So I've been working on this for a while, finally had a chance to go ahead with it. I did this for a couple of reasons: I don't want to try to find another cast exhaust manifold if mine ever cracks, I'd like to see if I could get an ounce or too more performance outta the 230 (a tall feat, I know), and also just to see if I could.
So with a new exhaust manifold gasket in hand, I set to creating the profile in CAD. I then laser cut it at work, and voila, I have the flange to build an exhaust header.
Here is the exhaust flange. (Looks like there is something underneath it...)
There she is, 1/4" 304 Stainless Steel.
Here is a pic looking down, I think I nailed the hole locations. On the left, the gasket is curling up a bit, thats why it looks like the holes don't quite line up. If I lay the gasket flat, its perfect. (I forgot to take my can of courage outta the picture, lol)
So has anyone built their own headers? Any advice? I think I have a pretty good idea on how I'm going to go about doing this. I got the 3-to-1 collectors already, and a friend who has boxes of cuts and peices since he builds headers for his business. Still, I've never built a set, so I'll take any input, thank you.