Technical Fuel injector Fab

So THIS is perfection, the GOLD standard if you will. Pictured is an original Super Slot scoop that I will be attempting to duplicate with only very minor deviations. Ideally I would 't change it at all, but this project isn't about building a replica - it was to be an "inspired by". I will try my best to keep the look and feel of the Scott top. Wish me lotsa luck - I feel like I'm gonna need it!

 

Great work! I am impressed with the can-do attitude to think about what is needed to be done and then fixture it up to make it happen.

 

Thank-You 38Chevy454, Sometimes my stuff works and sometimes I learn something (you're always learning when it doesn't go right). Today I got the material for my butterflies. For those who were wondering why my round tooling had a flat machined on it - here's why. It makes it easier to drop the butterflies in place with more clearance - so the flat is indexed with the mtg screws and makes it easy to index in the mill vise. I added just a few thousandths extra clearance on each side. Shouldn't hurt a thing and should make it easier to assemble - seems like I remember that Holley carb butterflies have these flats - can't remember. You can also see my very temporary nibbler set up. I hooked it up to a foot mtg air switch. I the blanks cut real nice and I think are super flat - I'll inspect them closer later. This material has the plastic sheet on it - funny how you can see that when you machine it on edge.

 

Still tryin' to scrounge up some aluminum sheet - should have it soon. In the meantime here's one of a zillion ways to salvage fuel injector fittings. I chuck then in an indexer with a hex collet and make a skim cut thru the aluminum sleeve. I rotate the hose and make a second cut. It is desirable to cut a little ways into the rubber as it makes removal easier. Do you need all this to accomplish this? Absolutely not, but it's easier. I previously done it with a hand grinder and then cut the hose with a razor knife. It's REAL easy to score the barbs with the razor and admittedly I would doubt a little score mark would hurt anything. but I'd much prefer not to - hence the reason for this set up. It works good and has zero risk in scoring the barbs. I am now finding yet another reason for a media tumbler....to be continued.

 

Are you going to swage new hoses on?

 

Amazing work, even if it doesnt work im blown away by it. Nice to see someone with the skills to make it,

 

Yes I will. I wanna get the ends SUPER clean for the real ones, but here's a sneak peek at some of my practice ones. I think you're gonna like my roll crimping tool. I made some new rollers and used it as a proof of concept. With a stop nut I think it'll work ok. Long term I'd like to maybe do them in the lathe, but until the my hand tool will definitely work

 

Thanks for the kind words.

 

I like the idea of repurposing a tubing cutter into a swaging tool.

 

I thought you might get a kick out of that.

 

Started to think how I might bend the material (3/16" aluminum) for the scoop bottom. I don't have the proper tools but I do have a press- so far I am very happy with my test bend. I used a 1/2" thk chunk of rubber as the bottom "die" and pressed against the top with a 1/2" (might have been 7/16) rod backed up with a 3 or 4 inch width 1/2" thick aluminum bar TOTAL hillbilly set up but it worked very well - I need to bend a few more degrees for the actual part. I'll pictures for your laughter at my set up the next one I bend

 

So we tried bending the Real McCoy metal tonight. After some fiddling around I'm gonna call if GOOD! Back is killing me - so tomorrow is another day! Very Happy how this piece looks so far (subject to change as I get further into the project) The bends aren't perfect but they are damn close! If you look at the last pic where my wife is holding the part you can see a faint line where I had to "unbend" it a tad. Not doing this every day it's hard to guess the spring back and I over bent it a little so I flipped it in the press and it flatten right back - so I was happy for that. This would be a perfect place for a bending die set at my angle. And for those who are looking CLOSE yes! That IS a tire iron I am using to bend with - using it to add a radius. YES that was sketchy as shit, but that's one reason I used the tire iron- they are not smooth - and that's GOOD as having it "stick" to the aluminum is good. I would never do that one "hard" materials like steel as it's too easy to "squirt " out. That's also why it's oriented in the position it is. So while I don't condone this approach - it can work in soft materials if you're careful.

 

For a lower die try two round steel bars - maybe 3/4" or 1" - welded to a steel plate. I have some with various spacing for different apps.

