Catch!

31 Aug Catch!

Before we give away the big reveal that we hinted at earlier, we’ve got one more step to show off.

With the…ahem, other parts…headed to the dyno room for fitting on the E64 M6, we have one additional step that needs to take place as well. After all, without an airbox (hint hint, if you haven’t guessed the obvious answer already), we need to re-route the PCV system so that it doesn’t splash oil all over the engine bay. And for that, we turn to our trusted friend the catch can. As with all our hand-built metal parts, we start from scratch with a design and basic materials in hand. The metal has already been cut into the shapes for each wall of the catch can, and we’ve also prepared some of the inner tubing of the can, as well.

Of course, when you’re dealing with welding, you have to take heat into account. Improper levels of heat in the aluminum can cause it to warp and ruin the box. That’s why we’re always test-fitting other panels as we go, to make sure nothing has been warped beyond recognition.

For this car, it’s going to have one catch can per bank on the motor, so we’re doubling up all our work; well, technically, mirroring it for the sake of symmetry, but you get what we mean. Each step may seem little, but it brings us one step closer to fitting this all on the car, which is obviously the highly desired end goal here.

After welding up the interior pieces of the catch can and allowing them to cool, we bring all the exterior panels over to the welding table, where a few quick tacks followed by some serious welds will keep all the parts in place.

Did we say serious welds? Well, it wouldn’t be a welding post without showing off the end result, now would it?!

With one catch can down, it’s time to start on the second one while we assemble all the parts necessary for the mounting and tubing. After all, two nice-looking cans sitting unattached in the bay won’t be doing a whole lot of good, now will it?

Now, with everything almost in place, we’ll be ready to hit you with this seriously sick setup first thing next week. In the meantime, though, we’ll leave you to the long weekend (if you’re in the USA) with a bit of anecdotal experience thus far — it sounds ridiculous. OJ, who’s not the biggest fan of the S85’s aural emissions, even relented and admitted that he loved this sound. Your humble blogger doesn’t normally need to wear ear coverings when in the dyno room; that changed with this car. It’s going to be nuts, and if the camera’s microphone holds up, you’ll be able to hear it in all ten cylinders of glory!