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The Willomet Charger

A desecration to Mopar nuts everywhere, this is my protouring, LS-powered, 1970 Dodge Charger; built at my shop, Willomet Motor & Fabrication.
Overview Gallery Discussion
folkenheath said:
That going to be slip fit collectors? You are even planning equal length.

Making headers is very rewarding I feel like, making them out of stainless turns into a work of art.
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Yessir! Slip fit with springs at a conical 3>3.5” collector, and very likely the same connection type for the crossover tubes, lest this whole bundle be nearly impossible to remove for service.

This type of 180* setup easily makes for 32-40” per primary to the collector, and I’ll have to recheck, but I think I’m allowed about 1-2” of variance for them to still have the benefits of equal length. After the collector, it’ll be mostly stainless with at least two merge sections.

I’m headed to Toronto to visit Vibrant in a little over a week to wrap up the plans for this sub-project. It’s going to be a whole process full of the kind of details I’ve come to really enjoy.

David
 
AgDieseler said:
Yessir! Slip fit with springs at a conical 3>3.5” collector, and very likely the same connection type for the crossover tubes, lest this whole bundle be nearly impossible to remove for service.

This type of 180* setup easily makes for 32-40” per primary to the collector, and I’ll have to recheck, but I think I’m allowed about 1-2” of variance for them to still have the benefits of equal length. After the collector, it’ll be mostly stainless with at least two merge sections.

I’m headed to Toronto to visit Vibrant in a little over a week to wrap up the plans for this sub-project. It’s going to be a whole process full of the kind of details I’ve come to really enjoy.

David
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Fun project, and you do such excellent work, I'm sure they will turn out awesome!

I'd consider cutting the header flanges and making each tube a separate piece where possible. This will eliminate a connection to leak at the crossover tubes and look cleaner, and should also allow you to remove and install one tube at a time so they are easier to remove/install. This is how I built my BBC headers, of course you have to install the tubes in a specific order, but it works well.

You can get collectors for turbos that are dual wall at the slip fit, this isn't necessary for NA but I feel it reduces the chances of leaking and for a high end build like this may be warranted.

I've used SPD, Stainless Works, Stainless Headers, etc. SPD has some very nice bends, I haven't used Burns yet but I've heard they have such good bends that you spend less time tweaking the tube before you butt weld it. (some bends oval the tube and you should tweak that out before you can rotate it and weld it).

Edit: I see the LS headers don't have two bolts for every single tube, but you could still reduce some connections at least, although the 4 pairs I see unfortunately go to opposite sides. I don't know if I would trust 4 of the bolt holes being split in the middle of the bolt hole. It might work perfectly, it might cause an issue, it certainly adds an element of risk unless someone has done it before.
 
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JoshHefnerX said:
You gonna have room to run those tubes under the engine?
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There’s about 4x12” of open space from the front crossmember to the oil sump. I’m building in that envelope, and might be able to expand it if I use an LS7 oiling system.

70jimmy said:
Looks like it was molten steel and poured in a mold.
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Pretty much the look I was going for. I wanted it to blend with the original stamped unibody profiles.

folkenheath said:
I'd consider cutting the header flanges and making each tube a separate piece where possible
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Separate tubes is a great idea. I’d like to avoid cutting the head flange, but it’s early days in the design.

folkenheath said:
You can get collectors for turbos that are dual wall at the slip fit
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Those dual slips from Burns look badass. I love the concept of a dual seals at the collector, and I might just flange and gasket the crossovers as one unit. It’s an NA engine, but overbuilding does tickle me.

Thank you so much for your ideas and feedback. Great stuff to think on.

David
 
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No room to fit the flare die itself, so I opted to just fly cut the piece down a bit further to .075 to save that bit of weight. SendCutSend only offers .063 and .125 in 4130 right now, so I machine little stuff like this fairly often.

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David
 
Small progress is still progress I guess. Here’s the side profile for the firewall. The corresponding front panels should be here next week.

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Meanwhile, the transmission is here along with the driveshaft, and the new transmission mount parts are hung up at UPS. It might be a weekend where I just catch up on other tasks.

David
 
Transmission swap time! I pulled the TR6060 in favor of a T56 Magnum built by Tick Performance. It's their road race version, and has some nice additions; notably the billet front plate that uses a TR6060 internal pump and sprayer along with some internal upgrades that make it good for 750-800hp.

Disassembly, and returning the TR6060 to factory form so I can sell it.

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The larger billet pump interferes with the Quick Time bellhousing.

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1/2" roughing mill carving just a bit at a time.

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I finished it with a 1/2 4 flute at the same spindle speed. Reaching way back into my deep memory, the guy that I learned basic machining from would often reverse the spindle and carve .001" for a finishing pass. Pretty happy with how the whole thing turned out, especially since it's not my background.

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Clearance, Clarence.

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What's nice, is that it all just bolts up. No shimming or adapters. Just turning wrenches. It was nice to have this part be easy.

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The new magnum is about 3/8" shorter than the TR6060 amalgam it replaces, and I failed to include any adjustment range in the first transmission crossmember and mount, so I get to make a new one. It's not all bad. Rev1 will be more space efficient for the exhaust that will route nearby. This design will hang from the top of the frame rails, so this part it the cradle that will hold the mount.

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It's a mix of .105 mild and .063 4130.

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Next up, the frame side mounts (with built in adjustment) and fitting the powertrain back in place.

David
 
TR6060 things:

Sold - TR6060 and T56 Magnum 6 Speed Parts

Switched to a different transmission, so I don't need this stuff anymore. These are also listed on Marketplace with the appropriate "internet gen-pop hassle" premium. CK5 gets the real price. TR6060 from a 2011 Camaro - $1500 Gears and syncros look really good, and there was very little wear...
ck5.com ck5.com

David
 
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