Restoring the SSEi: F40 swap, HIDs, and a HY35 turbo.

[nos4blood70]

Just get the Aluminum elbow....

This.

[MattStrike]

Just get the Aluminum elbow....

This.

Ya, I had a set of spares that I decided to use first.

Hit a roadblock. I don't want to use the stock manifolds, the front one being what it is, also as I don't have a set anymore. The R-12 compressor doesn't line up with the L67 accessory belt, so I have to modify the bracket or buy a new belt that allows me to move the A/C compressor. The idea was to use the LG3 manifold/headers, but in order to do that I have to change to the LG3 A/C manifolds i think ('93 manifold just hits on the header). If I have to do that, I have to get the A/C system drained. If I have to do that, might as well change to a R134a compressor - meaning custom A/C manifolds to clear the headers... Beginning to think I should just buy a new set of real headers and make the R-12 compressor fit the L67 belt. It's going to be really funny when I get everything put together just to find out the A/C doesn't work anymore...

I got all the firewall passthroughs I need at the junkyard today (hopefully). I'll know for sure when I make the schematic for the adapter. I found another '93 SSEi (green) that had one good exhaust tip, so now I have two! Got a replacement multifunction switch, and a few other adds and ends.

[MattStrike]

Only got one good pic of the current progress:



It's going to be interesting to fit a hood scoop intake on here.

[SSEiMan01]

[nos4blood70]

Lookin' good! You should paint the M90 white.

[ga93sle]

It's looking good! I'm excited to see it burn some rubber!

[MattStrike]

Lookin' good! You should paint the M90 white.

I was going to paint a color-shift blue/purple metallic (same as the strut tower bar), over a crinkle coat . But white does sound interesting.

[sethjamesrimrodt]

The color shift paint looks cool! She's coming along well,

[nos4blood70]

Alright. Nevermind. Colorshift it is.

[MattStrike]

Alright. Nevermind. Colorshift it is.

You don't sound entirely convinced.

[devin1986]

Awesome project! Looks like you are doing it right as well.

[nos4blood70]

Alright. Nevermind. Colorshift it is.

You don't sound entirely convinced.

Lol. Nah. I meant like, *dang*, I didn't know it was an option! I didn't even notice the strut tower beam's color till it was pointed out.

[MattStrike]

I've just learned that according to K&N's calculator a stock L67 could pull as much as 750CFM! It's an estimate (read: not really accurate) used for turbocharged vehicles, but I was likely out-flowing the old filter, a 6" tapered unit which based on the calculator was good for about 650. I didn't really take the time to verify their calculation method. But it means I can't package the 6" diameter by 4.5" deep filter I thought would work.

Anybody know of any information on different plastics resistance to airflow vs. metals? I didn't keep my fluid dynamics text book. I seem to remember that plastics have less resistance to fluid flow than metals do, but I want to compare to rubbers, silicone, aluminum, abs, etc. The issue I'm having trouble with is packaging a cold air housing around an air filter, when the PCM, washer tank, upper radiator hose, and all that stuff is in the way. I can gain space by using a 90 degree elbow, but it has to be a tight radius, which will mess with flow, so I have to pick a material that has the least resistance to air flow. The nice thing about using plastic (abs, polypropylene, etc) is that I can heat gun them and make the surface inside very smooth.
But it makes me want to know, is flow around a elbow the same thing as drag? If I dimple the surface (the same concept as the golf balls dimpled surface reducing drag by disrupting laminar flow) inside the elbow, can I increase overall flow inside the elbow?

[BonneMe]

I don't think creating a boundary layer with dimples is necessary in an intake either, while even the bass ports on my HiFi speakers are dimpled, I've never seen an automtove application done that way, even in motorsport from local stuff all the way to F1/LeMans prototypes. It probably creates too many problems down the line as the 3800 MAFs need laminar flow.

What design do you want to do?

Here's the old system I fabbed up probably 8 years ago from a Civic/Integra intake, and has between 50-100 installs, with the massive 2000+ crowd these days a FWI is easier, but it worked well. There was one installed in every version of the 92-99 engine bay and every engine/trans combo.

http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... ic130.html

My photos are dead, but here's a version of it

http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... html#p1854

You might try to find a larger one, I believe that's 3" so pretty small for a SII L67, but i'm sure there are oversized ones out there. It's just a 3" pipe with a 45 degree bend in it...

[MattStrike]

The kind of intake I'm going to build here is going to be unique. It's going to take air from the scoop I'm going to cut into the hood. This may improve the resistance to heat soak while sitting at the light (at the track!), or may do nothing useful at all.

