After I get my car running, I was thinking of possibly turbo'ing the 235 stovebolt in my 49 over next winter. Has anyone tried forced induction on these motors? I would probably rebuild the motor first with ARP studs and better valves, along with a higher pressure oil pump. I'd probably add a real oil filter system. I was thinking dual T3's off chrysler turbo cars, a 600 or so CFM Demon carb, rising rate fuel pressure regulator, and a high volume electric fuel pump. Would only be looking at like 5psi, but the dual t3's are for just the airflow that the engine would need. I'm trying to figure out if I want a blow through or draw through setup. Any opinions?
I have thought about it, I have a turbo from a perkins diesel (cat) thats a little big, but you can always tune the wastegate. I thought about using a pressure box like vortech sells, blow through without a worry of leaks cause the whole thing is equalized. a rich 2 barrel and its a race to see what blows up first.
I've seen turbo stovebolts done before, so I see no reason it can't be done, especially with light pressure. As an idea, I saw a Buick straight 8 turboed once, and they used the stock manifolds. He blocked off the bottom of the exhaust manifold and opened up the side and bolted the turbo directly to the new side hole. From there, he used a side-draft carb bolted to the turbo, a la Corvair Corsa (Spyder) and modified the intake manifold to hook up to the turbo. The benefit of all this was that he retained the heavy-duty cast iron manifolding, which is good for the turbo application, the amount of fabrication is probably less than making all new manifolds, and he retained the heated style manifolding that came stock, which improves driveability.
The most recent issue of car craft has a feature on a turbocharged Falcon, 63 I think, with the straight 6. It's not a stovebolt, but the article might be of interest to you guys.
Thanks for the pics! Anyone know if dual t3's are too much? Would two stock carbs, one per turbo, be enough to feed it with say only 5psi?
Go with the dual T3's. They should be just about right and will spool up faster than one big turbo. r
Two stock carbs are not going to be enough, even at 5 psi. What is important with a turbo is that the exhaust gas spinning the turbine is matched to pump. It won't spool properly if not. IE your turbo wants to be matched to the engine. Texashardcore is a good bet for a better explaination. I probably wouldn't run twin turbos on an inline 6, a single sized properly will work better and be less of a plumers nightmare. If I could lay my hands on one I'd probably try a Paxton off a corvair spyder, with a draw through carb. You get more turbo lag but its an easier setup than a blow through, unless you know someone that is willing to set up your carbs for you.
What he is talking about is the A/R ratio, which matches the turbo to the engine's rpm range etc. But, for what you are doing, or what I suspect you want to do, I'd grab a turbo from a TDi Volkswagen. The rpm's are in your range, the size is a bit small, but you don't want a lot of boost anyway, and there are probably a ton of them in the yards. Check to make sure the shaft has NO play in it and spins nicely. Diesels are very easy on turbos, and they'll last a long time, as long as they get fresh oil. Cosmo
I agree with Cosmo. My wife has a Golf TDI. The cool thing about these turbos is that they don't require a wastegate. They have a variable vane (sp?) design that allows them to spool up extremely quickly. Even though her car is a diesel with poor throttle response, there is almost zero turbo lag. You'll know what I'm talking about if you've ever driven one of the old Mercedes turbo diesels..... 0-60 in about 15-20 seconds!!!
I figured it wasn't...but hey, any turbo straight 8 is worth a look! I saw this in 2004 somewhere in the midwest.
Oh yeah! I've heard that these straight 8 (and the stovebolt 6s) are great with turbos because they have low compression and rev like diesels anyway. With even a little boost, they respond nicely.
I would do it for the novelty. too much boost and the manifolds will blow the six bolts holding them on in half. a big blow off valve to make a ricer jealous. PFFFFT!
I put a turbo on a E350 4x4 van, with a 300 straight six. Pretty cool, and tons of torque. Just do lots of research, and you won't have a problem.
