Lately, I have really become interested in fabrication, especially for automotive purposes. I'm getting sick of paying for parts that always fail but don't have to (Thermostat housing unit) or that have components that fail but said components are not available for sale piecemeal (HPFP).

I would like to field a question here that was inspired by an Aluminum Valve Cover for the N14, designed by RPM Power.

Assuming one has a metal lathe and a small CNC Mill, How feasible would it be to fabricate a billet aluminum thermostat housing unit and corresponding crossover pipe? or even an oil filter housing unit/oil cooler, but out of a material that has superior properties for dealing with high heat (less expansion and shrinkage)

Just trying to feel out the idea and see if it's worth pursuing in a serious way.

 

The crossover tube is doable. There was once a mass produced option in metal with mandrel bends in one continuous piece but it's no longer offered. You'll also find a handmade one out of welded sections by a guy out of Vietnam. I would stay away from those (and him) as the reputation just isn't there. Creating your own would be hard, but doable.

As for a thermostat, I think you'd struggle to machine it cost effectively. A $700 billet/welded thermostat that retains the OEM inner workings still has the primary failure points. Re-engineering their guts would be even harder unless you have expertise in fluid controls.

The oil filter housing exists in the form of the RPM one as well as the one in development at my company PodiumForge. In my version, the concept is to keep the OEM cooler placement (or aftermarket if you want) but to enable remote filter location instead of keeping it tucked down in the bowels.



As far as other mods you could do with a machine shop, a vacuum pump delete with a Leeds Bandit pump would be a huge safety increase.