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I started working on putting my new 4.5" vertical flow intercooler and custom 2.5" piping two weeks ago with the help of Gerasimos(ZEUS) and my buddy Haig. This intercooler ordeal has been a nightmare. This is what I had to go through :)
1- Take out all the stock piping
2-Remove all the useless shit like the carbon canister etc.
3-Make custom pipes along with welding the BOV flanges
4-Polish the new pipes
5-Dremel the area under my headlights to fit the air filter piping
6- Grind my bumper to fit the new intercooler
7-Put new fittings for my Boost Controller and AIV valve on the new pipes
8-Bend my hood prop to make it clear
9- Turn the BOV upside down to clear my hood
10- Search part stores to find a radiator hose that would fit the new setup
11-Remove the new pipes four times for numerous reasons. What a pita with the intercooler installed. Its super tight.
Now the bad news, we installed the radiator and electric fan. Tested the Perma-Cool fan by hand to see if the blades clear. Everything was ok and wired it up. As soon as it spun, it scrapped all over the radiator and damged the whole unit badly.The initial torque and flex of the blades touched the endtanks, bent the fan blades and made its way to the radiator fins. I sent it out to be repaired and the places where the fan touched were fixed. The shop found another leak. The leak was in the actual core. I will try sending it back and hope they dont blame the damage from the fan because those places have been fixed and the place where its leaking is far from the actual fan. To top it all off, the intercooler is a tad too short since there is a small space under my intercooler and bumper. I have to make the intercooler brackets a bit longer and slightly modify the piping. It should solve that gap. Hope the new intercooler is worth all this trouble. I think it should since there is so much restriction on the stock pipes compared to my new custom pipes(Tom Green spec). They are 2.5" and are pretty much straight. They don't have any complicated bends like the stock piping. I still have not had a chance to drive the new setup because of the radiator. After I fix the radiator and adjust my timing, I will re-dyno and race it down the 1/4 mile before the season ends. Here are some pics of the new setup:
Special thanks to Tom Green, Zeus, Haig and John at Z1.
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New intercooler setup. Not dialup friendly - 
00:34:28 10/20/03