Don't need to run twin turbo's. If you are looking for a headache then go for it. For the little amount of boost you are looking for and the size of your engine you don't need twin turbos. I turbocharged a four banger about a year ago and love it. Look for a T3 Garrett turbo or just go to the bone yard and grab a turbo off of a turbo Buick V6(231 cubic inches and one turbo). Also stock turbos will easily go up to 12 psi. Most factory wastegates are set between 6 to 8 psi. You can easily adjust that to whatever you want.
Anyone know what turbos came on the early carb turbo buicks? I was actually thinking of grabbing the carb and turbo off of one of them, since both engines are 3.8L.
heres a link showing Leo Santucci's turbo stovebolt(292) that ran 10.04, at 137+ mph run, w/ 10 pounds of boost. http://www.customdesignperformance.com/leo/leo.html His book doesn't cover the 235, but you might still get some use out of it.
one turbo. u get into two then your going to have problems most twim turbo stockers are sequentual (sp) where the smaller turbo gets the boost going at low rpms and the larger takes over after that. for s tove bolt hwere your going to be running low rpms id try to find a deisal turbo. but with that your going to run into problems cause they dont normaly use a internal wastegate. i would want to find a real nice external gate like a tial or something. i would try to go with a vw turbo there made by a company called kkk and they spool up very fast and dont loose boost untill 7k or so. you could mess with the internal waste gate to run at 5 psi easy caus ethere 7-8 stock. another thing to think about it a intercooler ona old chevy i would use a side mount from a "dsm" that would be a talon or eclipse turbo. i run one on one of my cars and in the winter it cools the car so well i have to re tune it for the colder air other wise i lean out. and for carbs i would try to use a pair of carter pinto carbs with 1 to 2 bbls adapters plenty of fuel with a rising rate regulator. and go a few steps colder on the plugs and a petronix set up (or hei)and you should be golden. ok that was a mouthfull. have fun turbo cars rule all. i got one that gets 28mpg and runs 14.1 with a bad clutch and shitty tires. tons of power avaliable just make sure you get the fuel and spark you need and you will be safe. Bryan
Not in MY Merc, but then, I've got the fuel turned up, the wastegate turned up, and I go through rear tyres rather fast...torque is a wonderful thing... Cosmo
OK, how about this. I was planning to run a draw-through setup, and people are looking at me like I just killed their dog. What are the disadvantages of a draw through setup over a blow-through?
A while ago i remember reading an article on a 37 or 38 chevy coupe, tan in color running a turbo charged inline.. I believe the car had mini tubs and weld wheels with something like a 10" slick, but looked bone stock otherwise.. And was running VERY impressive numbers..something like low 11's high 10's i think.. I've never forgot that car...i wish i knew what the hell mag it was in......
I wanna say that car was featured in Super Chevy...The only reason why i know is because i purchased it for that reason i remember but cant tell you where its 'stashed' at...I set aside for later reference so i wouldnt loose it or misplace it and havent seen it since!!
draw though wont distribute fuel correctly on that kind of intake. draw through requires special seals to keep the turbo lubed.
Don't expect a lot of longivity out of the bottom end in stock form ... Have you considered a 292 Chev instead ?
Bringing this thread back from the dead. The disadvantages of draw-through, is that it precludes the use of an intercooler--therefore, making detonation a lot easier. The big advantage to blow-through is being able to have better throttle response, reduced emissions, better cold weather starting, and about 30% increase in horsepower. On the down side, you have to use a specifically modified carburetor, or a carb enclosure, a more elaborate tubing configuration, and a more spread-out design incorporating a waste gate. I am interested in building a turbo-250-based engine, to go in my '37 Ford, so I'll be doing some more research on this subject in the near future. -Aaron
Harry Stirneman St Louis Mo. good friend. Car is 292 single turbo now runs 10.0s, and is a real street car. Drove to Indy and won shootout 2 years in row. Gemini EFI
Unless you plan on making more than 600 H.P. no reason to go to blow through. Draw through requires only that carb be jetted properly. Blow through requires a great deal of VERY, VERY technical modification. Gemini EFI
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