digging the channel. Going to be fun to watch your shop grow too. I bet you miss all the nice gadgets you had back on the show, but nice to see you can get’er done with the good old manual stuff too. Keep up the good work.
thank you! and my thoughts exactly.
I just wanted to say that all of your videos inspire and educate. Not an easy task.
hey, thank you!
The struggle and learning and making the best of what you have is what I dig about your channel brother. It's real and that comes through on the tubes of you. Don't apologize, just keep doing you.
don't apologize so much. it's a pretty good looking weld. I feel like you're just trying to apologize before the haters jump all over you.
We use the blue lanthanated tungsten and it seems to work pretty well, if you can balance for more cleaning vs more penatration I would do that too. I've gotten frustrated with contamination floating on the puddle too and more cleaning helped that a lot.
I am really enjoying this build. I don't feel its dragging on, it is just a lot more honest build. Showing the troubles really helps guys building in their garage.
glad you're showing everything, especially when you run into troubles and show how you worked around them, keep up the good work! Can't wait to see how this turns out. Hope you'll show the tuning process as much as possible!
thank you! and yes, I Do plan on showing the tuning process
Beautiful mountains in Utah there LT.
Im a novice welder myself, its been a while and I could be wrong but alot of welding videos swear that when it comes to welding thin wall aluminum tubing your supposed to get the shielding gas to the inner side of the tube aswell as the outside of the tubing like normal.. and there are all kinds of wacky contraptions some guys come up with to do so... thin wall aluminum tubing is a pain no matter what anyway!.. love the content, I been thinking of turbo charging my silverado myself with some junk I have laying around! Great videos!
Don't know what you're talking about with the welds not looking good on the cast Aluminum. TI think they look good and I'm sure they will def work just fine, and the best part is they get you one step closer to firing this baby up and roasting some tires. I'm super interested to see the power numbers it will make with the turbo. Keep the great content coming man, this has been an awesome project to follow.
Me being self taught, , I’ve found with an inverter AC machine, ceriated is the best choice for aluminum, steel and stainless. Use a dedicated grinder for tungsten to eliminate contamination. Are you using a regular collet body or a gas lens? I’ve found a regular collet seems to work better for AC for me. I know furick’s gas lens cups aren’t recommended for AC welding. I also had a similar issue with the base metal balling up and not creating a shiny puddle like you want. Few senior welders I know told me I didn’t have enough heat. Keep in mind with aluminum as you know, it dissipates heat better so he heat doesn’t stay localized like steel/stainless, it moves away from the joint. Tweak the balance too for more cleaning action. Love the builds man! I’m a GM truck/OBS guy myself!
Great Job LT, don’t forget to get some oil paint on that truck frame. Trust me when I tell you rust is a major issue on that year GM truck. Brake lines under the drivers seat is also a spot to watch.
you are correct, rust is a major problem, but luckily the climate I live in is VERY dry and the UglyTruck doesnt get driven in the show. but someday, the frame will get painted
@@LawrenceTolman nhoilpaint.com works great if you don’t mind getting smudge up every time you touch the undercarriage. We need you back on the east coast! Pennsylvania you would fit right in being from Maine LOL
Looking forward to seeing this thing putting tires to the test! BEAST!!!
Coming soon!
LT, the Harbor Freight Bandsaws are only @ $100 and work very well. I even clamp mine (on the handle) in the vise and use it vertically. I bought a switch pedal from Amazon and use it to control the power. I bought several of them for my bench grinder, belt sander, and bandsaw. You could move the pedal around, but at @ $20, it doesn't make sense. I have used my bandsaw to cut 3" stainless for exhaust and it works well. When cutting stainless, speed matters and that bandsaw clamped upright in the vise with a foot pedal for power works excellent. I use a zip tie to hold the power button. Then you can take it out of the vise, cut the zip tie and use it normally whenever you need to.
I do enjoy seeing all of the steps and stuff you struggle with. Makes it much more real. Like us regular guys. Budget stuff is awesome. Keep up the great vids LT!
its all part of the process...
Are you sharpening the tungsten to a point? You'll have better results with a rounded tip for AC TIG. You also mentioned argon flow - double check you don't have any leaks (soapy water trick) the smallest of leaks may effect the flow or even contaminate the gas itself. Only other thing I can think of since its a cast part it may just have a lot of porosity and its off gassing. You can pre heat or bake the part to help with that (400 degrees or so for 30 mins) . That's how powder coaters deal with off gassing aluminum parts they're coating.
I do sharpen em to a point, and just let em ball up slightly. I did think about possible gas contamination, but didnt have time run to the welding store to swap it out...
Get yourself a Bauer portable bandsaw from harbor freight and mount it on a swag off-road table. It’s perfect for cutting pipes.
