Making the decision to fix oil leaks has turned into a multiple hundred dollar venture.
Firstly, the braided hose that I'm using as an upgrade over the standard hoses was a 100.00 investment. Getting braided hose to go over a pipe nipple is do able, but barely. As a visual upgrade though I think it's an improvement.
The fake nut that covers the hose clamp is imperceptible, you cannot tell that it's not a hose end screwed into a fitting, so it's all good.
The black wrinkle paint is also gonna mostly disappear, so again,..bacon saved. In the end I think it'll be an improvement over the orange engine. The side plate is resealed, the gaskets for it, and the intake are completely made from RTV,...hopefully this works.
I took the charge tube to a powder coated this morning, it's going gloss black. As far as cosmetics go that will be the end of the bling-blings this time.
Still waiting on the oil pump, and still undecided about bumping the WG springs up to 10 P.S.I. Over the 7 pounders currently in the gates. I do have a boost controller installed and wired into the mega squirt, and that should allow me to bump up the boost in the settings. But I don't know if it works, or how well it will if it does work. I'll be pssed if I get this thing back together and it doesn't work, and the pain in the ass to remove waste gates were right in front of me.
For now, I'll hold off on doing anything until I get some feedback from some of you that know better, or have this boost controller in place,...won't even have the oil pump back till next week anyway, so I still have some time.