New things and projects to come!

Mike and I went out today to pick up the sheetmetal and some other stuff for his bike. He also dropped off this rear hoop that I will be chopping and fitting into place:

It's not exactly the same width, but I will be taking care of that easily enough. 

Boxes can be fun!

This is certainly not a cheap collection of "presents" inside those boxes, though! 

Garrett GT3076R, .78A/R T3 flanged twin scroll V-band outlet turbo and two TiAL wastegates. I have to say, the fit, finish and precision of the TiAL parts is some of the best I've seen on non-Military grade stuff. EVERYTHING from the fittings to the body fits perfectly and is made superbly from quality materials. I love seeing stuff like that! 

This project is going to be VERY tough. The compressor housing is HUUUUUGE. I need to tuck off of that and all the piping as close to the block as possible while NOT making it impossible to get to all the bolts, fasteners and lines (oil and coolant lines) needed to effectively run this setup correctly to maximum potential. I have some ideas, but, once I get the block mounted and a head in place, I'll be better able to visualize what needs to go where. 

This is my new workbench, a Harbor Freight special for $24.99. 

It is very worth it for the price, even if some of the holes were not tapped and I have to wait to get the rest of my tap and die set from home to finish bolting it together. It is actually fairly sturdy except for the really cheeseball "shelves" they give you. I will be making my own of plywood, using the original "shelves" as a template. 

Not fastened on yet, but perched atop the work surface is this amazingly awesome piece of metal:

I got this vise for free. It is likely older than I am. It had (has) some surface rust that I cleaned up and is not functioning amazingly. It weighs as much as the workbench (maybe more). It is overkill, for sure, and I know that the workbench would tip over if I apply too much torque to something, BUT it will work well enough for what I need it for (mostly to hold stuff while I work on it). There is nothing like a quality vise. =)