Enjoying the project. Get a port-a-band to cut tubing. Takes up less space than a full size band saw.
Purple or gray on the tungsten, make sure flatten the end of the tungsten or ball it for AC Aluminum welding.
You don't need to ball with an inverter tig.
And purple sucks. Is crap alternative to red. Blue 2% lanthanated is best for all metals. Watch Jody aka welding tips and tricks
Kanekid uses layzr tungsten for all
Another great video and nice work.
Remember the tighter the turns, the more heat you're building and the more restriction to flow. Airflow is the ultimate goal, not PSI.
I worked as a mechanic at a canoe rental and found myself also fixing their banged up aluminum canoes (sigh). If you think working on clean thick charge pipes is hard, try thin gauge, scratched to hell and contaminated with river essence. Sometimes I would have to spray the aluminum with a water bottle to regulate the temperature so I wouldn't burn through. All things considered my welds looked like your good pass. I discovered the cleanliness of the metal wasn't as much of an issue as the size/brand of the tungsten, size of the cup and the flow. Also if your using a grinder to sharpen your tungsten, you could be contaminating it with whatever contaminants are stuck in your grinding stone. Glancing at your cup, it looks very, very narrow. I would experiment with a bigger cup. Molten aluminum majorly different than steel and steel is nothing like bronze, etc. They are very different animals.
that does sound like a pain in the butt to weld for sure
Great series... You're doing a great job and thanks for showing all the fabrication. That's the most interesting part in my opinion
I have an 8.1 in a 93 c3500. I absolutely love that engine. I have towed some really heavy loads and alot of it. Sadly the truck is pretty tired now. It's had 3 transmissions and I rebuilt the rear end once. I have no complaints though. The truck has paid for itself many times over with the loads it's hauled. Keep on keepin' on.
Good job, not a lot of guys can say they built a turbo system with a hack saw, just goes to show where there’s a will there’s a way!
Another great video. The project is coming together!
Sure is!
I never welded Aluminum you're probably better than me. From other welders & my teacher cleaning is key before welding. From watching you I can see why welders charge more to weld aluminum. Don't worry you did great LT. BEsides welding cast is always a pain in the you know where! Look forward to seeing the exhaust system, fuel system upgrade, & finally tunning on the Dyno👍👌
you are correct, cleanliness is key
I love how you show all the mess ups and how you fix them
2% lanthenated (blue) is the best for inverters. I weld on aircraft and it's all I use anymore. Also 12-14cfh is a good gas flow for a 6 or 7 cup. Easiest way to tell is double the number of your cup. #5 takes 10-12 cfh, 6 takes 12-14 and so on.
LOL I LOVE how he put excuses.
It's def good to show all the issues that come with these builds took me over the course of a year to do a supercharger build which was easier or rather less fab work than a turbo. Then I found it was all a waste because I was using the powerdyne supercharger and it only made like 40 more horsepower and 60 more foot pounds of torque basically bump me up from like 260 horsepower and 240 foot pounds of torque to 305 and 300 but I eventually replaced it with a vortec V3 and life was good. I also went with a liquid to air intercooler which made the plumbing a heck of a lot easier
We have an extra harness if you need it LT.
Thanks for the cool GMT800 content LT.
You bet
Awesome build, keep it coming !
More to come!
my intercooler will be here this week and this is getting me even more hyped
I've got a suburban and they came with the larger radiator so it went in fine and I'm to cheap to spend more on the harness than I did on the fans and luckily it came with the plugs with some wire so I bought some pins for the ecu and relays
Take the pipe and put it in a bucket with simple green a let it stay in there for about 24 hours and then take it out and rinse it with just water, or take a tooth brush and clean it. After that let it dry and grab your welder and tray again.
You can by simple green in Home Depot or auto zone or advance, I like your Chanel and your work so keep going. I have a project with my sons that wi are bulding and later i'm going to show you some pictures, GOD BLESS YOU
Could watch these all day long
Preheat the pipes before you weld it.
Also put a weld around the pipe 1 inch back from the ends so your couplers can’t slide off when you get the boost up.
Great work. I had some mild steel header pipes do the same thing the other day. Three sections welded beautifully and 3/4's of the way around the last section it started popping and blowing back. Finally cut the bad section out and welded some new metal in and no more issues except I wasn't happy with how it looked. I believe there is alot more garbage ending up in material today. I am no expert welder by any means but do take alot of pride in how stuff turns out. Keep up the great work and the great channel.
Your doing great brother, take your time and keep up the great content.
I appreciate that
LT is killing it!! It takes time and the attention to detail is something else!!
Man as long as those welds hold under pressure it’s a win!
Cast is super tricky!
