Inliners International Forums General Discussion Blown and Injected Bewber the newber - checking in

Hey guys. GREAT site you all have here. I thought I'd post an intro here since this is the section that I have the most interest. I've been lurking and trying to learn for a little while, but finally scored a turbo setup today for my build.

I live in the vacation mecca known as "beautiful, sunny, Flint Michigan". I've been an inliner kook ever since I can remember, but this is only my 3rd one - and this is the first I'm modifying.

I have a fairly wind stationwagon project that I've named "Frankenwagon" and I'm using a 70k miles 1981 292 truck motor for the open engine powerplant. After some reading here and some local searching, I just took a little road trip today with my dad and picked up this:



It's a setup from an early 80s buick, complete from intake manifold to air cleaner, with some piping thrown in too.

This is my first turbo build, so I'm real excited to find this forum and to learn how to go about this. So far, if I understand this right, I know that my main missing parts are a knock sensor and something to alter the timing when it starts to knock.

Anyway, that's long winded enough for post #1, so thanks for the look, and thanks in advance for your patience with my learning curve.

Peace,
John

Thanks Hank.

In my previous life I was an automotive designer for over a decade and spent a fair bit of time in powertrain design. I kind of figured that something OEM designed for a 3.8L would be a little undersized for my 292 - but for the pricing I got it all for I couldn't pass it up and I also trusted that there'd be a reasonably priced bolt on turbo upgrade I could swap in to recover at least some of the undersizing difference. I really do appreciate you verifying that my hunches were right.

Couple dumb questions though, since I don't remember seeing any pics that help me out....

1. I know that on the buick6, only one exhaust manifold fed the turbo system. With an inline 6, is it better to split exhaust and only run part of it through the setup, or should I pipe the entire exhaust of 6 bigger cylinders worth of output through the turbocharger?

1a. If it should be split, do I run the single outlet exhaust and split it, having one half of the Y go to the turbo and the other half to the back - or could/should I do a 4/2 split of the manifold and only feed the turbo with the "4" side of the exhaust. I asked a buddy about it and he figures it'd sound like a moped powered hairdryer - but I figured I'd ask anyway.

2. Do these systems require any kind of backpressure from a full exhaust system, or would it run fine if I came out of the turbo and pointed it up to the sky like a stack?

Like I said, it's a fairly wild open engine build, so yes I'm serious.

Thanks!
John

Hank,

Will I be more restricted by my undersized setup, or by the smallish turbo?

I was chatting with a good friend today about my plans for my build and he offered me a good turbo from a 6.5L turbo deezul chevy truck. Do you know off hand if:

A) This would be a more appropriately sized turbo, or would I have gone too far in the opposite direction?

2) If it WOULD be better - would it pop on there like a lego, or would I have to flex my fabrication muscles?

Sorry to be a PITA. It's just a little overwhelming. I feel like I'm searching my butt of, reading myself to a coma, and learning very little actual info about how to best install and run MY setup. Dang near every thread that appears with the keyword "turbo" is every individual posting from all 14 pages of the snowman saga - and a handful of other builds that are either different than mine mechanically or have expired pictures - making it time wasted instead of time invested.

Is there a successful build thread using my base parts that has pictures or links that work? I hate to keep asking how to get from A to B if there's already a map to follow.

Again, Thank you VERY much for your help.

John

Beater has one of these installed on a 292. Here are some pics.
http://picasaweb.google.com/sixpics/InjectedTurboed292?authkey=1XxF7v37Wbw#
I have 2 of those 301 pontiac turbo setups. Someday will try and stuff one under the hood of something.

Someday.......I'll make the one in the pictures run. That setup uses a modified stock intake manifold. It is far easier to make a flat plate adapter for an after market 4bbl manifold.

Here is another writeup using that turbo setup.
https://www.inliners.org/ubbthreads/ubbth...=true#Post62792

The turbo you have is really small for your size engine.
It will work & it will boost fast, but it's a big restriction.

I believe the 6.5 turbo will do better, but it is not a direct bolt on & will require to flex a lot of your skills.
Also,it is not a draw through turbo, no carbon seal. Made to run fuel & air through the compressor wheel.

I was trying to find the thread on the Turbo buick forums where this guy was comparing the stock GN turbo, the 3.8 Buick turbo & the 1981 Turbo Trans Am turbo where he swapped out all of the better parts to make a better hybrid stock type turbo, the thread is called not all turbos are created equal. I could not find it (for now) but I have posted it here a few times.
I suggested to the same guy Charlie as to not just limit the compressor size to a stock Turbo Trans Am & to get a larger aftermarket compressor machined to fit the stock compressor cover as I did to my Syclones turbo.
Stock is on the right side of pic.


If you can locate a 1981 Turbo Trans Am turbo, it will be a larger turbo to better suit the size of your engine.
It is close to a direct bolt on turbo to your 3.8 turbo.
Example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/81-PONTIAC-301-T...b84fd51&vxp=mtr

Not a good price by any means, just some pics for you to see a TTA turbo.

Here is the car that came with the turbo better suited for you.
http://www.taspecialties.com/sold/ta4161.htm

http://www.ridelust.com/turbo-chicken-1981-pontiac-trans-am/

MBHD
The TTA had a 301 CI engine.

Thanks again Hank.

When you say that the turbo will be a restriction, do you mean that it'll be a restriction over not going turbo, or that it'll be a restriction in terms of keeping the turbo system from reaching it's max potential? Im assuming the latter.

Thanks for the ebay link too. I saw that on there and how much it was going for. I paid MANY times less for my setup.

Other than the turbo TA turbo, since those are fairly rare anymore, is there another alternative that came stock on anything that I could keep a look out for - or am I pretty much limited to the turbo TA one as my only reasonable upgrade option? I need this to be as low buck as possible, and buying new parts that require machining to fit in there is't in the cards right now.




Thanks, but the pics are dead there too.

Yes the latter, the turbo is too small.

On a turbo that will bolt up onto your set-up? I am not aware of any other turbo that will bolt up to your carb plenum..

Your stock sized 3.8 turbo just will not allow the exhaust to breath.

If you do not intend to make a lot of power or boost high, the turbo you have will work.

MBHD

Yea, I have no intentions of ever spinning the tires and no dilusions of actual "performance". It's a big car and I'm building in a fair bit of mechanical disadvantage, because it'll look cool. The points of the turbo is to also look cool and to learn about them - but more importantly to give a little nudging help to the motor to help me get out of my own way.

Sounds like for what I want/need/expect of this unit, it'll be great for me.

I am sure the Buick had a "crossover" pipe linking the two banks of exhaust together and thus all the exhaust is powering the turbo.

Hank,when speaking of the 6.5 turbo --" no carbon seal. Made to run fuel & air through the compressor wheel."

Dont you mean ... NOT... made to run fuel and air through the compressor wheel?

#1 cause of low/no boost: the exhaust gas finds a way to bypass the turbine.
How gas-tight must the exhaust be, including the manifold seal to the head?
Under sustained load, it must proof against double the boost: 10 psi boost = 20 psi backpressure.