How-To: Install an Intercooler

[Fantasy]

This is my (HOW TO)

There is probably many ways to fit an intercooler in a S12 but this what I have done.
No need to cut out your front bumper or remove the aircon.

This will work for 300mm high x 600mm long x 100mm thick intercoolers and 300mm high x 600mm long x 76mm thick intercoolers of this design.
Run of the mill cheap Chinese intercooler that can be bought on EBay any day of the week.


What you will need:
? 1x 300mm x 600mm x 76mm thick or 100mm thick intercooler
? 1.5m length of 50mm x 6mm steel flat bar.
? 600mm length of 20mm steel or aluminum box section.
? 150mm length of 50mm x 2mm steel flat bar.
? Grinder with a cutting blade. (The supper thin cutting blades work best.)
? Decent sized vice.
? Hammer.
? Drill and drill bits.
? Tape measure.
? Protective eye goggles and protective ear muffs.
? Nuts & bolts.
? 8 self taping metal screws.

I use heavy materials because I like to keep things strong.


(1) First you need to remove the tow hook’s.

(2) Using a thin blade cutting dick on a grinder cut the over hang off the front of the chassis rails next to where the tow hooks were. Do not cut anything structural off. There will be about 10mm to 20mm of over hang that isn’t doing anything. (You won’t need to do this step if you are only using the 76mm thick intercooler.)



(3) Remove the air-conditioning condenser bottle. (Right hand models) Gently move the aluminum line by bending it close to the condenser to make way for the new intercooler. Make sure you leave the threaded end of the line coming of the air-conditioning condenser pointing in a convenient direction so you can put a new line on it later.
(Left hand models) Remove the bottle and all associated lines.
Using the thin bladed cutting disk on the grinder carefully cut off the aircon condenser bottle bracket being sure not to damage the condenser.
 BE GENTLE! And have the aircon gasses emptied before you start. You don’t want toxic aircon gasses leaking everywhere.



(4) Remove the standard brace connecting bonnet/hood latch mechanism and bottom chassis/radiator support beam. Get the length of 6mm x 50mm steel flat bar. (You could use a different size flat bar but this is what I used to retain some strength.) Drill an appropriate sized hole for the bolt off the bottom of the chassis/radiator support beam to go through. Using a tape measure, measure from the centre of the bolt hole in the chassis/radiator support beam up to 90º from the bottom of the bonnet/hood latch mechanism against the condenser. Using the measurement just retained mark the flat bar from the centre of the drilled hole. Using a vice and hammer bend the flat bar sharply to 90º. Your flat bar should now be in the shape of an L.
Facing the L towards the front of the car put the flat bar under the bonnet/hood latch mechanism and put the bolt through the drilled hole and into the bottom chassis/radiator support beam. Only put the bolt in finger tight. Mark the flat bar where it needs to bend back up to meet the bolt hole in the bonnet/hood latch mechanism. Take the flat bar off the car and bend it sharply not quit 90º using a vice and hammer. Place the flat bar back on the car doing the bottom bolt up finger tight and mark the flat bar where the bolt that goes into the bonnet/hood latch mechanism need to be. Remove the flat bar from the car and drill an appropriate sized hole for the bolt to go through. Cut the excess off the end of the flat bar and that is your new bonnet/hood latch mechanism brace. Fit the new brace to the car leaving the top bolt finger tight.



(5) Making the top intercooler mount.
On the top of your intercooler there are two lugs with taped bolt holes welded on. Using a tape measure, measure from the out side edge of the two lugs. Get your length of 20mm box section and cut it to this length. Measure, mark and drill the appropriate size holes to bolt the 20mm box section to the intercooler. Now bolt the 20mm box section to the intercooler. Jack the front of the car up about 350mm and put jack stands on both sides of the car. Once the car is stable and not going to roll off the stands. Slide the intercooler in from the bottom. The inlet and outlet pipes on the intercooler should be at the bottom. You may want to trim the standard plastic apron to allow more room and air for the intercooler. Slide the intercooler up until the bottom is about 15mm higher than the bottom chassis/radiator support beam. Chock the intercooler up so it stays in place. (Use what every is handy Bricks, wood or jacks. what ever. I normally use the trolley jack.) Make sure the intercooler is sitting in the middle of the opening in the apron and level with the bottom chassis/radiator support beam. Get your 150mm length of 50mm x 2mm steel flat bar and bend it using the vice so it sits flush with the front side of the 20mm box section bolted to the top of the intercooler and the bolt hole on the bonnet/hood latch mechanism. (This is the same bolt as used on the top of the brace made in step (4) .) It should only need a slight bend. Using the tape measure, measure from the bottom of the front side of the 20mm box section directly up to the top of the brace made in step (4) allowing for the bend. Cut the 50mm x 2mm steel flat bar to this length. Holding the 50mm x 2mm flat bar level at the top and against the brace made in step (4), mark where the bolt hole needs to be on the 50mm x 2mm flat bar and drill the hole at the appropriate size. Put the 50mm x 2mm flat bar over the top of the brace and on the front side of the 20mm box section and do the bolt up finger tight. (the  top of the flat bar should be level with brace from step (4) and level with the bottom of the front side of the 20mm box section.) Stand about 5m back from the car and make sure the intercooler is still level and in the middle. Mark the 20mm box section on both sides of the 50mm x 2mm flat bar.
Take the 50mm x 2mm flat bar off the car and the 20mm box section off the intercooler. Put the two together is the vice keeping in the marks on the Box section and drill two appropriate sized hole at least 20mm apart from centre to centre. Put a nut and bolt through each hole and do up tight. (Alternatively if you used steel box section you could weld this together instead of using the bolts). Now you have your top intercooler mount. Bolt it to the intercooler and to the car.



(6) Bottom intercooler mounts.
On the bottom of the intercooler there are two lugs with taped bolt holes welded on. Measure on an angle from furtherest side of the lugs back to rear side of the bottom chassis/radiator support beam. (These mounts can not go straight back because the front cradle arms are in the way) Get the left over 50mm x 6mm flat bar and cut it to size. Mark and drill the flat where the bolts for the lugs need to go. Drill four holes in a square pattern just big enough to fit self taping metal screws with out grabbing in the opposite end of each length of the flat bar. Now you have your bottom intercooler mounts. Bolt the mounts to the intercooler and use self taping metal screws to attach the mounts to the bottom chassis/radiator support beam.




Your intercooler is now mounted. (I used the 100mm thick intercooler)



You still need to make a bracket for the aircon condenser bottle and mount it somewhere.
You will also need to get new aircon lines made and get the aircon regassed.

For the intercooler pipes I put the battery in the boot/trunk and ran my pipes down through where the standard air filter was and back up through standard battery location.
I used a metal holes saw to cut the holes for the pipes.