So I just realized that yesterday was my busiest day ever with 344 views- thanks to everyone who has been checking this out! Not anything to brag about, but it feels pretty cool to know that people are checking it out and enjoying my rambling!

Tonight was another busy night, but I managed to sneak into the garage for about twenty five minutes or so to get some work done. When we replaced the metal where the battery tray used to be, I didn’t have a way to tell where to cut the hole for the intercooler piping without dropping the engine back in. Since that would have been a lot of work, I decided to just cut it after the bay was painted- even though I had no idea how I was going to do it.

I’ve been thinking about how to approach this for a while now, and am pleased to say I figured out a solution today. I’m sure there are easier ways to go about it, but this is what I came up with:

1. Wrap the intercooler pipe that needs to pass through the sheet metal in painter’s tape, sticky side OUT. Wrap tightly so that you get the exact shape of the piping:

Wrap it again, this time with the sticky side towards the piping. You should have the pipe covered in tape without any stickiness touching the outside or the pipe itself.

2. Carefully cut the tape off of the intercooler piping. Be sure not to smash it up or anything so that it maintains its shape:

3. Tape the “mock” pipe back together along the seam that you just cut to remove it from the actual piping. Install it into position, trimming away any extra tape at the bottom until the mock pipe is flush with the metal of the bay :

4. Draw a circle onto the metal (or tape over the metal in this case) to show where the piping will run through the sheet metal:

5. Cut the hole in the sheet metal. I used my power drill and a 3.5″ hole saw bit that I picked up from Home Depot.

And wallah! If things went well for you, you should have a pretty solid looking pass-through for your intercooler piping. Mine could have been centered a little better and the hole diamater could have been a little smaller probably, but I am really happy with how it turned out. The size of this hole matches the one in the other side of the bay that was there when I bought the car.

I’m really pleased with how the bay is coming together. Keep in mind that I have to make a second pass through and add some more small details- nice hardware, new valve cover setup, -AN fittings and lines, a new fuel setup, etc. For now I am just going to get the car running to ensure that the wiring is in good shape, get the interior back together, and then get into the fine details while I wait for my wheels to be done!

Not a lot else needs to be in the bay. The coolant overflow will be under the cooling shroud, so that won’t be seen. The only other items coming into the bay to make the car run will be the MAF, intake pipe/filter, and the boost controller. Should be pretty happy with it when I am done!

Thanks a lot for reading guys- appreciate it!

Damon