Subs are coming!! When the first burnout happens in ol ugly truck it will be a 50,000 sub day!!
👍👏🙌🤙
Cast aluminum is harder weld... pretty. Because it absorbs a lot more contaminants. There are ways to make it look presentable, though.
It sounds like you're penetrating through to the inside of the tube that isn't shielded and the weld is getting oxidized.
I prefer thoriated tungsten for pretty much everything, but they can be hard to find. Lanthanated works pretty well on al.
If you respond to this comment, I'll consider subscribing.
I think the routing worked out better on the outside of the frame rails. And them welds look a ok to me!
Fair enough!
I use pure tungsten for aluminum. Lanthinated is a good all around if you don't want to have multiple tungstens. I would also use a bigger cup or even better go to a gas lense for better gas shielding. A mix of helium and argon is great for aluminum as well.
You’re doing good LT🔥 this project will be worth it in the end!! Keep it up 👍🏽
i just cant wait to get it on the road
Lawrence LT Tolman i cant wait either! We are here to experience it with you!
Wish someone with your knowledge was close to me to help with the 5.3 in my truck. Keep up the good work.
Blue 2% lanthanated for all metals on inverter tig. ;)
I need to buy some
Coming out awesome man. It’s funny I am a beginner at welding and recently doing a floor pan, custom firewall for a 60 Electra vintage air install and ran into some odd issues where my welds just weren’t laying out right on steel. The local welding supply had given me “universal” Tungsten. I switched back to the red and the difference was day and night. Identical to what you were seeing on the aluminum except I was on steel. I couldn’t figure it out for an entire day.
Keep it up I am more than enjoying this build. I am building a twin turbo 477bbc as we speak in a 90 Chevy ss amd this is helping me as I go as well.
Your a better welder than i am i love the build im doing a 5.3 swap from a 4.3 and doing a turbo i know the heart ache its coming but troubles and tribulations happen anyways awesome build i like all the steps you show im waiting on your oil feed install thats where i am
For a proper weld you MUST purge the interior of the tube. Pure tungsten works best. Ball the tungsten tip. Clean all parts chemically and physically immediately before welding and at each start up. Do not short the tungsten to the work at any time. That's the professional and correct procedure. I've been welding for 39 yrs.
thanks a ton for the pointers!
Looks good. I've never learned to weld but I've heard it said..."A grinder and paint will make me the welder I ain't". Reminds me of the drywall-er saying..."That's what they make mud and sandpaper for." (:-)
AvE fan?
@@justinredman4389 those saying both predate AvE's channel, bless that canadian saint
@@justinredman4389 Had not heard of him. Looked up the channel. Thanks I believe I will enjoy his vids.
@@jdelbrid AvE is “skookum as frig”
Pulse weld your thinner aluminum. Also pre heat with the tig torch first before welding. Clean clean clean. Aluminum is garbage as is. 2% thoriated or pure tungsten. Pre heat the aluminum to about 150-200 degrees for better bead start and stops.
I do need to play around with the pulse setting a little more
@@LawrenceTolman pulse is where its at. Once you get it down you will not want to go back. But I watched your other videos on this 8.1 and its definitely moving right along. Welds are looking better too. I've been a professional welder for almost 15 years now. Practice makes perfect.
I think its coming along great
Love this project! Coming along nicely buddy! Always great to see somebody do something other then a ls small block! 8.1 is a good motor but not many people do anything with them.
there may be a reason nobody uses em lol. we'll see how it turns out under boost
Cold side looks nice and snug in there! Nice work man
Thanks 👍
Harbor freight porta band knock off works great with home made table
Also helium purge gas and torch shield gas works best. Argon gas works as well but helium gives superior results and makes the process much easier with better results.
I specialize in welding aluminum. I use primarily Lanthanated or Ceriated for inverter machines for my large transformer machines I use pure tungsten which is the absolute best but you shouldn’t use those on an inverter.
Practice doesn’t make perfect perfect practice makes perfect find someone who’s really good at welding aluminum have them set you up and then weld your butt off. Then you’ll get good. And cast aluminum usually sucks no matter how good you are.
thanks for the tip, I do have some Lanthanated on order
@@LawrenceTolman you’re welcome
LT, you need the cheap HF Bauer bandsaw and one of the swag offroad band saw tables, and instead of getting the one that has legs buy yourself a sturdier welding table and then you can clamp the band saw stand in the vice!!!
great idea!
@5:23 Thought we were going to get a message about your huge new sponsor lol! Drats!
Great idea on putting sandpaper on the table to make a flat surface.
LT! Fire extinguisher... perhaps it is out of the viewing area. Please make sure you have a large fire extinguisher available in working order. Two might be even better.