So, the current design in not-to-scale ASCII:

Code: Select all

                      ________
                TB             \
                       ____     \
                         __|     |__   _____
                         |         |  |     |
                         |   AF    |  | PCM |
                         |         |  |_____|
     ____________________|_________|
    /                    |         |
  /       Scoop duct     |         |
 |                       |         |
 |             __________|_________|
 |           /
 |==========|

The throttle body will have a 90 pointing forward. It will go through a slip joint (some rubber roofing gizmo I found at lowes) on an air box that is rigidly mounted to the frame; The filter box will seal to the hood duct when the hood is closed and also serves as a mount and housing for the pcm (the brake lines & hose have to fit between them). I have to use a tapered round style filter (K&N RR-3003) to keep the size of the filter box small enough to fix my clearance zone (back end of TB to front end of box can't exceed 12") The top of the box has to be removable so the filter can be changed, but has to be rigid enough to be able to seal to the hood duct. I am planning on a steel frame, then building the sides of the box and the hood duct out of ABS sheet. It will have to be insulated, as the majority of the ABS sheet I've been able to locate looks like thermoforming stuff.

General dimensions:

3" elbow (if metal)
3.5" elbow (if rubber/plastic)

9" x 6" x 8" filter box

3" x 8" hood duct clearanced to the oil filler cap, etc.


I'm working on the wiring interface (way easier than the LeSabre was), once that is finished and the A/C and exhaust are sorted out I will have everything in place to take final measurements for the clearance and ducts. While I'm still in the design/planning stage, the car will be without a hood and have the filter directly mounted to the TB.

[MattStrike]

*updated image to Imgur*


I have a wire harness and "conversion" box. It rained today, but I needed these anyway. Hope it doesnt rain again tomorrow because I don't have any more rainy day work left.

[MattStrike]

I almost have exhaust manifolds. I was changing the LG3 header flange to the 3" flange (original is 2.25"), to use a 3" downpipe and flange so I don't have to mess with the rest of the exhaust system for now - but I got the flange installed too low, and it hits the one tube on the rack and pinion. So, I have to take it out, hack up the work I did that cleaned up all the primaries and the collector so it's more efficient just to relocate the flange 1" higher than it is, then redo. It was just a little bit frustrating, because I didn't catch it when I had the flange tacked on for the test fit.

I got the A/C installed, I ended up slotting the locator holes on the motor mount so I could slide the A/C pulley in line with the rest. Also had to re-route the S/C belt to clear the hub on the end of the A/C compressor. It comes close to the water pump pulley but does clear. We will see how well this works.

It was very cold and wet this weekend. Its hard to get motivated to work outside when it's cold and wet.

[MattStrike]

To answer one of my previous questions (feel free to add your knowledge/correct anything):

The resistance to fluid flow is not dependant on the material that a surface is made from. It is dependant on the condition of the surface. Scratches, bumps, curves, etc. There is a transistion at some point where the velocity of the fluid will cause it to become turbulent inside a pipe, which causes additional losses. The Reynolds Number, a ratio of inertia (velocity) to viscosity relative to a surface, is a dimensionless number (no units) that at a specific value is the transition point between laminar and turbulent. Once the flow become turbulent, the pressure drop inside the pipe will increase (increases resistance to flow). And, according to the Moody diagram, a significant decrease in relative pipe roughness and an increase in pipe diameter is required to overcome those losses.

Some quick calulations show that the reynolds number for WOT (750CFM +/-) result in 346,459.6; which is high above the transition number of 2040. Meaning flow is most certainly turbulent through the intake. In fact, anything above 4.5CFM (2.6g/s) is turbulent through the intake.
Things that inhibit flow (pressure loss): Small diameter pipe, long pipe, rough pipe surface, high density of fluid, and high fluid velocity.
Things that I can control: Pipe diameter, length, surface quality.

The difference between the golf ball example and the intake pipe is that the fluid flow around the golf ball is laminar, not turbulent, up to the widest point on the diameter. As the ball moves through the air, it creates a low pressure zone behind it, and the laminar flow over the gold ball will split and flow over the low pressure zone. By disrupting the laminar flow over the gold ball the air is more easily pulled into the low pressure zone, which reduced the amount of drag on the ball. The drag behind the ball that is decreased is much greater than the surface drag created by the surface condition.

Because the air flow in the intake pipe is already turbulent, there is no benefit from dimpling the surface of the inner bend radius of the pipe. All that is left is to polish it to a mirror finish.

[95naSTA]

When I did the calcs back in undergrad I also found that the flow in the intake could not be laminar.

[MattStrike]

I got the headers installed, and the engine is wired & plumbed in.

Getting ready to start it up! Needs the fuel lines connected & gas in the tank, needs the starter circuit completed (only one wire left), need a downpipe, and need a battery. I got most of the intake parts but a coupler didn't arrive with the filter and pipe.

I still need to finish the sway bar end links in the rear and the air shock lines; then I need to clean and install the interior, and fix the steering column. Then I'll officially have my own running, driving, and not to mention fast Bonneville!