Ken's SLC build thread

[Ken Roberts]

Cutout and installed 1/8' thick steel plates on the outside and inside of the door hinge area to repair the butchered factory cutout. They will also get epoxied in place after powder coating.
I made templates if anyone is interested.

 

[Ken Roberts]

Before installing the two plates I made a steel plate to replace the massive cutout from the factory. A bit overkill but I want that area as strong as possible. The door should hold alignment much longer and the bolts should stay tight.

 

[Rich Kruger]

I’m also at this point and was wondering about the cutouts. I’m going to make similar plates but because I have power openers the lower portions are cut out. In order to strengthen the door in that area I’m going to fiberglass the inner section filling the void and use that to bond the plates in place to the fiberglass.

 

[Mesa]

Ken, is that the factory hole in post 992? YIKES. If using the simpler gas strut solution for holding the door open, this area should be strengthened to the best of one's ability. The whole inner front door area, not just the flat portion. My be less critical for the electronic solutions.

 

[Ken Roberts]

Ken, is that the factory hole in post 992? YIKES. If using the simpler gas strut solution for holding the door open, this area should be strengthened to the best of one's ability. The whole inner front door area, not just the flat portion. My be less critical for the electronic solutions.

Yup.....no idea why they cutout such a large hole. I saw the hole that needs to be cutout for the gas strut mod that you pioneered and it's large too. Combine the two and it's a recipe for disaster.

 

[Ken Roberts]

I’m also at this point and was wondering about the cutouts. I’m going to make similar plates but because I have power openers the lower portions are cut out. In order to strengthen the door in that area I’m going to fiberglass the inner section filling the void and use that to bond the plates in place to the fiberglass.

Being that it's the hinge mount area you'd think the factory would at least make it twice as thick.

 

[Ken Roberts]

The first manifold has been fused together. No filler rod has been used. The fit up had to be bang on. Vince will be going over it with a full tig pass. There will be no grinding of his welding. His tig welding is like art work.

 

[Markus]

The first manifold has been fused together. No filler rod has been used. The fit up had to be bang on. Vince will be going over it with a full tig pass. There will be no grinding of his welding. His tig welding is like art work.

Hello Ken,
just for my understanding, the first pass was without a filler rod an when I understand correctly there will be a full (second) tig pass with filler rod?
Markus

 

[Ken Roberts]

That's what he wants to do. The fit up has to be very close. He finished the first pass by just fusing it and would like to go over it with a filler rod. I was worried about the welds cracking over time with the constant heating and cooling. Is that a good or bad idea? I definitely won't be grinding his welds for a flush look.

 

[Markus]

When I was reading your post for the first time I was worried that's why I was asking my question.
When I learned my trade we tack welded several times and then welded with filler rod in one stretch. As long the root penetration on the inside of the manifold is sufficient there should not be an issue. It seem that he is using forming gas so the inside should look good as well.
The only concern when welding twice might be the metallurgics of the material itself. Now my English skill are most likely not got enough to explain that properly. When welding stainless steel?? (depending on which alloy is used in particular) there might be the issue that alloying components "evaporate" and this does not get compensated by the filler rod and results in a weaker weld seam.
In your case the root penetration could be the weak link. A good welder now can "push" through the root a little more (more root penetration on the inside) but then you need to grind the inside off most likely.

No offense intended - just my two cent. Other opinion requested.

Make sure the matching filler rod for your particular alloy is used.

Markus

 

[Ken Roberts]

No offense taken Markus. I appreciate any and all comments. I'll definitely pass this on to the welder. He has finished one for now. Here is the finished result. His goal was to make the inside as smooth as possible. He also mentioned they were pulse welded.
Keep the comments coming.....

 

[Ken Roberts]

I gave the inner door rods an added bit of strength. I found they were flexing a bit too much.

 

[Brian Kissel]

As always nice engineering Ken.

Regards Brian

 

[Markus]

No offense taken Markus. I appreciate any and all comments. I'll definitely pass this on to the welder. He has finished one for now. Here is the finished result. His goal was to make the inside as smooth as possible. He also mentioned they were pulse welded.
Keep the comments coming.....

Weld seam looks realy nice and even. Can you post a pic of the inside?

Markus

 

[Ken Roberts]

Inside look.

 

[Kurt Hoffman]

Excellent weld penetration. Textbook quality. The first pass with no filler rod contributed well to that outcome. Those pieces are definitely a work of art, I would not grind them down either.

Wish I could weld like that!! My skills are nowhere near that level.

 

[Ken Roberts]

Here is a quick diagram I made of the supercharger coolant flow path of the C7 ZR1 Corvette. It uses two pumps and three radiators. The center radiator is a dual pass style. This OEM system uses no reservoir tank. The outboard radiators do not use fans. Their air flow exits into the front wheel wells. I'd like to use a similar system for my GT-R build. I already have a C6 ZR1 center radiator and may purchase the C7 ZR1 outboard radiators. Both sides are the same part number. #84484399 ($140) and the protection grate (mesh) #84412408

 

[Bill Kearley]

I hope Walt can teach me to weld like that.

 

[Joel K]

Here is a quick diagram I made of the supercharger coolant flow path of the C7 ZR1 Corvette. It uses two pumps and three radiators. The center radiator is a dual pass style. This OEM system uses no reservoir tank. The outboard radiators do not use fans. Their air flow exits into the front wheel wells. I'd like to use a similar system for my GT-R build. I already have a C6 ZR1 center radiator and may purchase the C7 ZR1 outboard radiators. Both sides are the same part number. #84484399 ($140) and the protection grate (mesh) #84412408

View attachment 105296

Nice diagram. Just curious, how did you find the source for this? I’ve seen some conflicting images online.

 

[Ken Roberts]

Nice diagram. Just curious, how did you find the source for this? I’ve seen some conflicting images online.

Right from Katech in this link. The key thing to note is both out board supercharger radiators also incorporate another set of radiators directly behind them for engine cooling. All four radiators are identical. Each side is referred to as a module (one aux supercharger rad and one aux engine cooling rad)(the aux supercharger rad is directly in front of the aux engine cooling rad).

ZR1 HX system - CorvetteForum - Chevrolet Corvette Forum Discussion

C7 ZR1 Discussion - ZR1 HX system - Does anyone know if it has 3 intercoolers? One on each cheek, and one in the center, or just the two on the cheeks? How many hx pumps?

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