True story about homemade scoops: A fellow in the Detroit area (who shall remain nameless) who was a chassis builder and ran an A/Fuel dragster with injector stacks decided to cover all the injector stacks with a scoop containing T/F style butterflies. He made the scoop from .080" aluminum as I recall. At the track he rolled into the staging lanes, started it up, rapped the throttles once, and when the butterflies closed down the atmospheric pressure collapsed the scoop down onto the stacks like a crushed pop can.

Not possible in your case since your throttles are downstream of the scoop, but humorous and germain nonetheless.

 

Greg, Actually that was my first plan, but I couldn't find any steel plate laying around. So I just used 1" thick rubber - I was surprised that the bends were so crisp with the rubber - shocked actually.

 

I saw this example over on the '37 - '41 Willys thread. A flattie no less! Dig the headers too.

 

Nicely done. FYI I know Hilborn machines a group of blades together to keep the sizing better.

 

So I started on the top. Admittedly this is NOT the ideal way to do this. Given what I had laying around and the fact I'm not in production kinda directs what approach one takes. Having said that the rubber lower die was great for the bottom part but NOT a great idea for the top - it was just difficult to try and sneak up on a radius - I think Greg's idea for using the 2 rounds would have made this much easier. I will be on the lookout for some plate to make that in the future. Meanwhile I think this is coming along pretty good. There are some "facets" in the top surface that I am pretty sure I can sand out.

 

To Puzzle in the rear section I first made the part slightly longer than my part (can always trim later). Next I clamped in the piece. I tacked the piece from the top using 3 or 4 tack welds. I flipped the part and fully welded the piece in from the bottom. Then I flipped it back right side up and removed the tacks completely. I V'ed out the joint to ensure that I'd have full penetration since I would later grind this flush. Sorry I should have taken more pics. You can see there's a couple of divots- I think the smaller one will sand out, but I will likely have to go back and touch up that one in the middle. I used 5052-H32 3/16" welded with 4043 rod

 

How Cool is that?

 

Yep! Easier to check with o.d. mics......

 

So today I setup to punch the holes in the bottom plate and radius the edge. I holesawed the bulk of the material and then cleaned it up on the rotary table. To save time I did true up the holes after holesawing because hole saws never run close to true. Also by cleaning this hole up it also allowed me to more easily set the part up on the rotary. With that hole running true and to a consistent size I turned a spacer (sort of centering guide) that I would later drop over a 3/8" pin already on my rotary table and then drop the spacer 9black plastic piece in the pics) - with the "centering tool" in place it's merely a job of tightening the part down - orientation doesn't matter - you just need it centered. Probably easier/better ways to do this but this is the best I could come up with!

 

Will you have enough room to get to the rear bolts??? And I would make a screen to go between the scoop and injector to keep bolts an rocks out of the blower

 

Nice work!....

 

Dreracecar, The rear bolts will go thru the scoop and be installed from the outside (just like Scott did) I will also utilize the center two that Scott omitted that the Hilborns use - it is tricky if you have fat hands like I do, but you can get the middle ones in. The fronts are pretty easy.

 

I V'd out the edge because I was planning to grind flush. For you expert aluminum welders don't look too close - I'm a little rusty, but for me - it actually came out pretty good. Still needs some massaging , but I ran out of DA paper and had to stop. Still heading in the right direction I think. The real ugly pic just shows the V'd out groove. Note to self: Next time put the "V" groove in BEFORE you tack it together when it's EASY to put in.

 

A little more smoothin" on the bottom. The top is smoothed out (some) on one side- notice the "die" marks left from the press. We'll get those out soon. I actually made this a tad higher than the original one I looked at - makes it possible to barely get my hand inside to install the bolts. Still not sure if I like it a tad taller or not. Gotta put it on the car I guess. The original had a shallow protrusion off the bottom - I think I'm gonna add that but make it a tad thinner than original.

 

Be sure and put something in the injectors to block them when you try and install the last bolts.

 

Raise your hands - how many of us on here could tackle making your own fuel injection system from scratch???

Not me either.

 

That is what is so interesting about the HAMB we have Master builders, fabricators, master metal workers, and NITRO experts and a vast network of skilled craftsmen and they gladly show us their skills.