For those of us who wish to save money and get the biggest front mount intercooler setup possible, custom fabrication is the only choice we have. Perrin and APS make a great front mount intercooler setup but they are rather expensive and don't have the biggest bang for buck. Using the Mishimoto M-Line front mount intercooler and custom bracket fabrication, you can have a massive front mount intercooler system with 276.125 square inches of surface area for under $800.00 including intercooler, bracket, piping, couplers, and fasteners. The surface area of Perrin's core is only 129.5 square inches, while APS's claimed "massive" front mount system only yields 266 square inches. Perrin's cost for the front mount intercooler kit is $1500, while the APS cost is $1600. Save money, live better. Custom fabrication!
Cost per square inch of cooling surface
- Perrin: $1500 for 129.5 sq. in. @ $11.58
- APS: $1600 for 266 sq. in @ $6.01
- Custom fabrication: $800.00 for 276.125 sq. in. @ $2.89
Building the front mount intercooler bracket
First, we must fabricate the bracket. Follow the normal steps to remove the front bumper, and then you will be ready to construct your bracket. I used 3/8 x 36" stock from Lowe's, two pieces, for a total of $25.00 spent in materials. Use chalk to mark off the top of the bumper, so you can get a good idea where to place the bracket. Once it's marked off, place the first piece of stock just below it and vice grip it to the frame. Put your stock bumper back up to check for clearance, and adjust as needed. You will want about 1/4 inch clearance between the bumper and upper bracket. Once that's marked, you'll need to build the attachment portion of the bracket.
The attachment portion of the bracket attaches where the bumper beam was attached on the four bolts sticking out of the frame. Line up the metal and score the upper stock where you think it will line up. Cut it to shape. Next, cut 5 inches worth of attachment bracket from the material. One for each side, this will give you enough room for adjustment if the bolts don't drill up exactly correct. Unless you have a drill press, they'll never be perfect! Build a wooden jig and use a hammer to tap the bolts into the wood. This will give you an approximate location for which to drill from. Use an appropriate sized drill bit, just slightly larger than bolts to drill out the jig. Next, you will need to score the center line using a height gauge with carbide scriber. This will give you a center line to work with when drilling. If the drill goes off center, don't worry because you can use a bur and grinder to fix it. Once you have the holes drilled out, test it on the chassis. You will see that there is a gap between the flat portion of the chassis and upper bracket. Two washers for each bolt, under the attachment bracket will solve this issue. Once it's drilled and setup, you are ready to weld.
Attachment bracket to chassis
Using vice grips, keep the bracket on the chassis for an weld in assembly setup. You will need to tack weld the bracket together in order for a perfect fit. Once it's tack welded, remove it and finish the weld on the bench. After you have it welded, check it once again for fitment. If there is any issues, use a burr and grinder to mill out the difference until it fits. If you did it right, there should be no fitment issues. You're not done yet!
Next you will need to cut and build upper attachment brackets to attach to the upper bracket piece. These connect the pre-drilled locations on the top of the Mishimoto M-line intercooler to the front mount intercooler bracket. You will want to set them up to bring the intercooler about 3/4 of an inch away from the chassis to ensure proper bumper fitment and no rubber. Once they are even, using vice grips keep the brackets attached to the bracket and tack weld on the bench. After they are tack welded, finish the weld completely. Now you should have a front mount intercooler bracket with upper attachment brackets. Test with your intercooler to make sure of proper fitment, if so proceed to build the lower attachment brackets.
Upper intercooler attachment bracket
You can stop here if you want, but if you plan to off road your vehicle you want the front mount intercooler as sturdy as possible. I decided to build lower attachment brackets that go from the bottom of the intercooler to the front chassis subframe. If you look under the car, you will see two bolts. This is your attachment point. Construct the brackets out of the remaining material, drill, and attach. Once it's all in place, you will want to put a coat of paint over the steel to resist rust. Rustoleum or Krylon works well, and you can go the extra mile and put a clearcoat on it. I decided to go with black to stay consistent with the black stealth intercooler.
Finished product
Additional notes! Notice that due to the massive size of the Mishimoto FMIC, you will need to get a front bumper lip to cover it up. There is about an inch of difference, and this can be covered by using a lip and carbon fiber front spiller. The lip and splitter combo will seal off the bottom of the FMIC system and reduce debris wear and tear. If used in combo with a front skid plate, this will also greatly improve aerodynamics because there will be no drag under the vehicle. I also suggest using a front mount intercooler water spray to go along with the FMIC. It will help reduce temps drastically!
Doing this yourself? Questions? Email me at mberenis@gmail.com and I'll help you out my fellow FMIC fabricator!
