Here is my problem...I don't want to cut my hood on the 50 ford so a 4-71 is out of the question. Has anyone turbocharged a flathead in the H.A.M.B community. I'm not planning on going very big on the turbos, most likely 2 small t3's . If anyone has any info i'd appreciate it..Thanks Gerry
Are you sure a 4-71 won't fit under your hood? Seems like there's alot of room in there. Anyway, I'm all for huffers in any form. I would start by reading as many books as you can get your hands on, the principles in a turbo are pretty much the same no matter what your engine is.
Theoretical question inserted for the turbo wonks: On a flathead, exhaust comes out cooler than on most engines due to its long trip through the water jacket. I assume this would significantly hurt turbo function? Turbo back pressure on a flathead, because of same factor, would dump lots of heat back into water, simultaneously jacking up engine temp and subtracting the same energy from turbo drive?? Am I right on this? Would high-tech heat barrier coatings in the exhaust be a possible cure? And--there actually was a turbo kit available for flatheads in the early fifties, the Besasie I think. I've never seen or heard of a live example of this or the Chevy 6 version, and gather that it existed only in tiny numbers and never reached significant sales. It's mentioned in Roger Huntington's book.
Don't know much about a turbocharger you want but a Roadrunner Weiand kit will prolly fit. Here's my '49 Merc Hood...... And here's the blower........
I would use a single T3/T4 hybrid, or a single T4. You could probally get away with a pair of the RB's from a turbo chrysler product like a T1 after 86 or a minivan. They are tiny. Or even a pair of the small T3's with a .42 A/R.
use a supercharger from a super coupe or ssei bonneville, made for 3.8s and put a pressure box around a 390 holley.
I doubt the exaust temp would be a problem. Usually its only an issue if its too hot and the turbo isnt well oiled. You need to consider if you are going to have blow thru or suck thru carbs. Blow thru is better and is only slightly more work. I have built a few turbo/ supercharged setups, including a twin turbo 283. I am working with the idea of turbocharging my 235.
I'm no stranger to turbo cars. I modify subaru STI's and WRX's at my second job.The reason why we wrap or jet hot coat the manifolds and up-pipe is to help the exhaust move faster in which makes the turbo more efficient. I was looking into using mitsu 3000gt turbos because the waste gate is set at 7psi. I was even thinking about getting a eaton supercharger from a 04 SVT but the best way to do it would be using 2 weber side drafts.I also heard they are a pain in the ass to tune. Not only that, there is going to be loads of fabrication.
Not much help from me I am afraid, apart to post these few pics of a twin turbo'ed flattie that was at Billetproof last year....Maybe someone on here knows the owner? It was very nicely done, and seemed to run well too.
The wastegates on Turbocoupes are 7-9 psi without the computer control. They came with T3s and IHIs. The IHI is a little more 'flexible' because you can rotate the housing(s) relative to the center section, somewhat. Thanks, Kurt
I've thought about this but came to the same concusion as Bruce. I doubt that the engine could reach sufficient RPM to make it effective. Sure, it would be a novelty but would it actually boost HP? The flathead has a hard enough time breathing as it is. Anyway, why would you want to cover up those way-cool heads with a lot of plumbing?---Nice looking engine there Blown49!
I spent some time speaking to the gentleman who owned this that year, pretty nice fellow in his 70's. He said he only had the boost set to approx 7 lbs as it was all new and still had tuning to do. He said it ran pretty strong. I loved it for the cool and different approach. It had a Gale Banks twin turbo setup btw.
If your interested in info, on this pickup the guy who owns it, is in my area. He's in his 70's, and built this at home......Ed
no one thinks twin t3`s are too large for a flathead??? seen lots of twin t3`s on 5.0 mustangs and a flathead ain`t no 5.0 gary
Where's TexasHardcore when you need him? He's a master at designing and building turbo systems. and tisdelski, I thint two T3s would probably be to big...
I have seen a number of turbocharged flathead drag racing engines. My impression has been generally unimpressive performance. Almost everyone who has tried them has taken them off except for Wayne Lichtenwalter. Wayne has turned 14.50s in a race-only 46 coupe, which is actually pretty impressive. My vote goes to Joe Abbin's supercharger kit or something similar. Sits low, works good. That being said, it would be nice to see someone do it successfully.
4-71 or one of Joes kits.....cant go wrong. but then again if its something different or a challenge that turns your crank, go for it !! Rat
I second that. The heat issue could be a problem. The power of a turbine is basically a function of mass flow rate and temperature drop across the device. A friend actually built a test fixture recently to test a water injection system on a turbo. Basically the idea is that by injecting water before the turbo but still in the exhaust you will decrease the temp difference but increase the mass flow rate. The point is that the mass flow rate is increasing at a faster rate than the temp difference is shrinking hence giving more power. After running the numbers he proved it with his test fixture. The other advantage is that by using an exhaust heat exchanger after the turbo outlet you can preheat the water before it is injected so that the temp difference drop across the turbo is minimized. Therefore increasing the output of the turbo using otherwise wasted exhaust heat. The other interesting benefit is that the amount of water injected can also be "tuned" to get rid of turbo lag at low RPM. It was neat to see all of that steam coming out of the tailpipe too.
Actually a paxton turbo of a corvair and a single unit instead if dual turbos would probably be a better bet. The paxton unit had an adjustable waste gate. You could might also consider a whipple charger for your flatty. They looked like an air conditioner compressor were used in the fifties and I don't recall where but I saw new units for sale in the last 10 years or so. That means that you can probably still find 'em.
You could always mount it under the car, like this: http://www.ststurbo.com/universal_system The cooling is supposed to be much better that way, too. ~Jason
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