"Anyone who works their band saw to death--LOL. That'* funny. The big thing is----I still have all my fingers--HA!!!
I received an E-mail with the forums news letter today. You guys added a link and great paragraph about my Catalina build. I am very humbled by the recognition guys. It means a lot to me. Thank you.

Mark

Your Welcome Mark and I am glad you liked my particular expressions!
It was meant to grab your attention... just like your Catalina does!

You have all your fingers because you work carefully & take your time in your garage.
I would bet you also wear safety goggles, gloves etc too where needed.

Oh yeah. Working as a supervisor, then a department head for 37 years in a chocolate factory, safety is number one in your head. My saying to all employees was always, "There is no such thing as an accident. Something or someone created a situation that caused the incident. Either by a design/procedure flaw or an act of negligence, there is always a reason why it happened." Boy they hated that. Anywho. I plan to keep all my appendages until they fall of from rot. LOL.

Mark L

Finished up the mock up of my Cold side intercooler to scoop/hat today. I just have to add the blow off valves to the pipes right at the scoop exit half way down the pipe.







The intercooler stand is kind of crappy so I'm going to try to make a better looking stand.

Mark

I can't believe I'm only just reading through this build now. Such an awesome project! I can't wait to see more of this beast!

Thanks Travis. I was looking your thread for your Allure and had no idea they called it that up there. At first I was wondering if GM made a different model up that was not available down here until I realized GM can't afford two different models. After reading more of the thread, now I understand. I was looking at LaCrosses down here prior to finding the G8 GT and would not have problem owning one if I had not found my G8. They are really nice cars. What engine is in it and is there much of an aftermarket supporting power adders or speed parts for them?
I had to say that my brother went into the Navy in '57/'58 (I was 7 so not sure of exact year) and after basic in Chicago, was sent up there to Newfoundland for electronics school. I have no idea where that was up there but I remember for years telling people down here about Newfoundland. Very few people even knew about your land back then. Are you familiar with any US Navy bases up there? Not sure it is even in operation any longer. We grew up in Wisconsin so we are used to the bitter cold at times during the winter. I remember him hating the lasting cold up there. I believe (long time ago to remember) he said the cold to warmer swings were pretty drastic at times. (Probably why he ended his Navy career in California, LOL). Good talking at ya Travis and thanks for the nice comments. They are much appreciated.

Mark

Yeah, the LaCrosse/Allure are one in the same. They were called the Allure here up until mid year '10, when they went with the LaCrosse name..probably due to confusion between the two names. It'* a great car so far. Typical w body reliability and stability in the snow. It has the Series III 3800, so there is a little bit of aftermarket support. Next to nothing in appearance upgrades though, so most things will have to be custom, like I had to do with the Century. As nice as it is, I would have taken a G8 over it too

After a little research, the only American Naval bases that I could find any info on were one here in St. John'* (more than likely the one your brother was stationed at), one in Argentia (pretty much in the middle of nowhere lol) and one in Stephenville (also somewhat secluded). I don't think any of them are still in use by the American military, but I could be wrong.

The warm/cold swings are horrible here at times. Especially in the winter. One day, it'll be well below freezing, the next, a few degrees above. Takes a lot to get used to haha.

It was good talking with you too, best of luck with the project

Travis

Thanks for the info Travis. Seeing your location gave some good memory flashbacks so I thank you for that. I didn't realize it was the 3800. Lots of stuff to do with it and for it. Enjoy it.

Mark

Well like everything I do on this car, I'm always thinking of other configurations or combinations. I was concerned that my intercooler heat exchanger would never get enough air flow when I'm either at slow speed or stopped at lights etc. It was so tight (up close to the cam driven fuel pump) that, even of I could find decent electric fans that would fit the odd shape of the heat exchanger (24 inches wide by 8 inches high), it would not fit ahead of the pump. Because of the steering gear it would not let me move the heat exchanger farther forward and due to the intercoolers above, I could not move it up and forward.
I found a nice little aluminum radiator with fan for $60 on E-Bay. It'* for an earlier Mini and it is 14.5 wide and 16.5 tall. Perfect to fit forward next to the steering gear in between the intercoolers placed on their sides. This is the last configuration I showed you.

This is also a good view of where everything is. The recovery/fill tank would have sat directly between the intercoolers but higher to be the high point of the system.



in this one you can see how close the pump and heat exchanger was.



This is the new configuration for the intercoolers, but I'm waiting for the little radiator to arrive. It will set between and farther forward a little bit but not much higher than the intercoolers. So it will not stick out too much, if at all. With the fan it will be much more efficient. I'm paranoid about the heat down here so I do everything to defeat it. Especially with a boosted situation.



The new little radiator will also solve any extra water fill/recovery tank that I have but it would require extra mounting frames and running additional lines. It'll be more compact and the fan will give it cooler air that the other did not have. I'll get more pics when I get the new radiator in place.

The pic is misleading though. The intercoolers will be level and equal in position. The angle of the pic makes them look off kilter. I've made little brackets to mount the bottom of the intercoolers to the frame, but after I got everything in position and the welder all set up I hit the handle button and I got one 1/4 inch of wire and ran out. BUMMER!!!!

Mark

Talk about some Brain Storming!! ...Going on there..
Where is the fan? Do u have enough room now?