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01-18-2005 #1New to Pro-Touring
- Join Date
- Jan 2005
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- 29
Easiest and cheapest way to turbo
Ive seen and dreamed many nights of a banks turbo set up, but whats the easiest way for a garage mechanic to turbo a small block, 350, chevy? what are the projected costs and hp gains? thanks
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01-19-2005 #2Registered User- Join Date
- Dec 2004
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- Toronto, Canada
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- 30
I think the cost is going to be dictated by your skills! if your a good welder and fabricator it can be done quite cheap. you can buy turbo(s) on ebay cheap and make a set of headers up yourself, power stroke intercoolers are quite cheap, I know alot of guys who have put them as front mounts in GN's. As for power gains the sky's the limit, I've had my 6cyl GN dyno at 480hp and 520Lbs of torque with very little mods, so just imagine what you could do with a twin turbo small block. I've been thinking of doing a twin turbo in my Camaro as well. maybe someone else will chime in with there experience but I as well dream of a 1000hp twin turbo smalll block
01-19-2005 #3New to Pro-Touring- Join Date
- Jan 2005
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- 29
thanks, yea ive seena couple methods including...
http://www.highperformancepontiac.co...0309pon_turbo/
which was posted on here a while ago, also there are always some set ups on ebay, some are a little iffy like this one which never sold but is still for sale.....
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...e=STRK:MEWA:IT
would buying one of these set ups work or are there pre-manufactured, moderate, singo turbo kits for smallblocks? thanks agian.
01-19-2005 #4Registered User- Join Date
- Aug 2004
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- Albuquerque, New Mexico
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- 609
No kits I know of yet. I don't know where you are in the country, but there a good number of places that could help you out. The piping is the easy part, tuning can be a pain, as is figuring out the limits of your motor.
If I were to do it:
an ls1 style intake manifold, 42# injectors, megasquirt or ford A9L, good throttle body. Find a turbo for relatively cheap, I know some guys that used schwitzer tractor turbos and they did great on mustangs. Get a good waste gate, something like a Tial, and a good BOV since you don't wanna backspin your turbo.
Gains are really all about turbo sizing and what your motor can take. I have friends with 1700hp 420cid dart block motors spinning 106mm turbos, and I know guys that blew miata motors with t3/t4s.
These guys are friends of mine, and make great kits. Nothing for an sbc, but this page will give you a good idea of what is involved. People seem to think it's voodoo, but it's really not.
http://www.turbochargedpower.com/Turbo%20Kits.htm
Figure about 200-300 for the piping, a powerstroke intercooler for 75 from a junk yard, 100 bucks for an a9l from a mustang forum, get a good turbo since rebuilding them is pricey and a pain, figure 1000 from turbonetics unless you can find something good in the 62-78mm range from somewhere else. Injectors can be steep, but again, look at a mustang board, you can bung an intake manifold for an injector that would work, and many injectors are easy to figure between. A MAF to go with the a9l ($150 or so), all the flanges (depends on your machine skills or what you can get ahold of). 300 or so for a Tial 42mm waste gate, and another 100 for a good BOV (turboxs.com). Budget in some money for the necessary hardware to keep the turbo cooled (different turbos have different cooling), as well as money for a good boost gauge. You can get a good manual boost controller for $75, or make one for $5, or you can get a nice electronic boost controller for around $150-200.
I'd say under 2k if you are crafty and like ebay.
Another option I've heard about is the GM 749 computer, off of the typhoon, etc. You can edit it so it can run 8cylinders and with the right software and what not it's about as good as any efi computer out there. You can go to a junk yard grab a sunfire ecu and take it to autozone and tell em it's a 749 not a 730.
Also for the turbo go with something in the .9x A/R range, it'll serve you better.
If you plan on going under 8psi don't worry about an intercooler, but realize if you have one to pipe your boost gauge after the intercooler because of the pressure drop. Also it would be good to invest in cooling upgrades, as well as some heat wrap for your up-pipe, since the heat is really important in spooling the turbo.
Keep the piping to a minimum because the more piping you have, that means more area you have to fill with air to get your turbo to spool, and transversely air to get from the turbo to the motor.
There are a good number of shops I'd trust to turbo my car off hand, from my area of the US; John Urist in NM, HP Performance in NM, Solid Technologies in NM, and Mike Murillo in Texas, Pro turbo kits in Texas. Banks is cool if you light your cuban cigars with $100 bills, and STS is cool if you don't want to spool and want your turbo to sit in harms way.
01-19-2005 #5