a mate getting rid of an old ba xr6t manifold got me thinking... how hard would it be to modify the stock xr6t manifold to fit on the e-series head? are the cylinders the same distance apart etc...?
if they are and the bolts dont match up could you simply get the flange cut off and a matching one welded on... or would this cause reliability problems down the track with welds cracking and s**t (between the cast steel/iron and the metal flange)

if it could be easily done it would make for a cheap/very stock looking (with the ba xr6t headshield!!!) setup

Port spacing is the same.

My reply contains a fair bit of self-interest so up front i'll say that if you decide that you don't want to use this, just pass your mates info on to me. I have a BA engine for which i've slowly sourced a few turbo bits. I'm still looking for a manifold.

Now, you *could* get an adaptor welder on. When welding cast you have to pre-heat the manifold and the work piece....it would have to be tacked or bolted together first (imagine doing it when hot!).

Then as it is welded you run the risk of some warpage. Its unavoidable. Some welders suggest peening the weld with a hammer as it is welded to align the grains. This is meant to prevent cracking. When complete the finished work piece is placed in a box of lime and allowed to cool down over a 24hr period.

The reality of welding this manifold is that you would need to trace the weld around each of the ports. Thats quite alot of welding. Its not like you are just tacking a flange onto a stock manifold.

Then as a final step you would have to have the finished piece milled flat.

There are other considerations too. Even after all this work are you sure the XR6T manifold will position the turbo in the correct position? No interference to the shock tower/battery area?

As i said, i'd be interested in the manifold price dependent.

Just posting so I can keep an eye on this post. I asked myself the same question not long ago.

there is no reason you can just make an adapter plate.

1/2 thick plate with counter sunk cap screws to bolt it to the head.
drill and tap the BA bolt patern onto the plate and use a stud and nut to hold the ba manifold onto the plate.
with a drill press or mill the plate could be done in a day

Agreed, a simple adaptor flange with gaskets in-between is possible. I was responding to the welding question.

There is also the matter of the mis-matched port shape. die-grinder might save the day on that one.

Still, it limits you to T3 footprint and internal gate. FWIW i think a fabricated manifold is going to going to be better. The XR6t manifold doesn't appear to be a proper split pulse set up either.

interesting replies, i doubt i;ll ever get around to turbo'ing my car, not enough money or time at this stage... but yeah, it was just an idea what would be the likely outcome of just stick welding (using high nickel rods or whatever) a new flange onto the old manifold while it was bolted to a head? (to stop warpage of the plate)? like what chef did with his manifold and the turbo flange?

never thought of using an adaptor plate, nice idea!!

i guess this would really only be a great idea if you found an XR6T manifold+turbo for cheap...

welding in place is inviting trouble. You can get these aluminium welding/soldering rods that melt at a slightly lower temperature than aluminium. what you do is heat up the entire thing and kind of braze them. They are on the web somewhere. A guy at work repaired a casting from the gearbox of a toro mower and it worked great.

hmmm could that cause a problem with the high temperatures experienced by the manifold?