I know, I do need to get one
Either thoriated (red), ceriated (orange), or rare earth (gray) would be your best bet. Not sure on your machine but I would use these before lanthanated tungsten. I'll run a torch over the casting but thats me. Looks good though.
C5 Corvette fans drop right in for the 28" radiator!
LT, you are awesome and I can’t wait to see how ugly truck turns out.
Perfect welds are not required. They look great, but there isn't any performance advantage over something thats functional. You're doing well.
2% lanthanated is pretty standard for inverters. It works well for aluminum and ferrous. It's all I use now. There are some fancy newer mixes, but I don't think they are needed. When you prep your tungsten Sharpen it to a point then grind the point off to a small flat. Once welding, That will give you a small ball and prevent the tiny tip from melting off. Check your balance (cleaning) settings. Typically 70% works well, but depending on your machine, that might get reversed as different manufacturers refer to it different ways. I don't like sandpaper on aluminum for welding. I have seen (ZIRCONIUM?) and scotch bright contaminate welds. You get a pile of crud. You really should be using a dedicated stainless wire brush, then acetone or 100% isopropyl to wipe down (WEAR GLOVES! acetone is absorbed through your skin).
Take the above and do test welds on your material to determine settings and see if you can't get cleaner welds
Also. Weldingtipsandtricks.com and 6061.com are great
Try taking the intercooler outlet and go along the bottom of the core support towards the driver side and come up along the computer then across the top of the rad into the throttle body .sounds long but gives you a clean run and decent spots for your bov and your iat sensor .also of you decide to run meth later on you have a decent straight run
If you have a breeze blow across your weld it can cause imperfections while you are welding
if you have the narrow radiator fbody fans fit perfect.
I'm looking forward to seeing why it's difficult to incorporate that OEM fan. I mean I just want to see what you have to do and why.
I'm using the minivan saw with the swag off-road conversion. That turns it into a bench top band saw
Could be bad gas. I like green band Tungsten which is pure for aluminum. I also think since that pipe is polished some of the polishing compound might be coming out and also it’s very thin you could be overheating it well smaller sections At a time let it cool and then keep going see how that works.
Glad I saw this, just got some efans today from the yard and ran me 30 bucks. I’m waiting on a harness now but I’m looking for a place to relocate the tcm since mine has the 5 speed Allison any ideas ?
Been enjoying this build
What would be the disadvantages to horizontally mounting the intercooler over the intake and say using a cowl hood? I contemplated this on my 5.3 after I’d installed a large trans cooler up front.
I guess you could in the same way that the STI subarus do, but the disadvantage would be heat soak, airflow across the core, and I imagine you'd need a massive hood. but, I have seen guys do that with a liquid to air intercooler that doesnt need ambient air flowing across its core.
It looks like the surface wasn't wire wheeled. I've always used a wire wheel to clean the end of the rube and it seems to help.
back purge pipes with shielding gas
1:28. This is why you've never owned a Sawzall. 💪
The pipe is so thin once it's totally molten oxygen is making it's way in from the other side. You could do a colder weld or backpurge the pipe with argon
Did you try using a bit of purge on that cast?? Even a bit of pre heat might have helped to reduce the impurities. I know it’s no cure just what I was taught.
Yes preheat, my first experiences with alum welding even stick welding it was angry with even trying to start an arc, but after about 400f of preheat the alum sticks lit rite up and continued the heat thru about 6 inches of weld. all practice but there was a PRE HEAT explanation that seemed to make sense and after trying it for myself it kicked ass, get a propane or map gas or butane torch and a temp gun and get about 450f that way you have time to glove up and a few xtra seconds to begin welding without burning yourself, i did, on the now stupid hot aluminum. I like the tungston change up those new welds look amazing but any weld that makes boost is a good weld in my book!! Keep up the content... my 05 xtra cab is gonna start 2021 and possibly chase your truck in numbers... hehehe!!
That thing is going to be sick!
As I have asked before in this build series... please let me know what fuel pump works best for your application. Again, I daily drive a 2005 GMC 5500 with an 8.1.... I'm burning them up every 35 to 90 days. I'm only asking for your help once again. Keep up the good work.
Sorry if I didn’t see this before. I’m gonna be using a Walbro fuel pump, but there are a lot of good ones out there. Have you checked your fuel filter for restriction or maybe wiring for bad grounds or low voltage at the pump? It seems like there might be something causing the fuel pumps to burn up so quickly.
@@LawrenceTolman been there got the shirt.
I drive a rollback tow truck for a living. 300 miles a day is nothing for me. Truck by itself is 12,000. And I regularly tow and haul 10,000 on the deck..... so yeah, I beat the snot outta this truck and get paid pretty good to do so.
I will keep up on the progress of the build, just let me/us know what part numbers and brands as you go.
And keep the content coming