Long time since the last update as usual. Much has been happening however.

I have finished routing and welding up the intercooler tubing. In hindsight it would have been better to use 2'' tubing rather than the 2.5'. Some of the clearances were very tight, particularly around the ancillary belt pulleys around the right-hand side of the engine. the 2.5'' does match the throttle body inlet though which was nice.

I had heard bad things about these eBay tubing kits on the internet in that the aluminium was poor quality and very hard to weld. Initially I did struggle, however this was due to my welding setup. After a fair bit of messing about I settled on the following settings:

Current - 45 to 55A depending on how cold the part was, weld position etc.

Frequency - 180Hz with 40% cleaning

Electrode - 1.6mm Ceriated. This made a massive difference over the 2.4mm I started with

Filler - 5356 1.6mm. I tried to use 2.4 mm originally with not much luck

Gas - Set your shielding gas correctly. There are a few guides on the net about it. This was absolutely critical. A high flow rate introduces turbulence around the shroud introducing oxygen resulting in a horrible weld.

I had really got the hang of it by the end of the job. Don’t let anyone tell you tigging thin aluminium is impossible without professional tuition or years of experience!

The tubing kit was good value, I used absolutely all the bends, nothing left!

Herse a bad photo of the parts prior to fitting