Project Fun Buggy Plumbing - Radiator, Exhaust, Air Intake Install

The Fun buggy is getting closer and closer To the trail. in case you've missed previous episodes, i've been working on this fun buggy project for just over two years. I started with computer-aided design, then chassis fabrication, suspension, and drivetrain layout. now we are moving into some of the final stages of the build. i'm working with the crew at poly performance, where we have been putting in weekends and evenings to showcase the many products poly performance offers for anyone looking to build their own rock buggy.

For this month's progress on the Fun buggy we did lots of plumbing. With the layout of the buggy we decided on a rear-mounted radiator. This required piping the coolant back and forth to the ron Davis radiator from the front-mounted Chevy V-8. in addition, we needed a custom exhaust to clear all the drivetrain and suspension components. Feeding that healthy 383ci V-8 is a canister air filter and intake from unique Metal products (uMp), which also needed some plumbing to get to the throttle body. so now the 13/4-inch DOM steel tube chassis is accessorized with plumbing made of silicone, aluminum, and stainless steel. Tune in next time when we continue on the interior, truss up the rear axle, and hopefully get some fuel running to the engine. For more detailed photos and up-to-the-minute updates, check out the project vehicle section, blogs, and forum on our Web site, www.4wheeloffroad.com.

Getting a fresh cool gulp of air is important for optimum engine performance, but having that gulp as clean and free of grit as possible will make your engine last. We decided on a unique Metal products (uMp) 4-inch super Filter. The 8-inch-diameter, 18-inch-long aluminum canister fit nicely along the passenger side of the engine compartment, and we also used some 4-inch aluminum tubing and 90-degree rubber elbows to route the intake to the slightly modified ACCEl DFi throttle body.
Getting a fresh cool gulp of air is important for optimum engine performance, but having t
This system uses a centrifugal canister, inside which the air circulates due to the small fins on the air filter. This in turn drops any larger dirt clods, pebbles, and grains of sand along the bottom before the air is sucked in through a central-mounted paper filter. in fact, UMP studies have shown this swirling airflow removes up to 85 percent of the dust and particles in the air stream, including the fine dust. UMP's high-quality paper-element filters are designed to be 99.9 percent effi cient at dust retention, which the company feels no cleanable filter can match.
This system uses a centrifugal canister, inside which the air circulates due to the small
At the end of the canister there is a small rubber valve that allows the air charge to force small pebbles and sticks out should they get sucked into the canister. Should water spray or rain get pulled in it will also drain, thus keeping the 383 happy and healthy. These types of air filters have long been used in mining and agricultural machinery, where dirt and dust are just as-if not more-prolific than when four-wheeling, and where downtime costs money.
At the end of the canister there is a small rubber valve that allows the air charge to for

Though there are many supposed "recipes" for radiator size to engine output, the team at ron Davis has found none to be 100 percent correct. For this buggy we went with a 28x19-inch double-pass 3-inch-thick radiator with two 13-inch spal electric puller fans giving an estimated 3,420 cfm combined. The radiator came with the dual fans on the same side as the inlet and outlet, so we moved them to the opposite side and then mounted the radiator at a slight angle in the chassis such that the cool air is pulled down and through the radiator.
Though there are many supposed "recipes" for radiator size to engine output, the team at r
Since we were custom building the buggy, we chose an off-the-shelf production radiator from ron Davis, but they also make custom units for any special project you are working on. Our unit came with two rows of 1-inch tubes for some serious cooling when summer wheeling in the desert. We did end up adding these small mounting pins on the bottom of the radiator that then sit the radiator into the custom fuel cell we are building.
Since we were custom building the buggy, we chose an off-the-shelf production radiator fro
We had to route two lines from the engine to the radiator. burns stainless was contacted for some 6061 aluminum tubing. since it will be wrapping around and under the chassis, and bending the thin-wall aluminum tubing is diffi cult, we chose to get some 90-degree bends and some u-bends of 11/2-inch that we can cut and weld. To allow disassembly and removal we ordered some silicone hoses from butch's speed shop to eal the different sections together.
We had to route two lines from the engine to the radiator. burns stainless was contacted f

