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Turbo Header
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The header for the new turbo is made from 1/8" wall "Weld Ells". These are formed, schedule 40 pipe elbows used in plumbing, gas, hydraulics, etc. They're very similar to the schedule 40 fittings you can get at every hardware store, Home Depot, etc, but these are not threaded and aren't thicker at the ends where the threads normally go.. They're meant to be welded together. Depending where you get them, they'll likely have the chamfer around the ends for welding. I found these very cheap (about 1/4" normal cost), but I had to grind the chamfer on the ends of all of them. No big deal. The flange for the turbo has a dual pattern. The pattern will fit both the VNT-25 which I'm going to try first, and also a standard T-3 turbine in case I want to try that eventually. To switch over, it'll just be a matter of moving the 4 mounting studs to different holes. The opening is sized to fit the T-3, but the VNT opening was less than 1/8" narrower and there's plenty of meat in it's housing so I opened it's turbine inlet up to match the T-3 sized hole in the flange. All flanges for the header are made from 1/2" stock.
The tubes are fully welded to the flanges around the inside perimeter for a complete seal. The bead was then ground smooth so it doesn't impede flow. The tubes are also welded on the backside of the flange for additional support, but not all of them are 100% welded. The two center tubes for instance couldn't be welded fully around where they sit next to each other.
The collector was kind of a PITA to make because the flange sits tilted, twisted and offset to give the best clearance. I ended up making it with strips of 1/2" and 1" strap.
These are the steps in making the head flanges and tubes. I didn't start out with an equal length runner design, but it ended up working out well and all of the tubes are within 1/8" of being equal length to each other.
Here's the fully welded header and test fitting for the two turbos. Everything fit together better than I was expecting it to actually. There's plenty of room below the compressor inlet for my 2nd alternator (on-board welder), and room between the compressor and the head for the 2nd A/C compressor (on-board air).
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