The saga continues and it's an end to an era.
The "winter" projects original intent was to address some of the excess heat under the hood and get some weight off the nose. Those upgrades have snowballed...like all things do for me. My 5 pt belts also needed a recert too.
I originally wanted to just wrap the headers and y-pipe but after some deliberation, it wasn't an ideal solution for a couple reasons. 1) I was told if any oil gets on the wrap, it will stink forever. 2) Clearance around the headers is tight and so is access to the bolts to tighten everything down. Getting these to go into the car would likely have resulted in ripped wrap.
I recall hearing about Swaintech ceramic coating and folks who have used it, seem to rave about it touting its thermal insulation abilities and durable finish. The Swaintech owner was quick to let me know that it only comes in white and is a functional coating, not a pretty one. With some help from Pals as usual, Matt ripped out the headers in short order and Beggs helped get these shipped safely. They spent about 3-4 weeks at Swaintech before they made their way back to me.
Obviously the white and soon to be smugged look isn't going to work so I tried to brush them with POR15 Black Velvet. The brushing did OK but it wasn't even enough and looked liked it was a shade tree job. Not wanting to paint in the garage, I was able to use a professional spray booth to spray these properly. I headed down to All Time Auto Body and my dad knocked out the header and Y-pipe coating which came out great.
Now with that done, the headers can go back in. Before we get there, I will mention Adam had come by weeks prior and ran the new power cables for the battery relocation. The seats came out as well as the belts so they could get off to Stroud for recert. The FP hot wire kit was also ran to the rear and man, did this really start clearing space in the engine bay!
I wanted to get the headers back in as Taylor would be coming by this weekend to finalize the battery relocation. I wanted everything in place so we knew where to terminate wires and get the routing correct. What I thought would be a long but not bad day turned in a mess. I started with the passenger side as this seemed to be the most challenging coming out. I was able to get her in without too much trouble taking my time. New plugs went in as well. Now on to the drivers side.....and holy hell. Simply put, it just didn't fit and I have no idea how it came out easier than the other side. In my haste and ginger rage, I somehow got it wedged between the k, oil pan and block. I really though this thing would need to be cut out and contemplated burning the car down at this point. After a lot of wrestling around and loudly proclaimed expletives.....it went in. I got a few bolts in and need to do a few more plus the plugs but I was toast.
During the rage moments (plural), I bashed in the corner of my oil filter a little bit. Not wanting to run it damaged, I guess it was time I changed the oil. I swore to never use a K&N filter again but lied to myself as I stared at it hoping the 1" nut on the bottom would do its job. Sure enough, the nut stripped.....MUTHAF******. I could only laugh and maybe cry a bit. With the header in, room to work is slim so out came the oil filter wrenches. Two of them were useless and wouldn't tighten up before I ran out of room. I was forced to use a stubby ratchet and SOMEHOW freed the filter after a few attempts. My left arm and hand could be characterized as Thanos' after he used the infinity gauntlet.
So.....before the header debacle, I did do a few other things. I removed and wrapped the procharger elbow in gold foil. Yea I did a crappy job but it will work.
I also did some "port matching" of the new gaskets since the old ones showed some carbon outlining the area that need more room. I'm sure it picked up 0 HP.
The procharger oil was drained and man does that stink. If you think rear diff fluid smells, have a whiff of used procharger oil. Holy hell.
Oh and last but not least, I yanked the A/C.....I got a shiny block off plate too.
So she is still a mess and will surely need some cherry after all of this but the extra room is so far feeling fresh. The condenser didn't want to slide out nicely so I am waiting for a day where my patience (or a helpful Pal) are available.
I have a new fancy Speed Inc accessory relocation setup in hand which I'm sure won't fit or line up just like most aftermarket parts. Stay tuned boys and girls.