Up front the tubing wraps around the accessory drive and up to the coolant outlet on the engine. At this point the tubing has a small weld-in bung where a bleeder will be located. The outlet and inlet are different sizes han the burn's aluminum tubing we used, so e used reduction hoses from Butch's.
Up front the tubing wraps around the accessory drive and up to the coolant outlet on the e
At all the junctions where either rubber or silicone hoses are attached to the aluminum tubing we used a bead roller to put a small bead just short of the end. This will help Seal the hoses when a clamp is put on, and Prevent it from sliding off due to engine movement or pressure.
At all the junctions where either rubber or silicone hoses are attached to the aluminum tu
We initially got a radiator with a filler neck, but once we had it mounted, we realized that we needed one without a filler neck and instead added a surge tank. The surge tank from Ron Davis radiators is a pressurized part of the coolant system where you fill the coolant and it is plumbed down into the engine, tubing, and radiator and from where the coolant is released to the overflow tank when it heats up and expands.
We initially got a radiator with a filler neck, but once we had it mounted, we realized th

Our ZZ383 is fitted with a set of sanderson block-hugger headers that are ceramiccoated to help fight corrosion and oxidation. They have a thick mounting flange designed to reduce leaks and D-port inlets to match the exhaust ports on the gM Fast burn heads. Each tube is 11/2 inches with a 21/2-inch tube coming from the collector.
Our ZZ383 is fitted with a set of sanderson block-hugger headers that are ceramiccoated to
From the headers we routed the exhaust down and under the oil pan with 21/2-inch 304 stainless steel tubing from burns stainless. since the exhaust system will be exposed to the elements, stainless is chosen to combat corrosion. Directly after the passenger-side collector we added a stainless steel bung from summit racing for the wide band O2 sensor, which is an integral part of the fuel-injection's monitoring system. From there we added two hi-flow catalytic converters from random Technology.
From the headers we routed the exhaust down and under the oil pan with 21/2-inch 304 stain
You might think i'm crazy for adding catalytic converters to my off-road buggy, but here's why. random Technology has actually seen minute power increases from the backpressure the cats offer in some vehicles. plus many hot-rod builders are running cats to help reduce the fumes from the combustion which i figured was a good idea for both myself and passenger as well as for those following me up the trail.
You might think i'm crazy for adding catalytic converters to my off-road buggy, but here's

Behind the cats, the exhaust converges into a 3-inch collector before routing around the transmission and transfer case. From there it dives into a 16-inch pro-series Hushpower muffl er from Flowmaster. The design of the Hushpower is such that the heat and flow of the exhaust gases can continue out the tailpipe quickly, but the noise waves are reflected back onto themselves so that the exiting sound waves are greatly reduced. i wanted a good sound while still being able to hear a spotter or the person sitting next to me.

All this plumbing required some delicate welding, as both the stainless exhaust and the coolant and air aluminum tubing are thin-wall variety and there can't be any leaks. Drew's Tig-welding skills are approximately 98 times better than mine so he was elected for this part of the job. We used both his industrial Miller synchrowave 250 and my entry-lever Miller synchrowave 200, which are both great machines for this type of work. The stainless tubing was welded with Er308 rod for the stainless to stainless such as when we added the summit racing stainless exhaust hangers and burn's stainless V-band clamp. And Er312 for stainless to steel such as when we attached the Hushpower muffler. The aluminum tubing was welded with Er4043 rod, and we are looking into having the coolant lines heat-treated to reduce stress and make them stronger. Also we will be adding heatshields on much of the exhaust to protect the starter and coolant lines from the exhaust temps.

SOURCES
ACCEL DFI www.accel-dfi.com	Poly Performance N/A www.polyperformance.com
Burns Stainless 1013 W. 18th St. Costa Mesa CA 7-14/-631-5120	Random Technology 7-70/-554-4242 randomtechnology.com
Butch's Speed Shop	Ron Davis Radiators
Flowmaster/Hushpower	Sanderson Headers 517 Railroad Ave. South San Francisco CA 94080 800-669-2430 www.sandersonheaders.com
GM Performance Parts www.gmperformanceparts.com	Summit Racing P.O. Box 909 Akron OH 44309-0909 800-230-3030 www.summitracing.com
Miller Electric 8-004-AMI-LLER www.millerwelds.com