PFF - Pennock's Fiero Forum, PDA Edition

The Turbo 3500 F23 swap (Page 15/80)

fieroguru

JAN 02, 01:36 PM

quote

Originally posted by ericjon262:

Got a part number for the conversion kit? I have a Pro Mig 180 and that sounds a whole lot cheaper than ($250)

Thanks-

Eric

For the Pro Mig 175 the part # is k664-2 and costs about $80

The Pro Mig 180 is a completely different machine (newer/revised design). From the manual it will directly interface with the Lincoln Magnum 100 SG spool gun, but the Pro Mig 175 doesn't have that option (spool gun, but there is at least one guy who has one running with a spool gun). Might try searching ebay for aluminum conversion kits to see if any of them list compatibility with the 180.

fieroguru

JAN 02, 01:43 PM

quote

Originally posted by Joseph Upson:

The thickness of the wire is more a function of your welder's amp rating. I run a 110 v 90/100 amp unit for versatility so .045 is pushing it if an extension cord is involved. The downside of a spool gun is that it would have been impossible for me to do some of the in car mock ups I did for close tolerance clearance.

True, but for those of use with 175+ amp machines... we can weld using thicker wire. First thing you should do to every houshold welder is replace the power cord with a longer one made from 10ga wire. I run a 20' power cord on my welder w/o issue. Just go to lowes and find one of the large yellow RV cords 50' is about $100, but there are shorter options. Cut the ends off and add the right end and wire it into the welder. With 10ga chord, you won't have the same issues of trying to use a normal extension.

Joseph Upson

JAN 02, 02:05 PM

quote

Originally posted by fieroguru:
True, but for those of use with 175+ amp machines... we can weld using thicker wire. First thing you should do to every houshold welder is replace the power cord with a longer one made from 10ga wire. I run a 20' power cord on my welder w/o issue. Just go to lowes and find one of the large yellow RV cords 50' is about $100, but there are shorter options. Cut the ends off and add the right end and wire it into the welder. With 10ga chord, you won't have the same issues of trying to use a normal extension.

I have that cord already which solved the problem, but it's such a good piece of equipment I'm not going to cut it. I got mine from Home Depot which also has bulk cord by the foot in various gauge and what I used for the Plasma cutter which came without a plug end. .023 wire welds so easily I never bother with anything thicker.

[This message has been edited by Joseph Upson (edited 01-02-2013).]

ericjon262

JAN 02, 10:32 PM

quote

Originally posted by Justinbart:

I tried to mig aluminum once. It kept balling up on the roller anytime the wire would hit the surface I was welding. I looked into the kit for ~$70 but never got it. I've always heard you really need a spool gun for mig welding aluminum. looked into spool guns and I decided I would rather put that money towards a nice TIG setup.

I'd love to get a nice TIG, but the funds aren't there and I won't have a place to keep it before too long (boot camp in May...) if I hadn't got such a killer deal on my Pro-Mig 180, I probably wouldn't have bought it.

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ericjon262

JAN 03, 12:42 AM

quote

Originally posted by Joseph Upson:

You can, it's just very difficult with thin wire (.023) and a Mig unit setup of for steel wire. During the purchase of a replacement hose and trigger, I discovered there was a special aluminum welding kit and purchased it. I don't have it in front of me but the most unique thing about it is the nylon liner that is to be inserted in the hose in place of the steel spiral liner to reduce drag on the wire that causes it to wod up in the unit at the feed point. I've had the kit which came with a good size spool and slag brush and some other things I can't recall but I have yet to try and use it. I did attempt it long ago with the standard setup and as stated it was a horrible mess, the unit jammed easily.

What you have displayed is very encouraging, I just don't have any aluminum welding jobs at the moment to try out the aluminum welding kit and yes I have a tank of the proper shielding gas for it. Heck I might make my own intercooler water tank if it works out okay.

the steel wire setup will work, but it does bind super easy, I wasn't having trouble with the .030 wire, I was using though. I did find the cast intake seemed much easier to weld then some flat stock I picked up at bLowe's (yes I sanded the cladding off and wiped with acetone) but I could have had the settings on the machine wrong for the thinner stuff.

Joseph Upson

JAN 03, 05:43 AM

quote

Originally posted by ericjon262:
the steel wire setup will work, but it does bind super easy, I wasn't having trouble with the .030 wire, I was using though. I did find the cast intake seemed much easier to weld then some flat stock I picked up at bLowe's (yes I sanded the cladding off and wiped with acetone) but I could have had the settings on the machine wrong for the thinner stuff.

The thicker wire helps and seeing such a good job on that manifold opens the doors to other ideas. About 2 years ago someone here was working on a custom intake to support a supercharger on top of a 3500 and just as the build was starting to get interesting, he dropped off the face of the earth. You better hurry, May will be here "tomorrow".

ericjon262

JAN 03, 10:58 AM

quote

Originally posted by Joseph Upson:

The thicker wire helps and seeing such a good job on that manifold opens the doors to other ideas. About 2 years ago someone here was working on a custom intake to support a supercharger on top of a 3500 and just as the build was starting to get interesting, he dropped off the face of the earth. You better hurry, May will be here "tomorrow".

yes it will be...

ericjon262

JAN 11, 02:01 AM

Quick and dirty sketchup of the headers, I was going to do a 3-1 style instead of a log, but these should do fine for what I need, and look good doing it.

fieroguru

JAN 11, 08:57 AM

Looks good!

You could taper the main tube across all the primaries like this:

ericjon262

JAN 11, 09:16 PM

quote

Originally posted by fieroguru:

Looks good!

You could taper the main tube across all the primaries like this:

I thought about doing that, but I want a 2" hotside, and the cone I found would end up at about 3.5" for the output, if this was going to be N/A, I would go for it, but as a turbo car, I want to keep velocity higher.