Figured I share my last 8 weeks with you all. Any one researching or mid project please ask away and I hop I can help. Or, any one been there done that please productively criticize away. Or, all replies are welcome.
I woke up one day and wanted a turbo.
Spent some time going between 'on 3', ebay, and a full blown diy. I loved everything about the on 3 kit including price other then the fact it's a kit. (Hine sight is 20:20 but, at least my car is 1 off)
So I was most intrigued with an eBay kit that included, stainless turbine Plumbing, Turbo, wastegate, and oil suply for 600$. It seamed like a deal! It Was most certainly eBay sketchy, and a complete risk. But, that's a lot of things/ fabrication time saved for 600$.
So the happy day of unboxing came and was short-lived. I had the car ready to go and first things first was to mock up the turbine Plumbing. It started with the passenger header/turbo flange not clearing the alternator and accessory bracket. No big deal, just got to move some accessory routing. So, moving on to the driver header. Well the collector was pointing at my steering rack and K member. Hum... that's out of my fabrication abilities or desire. Moving on to the crossover piping. Well none of that would work unless maybe I put a 6" lift on the car... lol.
No big deal back to the first step. The passenger header and turbo flange. I figured step one of turboing a car was to mount the turbo. With the accessorie bracket out of the way I put on a header and a turbo! Well, unless I wanted 1/2 the compressor sticking out of my hood that would not work either.
After opting out of suicide, I figured between the amount of pipes/flanges in the kit combined with already having BBK stainless headers I could make it work. The most viable option was to use the eBay driver header and rework the collector/flange. Use the BBK short header from the driver on the passenger side, and chop up the eBay crossover pipe until it worked.
A long story and weeks later I got everything tack welded and mocked up with some stainless rods. Having never worked with stainless and renting a shop to a fabricator it was barter time. 100$ off his rent and 8 runs later that hurdle was jumped.
The way I did it, it fits the turbo under the hood, let me keep the accessories original, and only had to trim the accessory brackets, pertaining to the obsolete smog pump and AC compressor.
Next was oil. So the 'T' adapter oil supply and fittings from the eBay kit we're all metric, and on no Planet would fit to a small block Ford. Also in routing the fancy stainless braided oil supply line, I heard a cracking sound after asking for a moderate Bend. Investigated that and found there must have been some sort of Chinese glass, plastic impregnated straw inside the stainless braiding...
All of that trashed, a trip to the hydraulic line fabrication store, and Home Depot. I had the oil pressure sending unit T. Off to a proper supply line, ending in a metric flare fitting to go on the regulated oil supply fitting to the turbo. ~70$ later and I had a turbo suply line.
The return was not too bad. I drilled a 1/2" whole in my oil pan, a 5/8 barb fitting, and welded it to my oil pan on the side of the front sump. I know this it rubish but I'm not pulling that motor until I split the crank, and at that time will obviously add a proper barb or a.n. receiver to the oil pan to be. As for metal shavings? I Grease the drill bit and used caution, and then rubbed an old speaker from the tap to the drain plug while draining the oil. If I missed and who gaf.. it's a sbf. (.01$/12)
Sorry don't feel like typing this whole thing at once so for tonight this is it, and I'll add all the pic's I got that are relevant until this point and pick up where I left off tomorrow.
Thanks,
I woke up one day and wanted a turbo.
Spent some time going between 'on 3', ebay, and a full blown diy. I loved everything about the on 3 kit including price other then the fact it's a kit. (Hine sight is 20:20 but, at least my car is 1 off)
So I was most intrigued with an eBay kit that included, stainless turbine Plumbing, Turbo, wastegate, and oil suply for 600$. It seamed like a deal! It Was most certainly eBay sketchy, and a complete risk. But, that's a lot of things/ fabrication time saved for 600$.
So the happy day of unboxing came and was short-lived. I had the car ready to go and first things first was to mock up the turbine Plumbing. It started with the passenger header/turbo flange not clearing the alternator and accessory bracket. No big deal, just got to move some accessory routing. So, moving on to the driver header. Well the collector was pointing at my steering rack and K member. Hum... that's out of my fabrication abilities or desire. Moving on to the crossover piping. Well none of that would work unless maybe I put a 6" lift on the car... lol.
No big deal back to the first step. The passenger header and turbo flange. I figured step one of turboing a car was to mount the turbo. With the accessorie bracket out of the way I put on a header and a turbo! Well, unless I wanted 1/2 the compressor sticking out of my hood that would not work either.
After opting out of suicide, I figured between the amount of pipes/flanges in the kit combined with already having BBK stainless headers I could make it work. The most viable option was to use the eBay driver header and rework the collector/flange. Use the BBK short header from the driver on the passenger side, and chop up the eBay crossover pipe until it worked.
A long story and weeks later I got everything tack welded and mocked up with some stainless rods. Having never worked with stainless and renting a shop to a fabricator it was barter time. 100$ off his rent and 8 runs later that hurdle was jumped.
The way I did it, it fits the turbo under the hood, let me keep the accessories original, and only had to trim the accessory brackets, pertaining to the obsolete smog pump and AC compressor.
Next was oil. So the 'T' adapter oil supply and fittings from the eBay kit we're all metric, and on no Planet would fit to a small block Ford. Also in routing the fancy stainless braided oil supply line, I heard a cracking sound after asking for a moderate Bend. Investigated that and found there must have been some sort of Chinese glass, plastic impregnated straw inside the stainless braiding...
All of that trashed, a trip to the hydraulic line fabrication store, and Home Depot. I had the oil pressure sending unit T. Off to a proper supply line, ending in a metric flare fitting to go on the regulated oil supply fitting to the turbo. ~70$ later and I had a turbo suply line.
The return was not too bad. I drilled a 1/2" whole in my oil pan, a 5/8 barb fitting, and welded it to my oil pan on the side of the front sump. I know this it rubish but I'm not pulling that motor until I split the crank, and at that time will obviously add a proper barb or a.n. receiver to the oil pan to be. As for metal shavings? I Grease the drill bit and used caution, and then rubbed an old speaker from the tap to the drain plug while draining the oil. If I missed and who gaf.. it's a sbf. (.01$/12)
Sorry don't feel like typing this whole thing at once so for tonight this is it, and I'll add all the pic's I got that are relevant until this point and pick up where I left off tomorrow.
Thanks,