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Mocking Up and Fabricating Intercooler End Tanks and Piping

1:53
6:20
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At 1:53 in

LSXcalade Explained: Intercooler Design and Fabrication Process

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What happens here

The fabrication process involved extensive mock-up to achieve precise fitment. The presenter explains that the bumper was repeatedly installed and removed to test the visual alignment of the intercooler through the grille and to ensure adequate clearance. Custom aluminum pipes were fabricated and temporarily secured with blue painter's tape to determine their optimal routing and length. The intercooler itself was supported by cardboard boxes and other makeshift stands to adjust its height and position, allowing the builder to visualize its final placement relative to the grille and logo before final welding and mounting. An angle finder was used to ensure the custom end tanks matched the angle of the headlights.

Goal: Create custom end tanks and charge pipes for the intercooler, ensuring proper fitment and aesthetics.

Tools and materials

  • Aluminum piping — Fabricating custom charge pipes
  • Angle finder — Measuring and matching angles of headlights for end tank fabrication
  • Blue painter's tape — Temporarily securing pipes and marking locations
  • Cadillac emblem Cadillac — Reference point for aesthetic alignment
  • Cardboard boxes — Supporting the intercooler during mock-up
  • Custom Intercooler Custom — The intercooler core being fitted with end tanks and pipes
  • Grille Cadillac — Test-fitting for aesthetic integration
  • Marker — Marking cut lines and points on aluminum
  • Measuring tape/ruler — Taking precise measurements for pipe lengths and angles
  • Vehicle bumper Cadillac — Test-fitting and ensuring clearance

What they say

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those those charge pipes didn't need to be oriented like that but as i was making the pipes i took put the bumper on took it off put it on and took it off like 80 000 times to kind of see what it would look like through the grill because that was really important to me and that's what i came up with i felt that it it just it just flowed really well like that looks really freaking cool and i think it's kind of a staple of the image of this thing really if i painted it black it wouldn't look half as cool poking through the grille like that not even close that's all symmetrical too and here's the specific angle i was talking about right there i actually use an angle finder to kind of place that and then match it on here just to it keeps your eyes on the same plane and then once i had the end tanks made i didn't have the intercooler mounted yet or the bottom made so i had i had boxes under there to mock it up and i just kind of stacked them and you know played with the height a little bit to see where the intercooler would land in relation to the logo on the grille so it was like positioned well i wanted to be high enough that it got adequate airflow because the intercooler actually comes down to like right there but there's only so high i could go with actually being you know with the other stuff in here and you could see the brackets i kind of

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