Need pics of ESP front mount

[RobG]

Do any of you guys have pictures of ESP's intercooler installed ?

Any tips and pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Also, there's a descent sized dent on the top of it from the hood latch, any idea on how to pull it out ?

 

[BMF_Racing]

Do any of you guys have pictures of ESP's intercooler installed ?

Any tips and pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Also, there's a descent sized dent on the top of it from the hood latch, any idea on how to pull it out ?

I'm working on a bracket so no holes will need to be drilled in the core support to mount, it will use two of the existing holes that are 11 inches apart. When I get pix I will post some up of the bracket.


Brad

 

[unix_punk]

I can post pics of mine tonight if you're interested. I just followed the instructions it came with and aside from drilling the 2 holes, it was pretty simple. Just have to make sure you get that thing in the center before drilling... yea you have to be careful about the hood latch...you can see the top of my IC from the latch hole, but I made sure to mount it forward enough so that it wont hit when its shut.

 

[RobG]

If you got any pics I'd appreciate it. I'm assuming as long as it's centered in the core support it'll be good. I ask this because the front clip is off the car.

Thanks again

 

[unix_punk]

oh... umm, im pretty sure its centered on the core, but im not 100%...i left my clip on and put it in from the bottom and looked at it compared to the grill (which i left on as well) to make sure it was centered... ill take pics when i get home...

 

[300kGN]

I marked the centerline of the IC and the core support and drilled away, put spacers inbetween the layers of the core. I found the IC pipes worked best with the IC up tight against the core support (this also left more of the IC exposed to a direct airstream) and as close to the condenser as I could get it. I moved the core support cross braces to the back side of the core support sheet metal, using the existing holes.
Bent the hood catch just enough to clear the IC and still be functional.
Mine was also bent from previous installations and had several coats of paint.
Straighted is with a small hook on a small slide hammer in small steps. Not the prettiest thing, but it worked and opened the core back up. Not visible through the grill. Stripped it with Citristrip from Home Depot.
Set up and 1st install were a REAL pain. Now I can have it in and out in a few minutes. Not photo ready at the moment.

 

[RobG]

Thanks for the input. I'll be working on it tomorrow and so I can get the core support off to the powdercoater. I know the centering question sounds dumb but with the location of the drivers side pipe I wanted to be sure it didn't need to be off center or something.

I called ESP yesterday and the person I spoke with was really helpful and he faxed over the directions so that was also a plus.

As a former Lightning owner and a newbie to Buicks I can tell you that this website is a treat. Great info and great members

 

[unix_punk]

pics

Sorry i didnt have a chance last night. If you already got the instructions then you probably dont need these (kinda crappy quality cam phone anyway.) A couple things that I don't remember or not if they were in the instructions... ESP made to turbo to IC pipes, one with a 90 degree bend for an internal gate (because you cant rotate the comp housing) and one with a less dramatic bend for an ext gate (because you can rotate the housing and have better airflow with one less bend.) I also removed the 'x' bars in the front of the condensor and the 'half-triangle' brace at the top of the core and bent the tab for it up out of the way. I also had to bend the hood latch back a little bit to make sure it didnt hit the IC core when I closed it. I hope you got T-bolt clamps with that as well because anything less will not cut it.

HTH

 

[RobG]

Thanks for the pics Steve, that'll work.

 

[unix_punk]

not a problem. just curious which pipe you got? the 90 degree bend or the more straight shot off the turbo? are you running the stock turbo/wastegate?

 

[RobG]

It's supposed to be for the internal wastegate set up, the current turbo is a TE-44 but I won't be using that once the motor is built. I'll be going a bit bigger and more than likely the i/c pipes will be custom made as well.

 

[unix_punk]

thats cool, i was hoping you had the pipe for an ext so I can trade you i am going ext as soon as esp sends me my damn testpipe...been waiting waaay to long...anyway, good luck with the install.