05 Jul The Can-Can
And we’re back from break! Today, we’ll dive right back into Kris Boss’s E46 M3 as it’s just about finished.
If you remember our last post about his car, we finished routing the idle air hose to the manifold by way of a fabricated nipple flange. Now we’re addressing the PCV hose, which we’ll be routing through a catch can. As always, we’ll be fabricating the catch can from scratch. So let’s take a look at that process, shall we? First, we start by using aluminum tubing to create the can itself, and we’ve already assembled the basic components of the can next to it.
And then parts are drilled and cut to fit together.
Throughout the process, we’ll continue to test-fit everything to make sure fitment is spot on. Doing it now makes it much easier to finish off the can in terms of welding and polishing.
Of course, there’s more to it than just a can. After all, it needs somewhere to mount, and it needs somewhere to separate the oil from the air. That’s what the baffles and mounts are for, which we’re also creating while working on everything else.
With all the pieces in front of us, it’s time to start our final welds. As always, a stable workbench is key to a proper bead, so everything is secured down as much as possible, and then the welding begins!
If there’s one thing that throws off the aesthetic of the catch can, however, it’s those aluminum welds. So we take it to the lathe and smooth out the finish on the top, bottom and sides of the can for a uniform look.
Sadly, that’s where the pictures end for now, as these were taken on the third of July (your humble narrator has seen it fit to take Thursday and Friday off this week for a mini-vacation), but we have the camera snapping away in his absence, so we’ll have more pictures for you soon!
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