Slap a turbo on a V8?

[GangsterMD]

Forgive me if this is the wrong forum, but it doesn't seem to fall under the Hybrid or Conversion so here goes. Man there's just something cool about a 231 cubic inch V6 spanking cars with twice the cubes. I'm sure we all feel the same way - that's why we're here. Am I right or am I right? But I've always wondered, how hard would it be to slap even stock buick turbo goodies onto a good 350. Jam 20 # down her throat, and hang on I saw that episode on Pinks where that team from Canada had that nice Camaro, and raced against that Malibu with a SBC turbo running 6 # of boost. That Malibu was faster than that BBC, imagine if he cranked up the boost. What's the scoop

 

[turbofabricator]

I know the guys that built the Malibu. It was REAL fast. Everything that works on a Turbo Buick, will work on a V8, only better. Look into the GenIII GM V8 stuff. With a stock 5.3 truck engine, with a turbo and moderate boost it will make 600 HP. Add a LS6 factory GM cam and it'll up the power to 700hp. The technology that is available today is AMAZING. Building a 1000 hp V8 is cake walk, compared to even 8 years ago. There are 1400HP CRATE engines available. If you have unlimited funds, you can by a normally aspirated 1200 hp PUMP gas V8. (sure...it'll set you back $60,000 for a 762CID engine though.) Engine
And here's the twin turbo crate engine: Nelson Racing Engines - "We Build Horsepower!" You can have what ever level of horsepower your wallet will afford. Horsepower costs money. If you have enough I can build you a 5,000 HP gas engine, if you have a big enough vehicle to put it in. http://www.airventure.de/reno2001pics/reno01pmengine.JPG (better start saving ALOT of money )

 

[GangsterMD]

Well I guess I was thinking it wouldn't cost an arm and a leg. It would actually be something an average creative guy could do on a budget. Take a 4 bolt main sbc, bolt it to even a stock buick turbo and ic, 10 - 15#'s of boost, and whalla - 600+ easy, reliable HP. Am I missing something?

 

[JDEstill]

No, you aren't really missing anything. Big picture anyway. Details, maybe, as in I wouldn't use a stock GN turbo/IC setup. More cubes needs a little something bigger to feed it. But idea-wise, sure - all the concepts that work on a GN will also work on a V8. I'd figure on an apples to apples basis (ie, same rpm and boost level) that a 350 would offer a good 50% more power than a 231. So a basic 400 hp V-6 becomes a 600 hp V-8. Seen several low budget turbo V-8s around the internet, and they put up some impressive times.

TheTurboForums - Index is (or was, haven't been there in a while) a good source for that sort of thing.

John

 

[Roc87]

Choosing the right size turbo is probably one of the main details. If you're using a stock GN turbo on a SBC, you'd probably be better off making it a twin-turbo type deal, as it seems no matter how much the wastegate hole is ported, you'd still have boost creep. There was an article in Car Craft last year about a guy who put twins on a junk yard 350 in his 3rd gen T/A TPI and got it to run in the 9's. I think he was running in the 10's with stock heads and two stock GN turbos. Also have to think about engine management if you're planning fuel injection.

 

["Turbo-T"]

Isn't this where centrifugal superchargers come into play?

 

[novaderrik]

a while back, when i had my Nova, i was going to put a pair of Thunderbird Turbocoupe turbos on the LT1 out of my 94 Caprice and go have some fun.. but i never got beyond the "wouldn't it be cool if i did this.." stage.
i still might do it- but the motor will be going in my 74 Monte Carlo, and it might be destroked down to 302" just becasue i've never heard of a 302" LT1 based engine.. the bottom end could be built with all factory GM parts..

 

[Black Power]

a while back, when i had my Nova, i was going to put a pair of Thunderbird Turbocoupe turbos on the LT1 out of my 94 Caprice and go have some fun.. but i never got beyond the "wouldn't it be cool if i did this.." stage.
i still might do it- but the motor will be going in my 74 Monte Carlo, and it might be destroked down to 302" just becasue i've never heard of a 302" LT1 based engine.. the bottom end could be built with all factory GM parts..

I had thought about doing a 302 LT1, using the block/heads/pistons/rods from an 5.7 LT1 and the crank from its 4.3L L99 counterpart. That would be a screamin' motor! Kinda like the old 302 SBC.

 

[GangsterMD]

So on the engine management thing. If you started with a TPI car, could you just run the standard computer? And just play with the chip for fuel/timing?

 

[Amelio]

if you want a pretty bad a** twin turbo setup on somewhat of a budget check out the Banks setup. My brother has an 88 IROC and he is looking at one of these, pretty much two kits for a street car, I think the first is good for 600hp on something stupid like 6-8psi and then you can do 800-1,000hp with a built bottom end. I think the first kit is a bolt for stock application which is why it is only a 600 horse kit...I do not remeber exactly but I want to say 1,200 or 1,500 for the kit.

 

[turbocamino1]

thing is....like mr.fabricator pointed out....its not cheap. cheapest way,as i sees it...vortec type blower and a carb.the bottom end will always need to be solid...how solid (crank,rods pistons) depends on your hp wants.for 6-8 lbs boost, we have goten away with stock v-8 chevy stuff. if your talking about an injected piece, a factorys computor wont allow enough range of tune ,even with a custom chip,to control the injectors,which need to be somewhat bigger even for minimal boost... then theres f/pump concers as factory stuff wont even come close.....and fabin up your turbo pipes for 1 or 2 turbos.if your good at fabrication and know the math,you can go to a salvage yard find an old boch pump off a bmw that flows enough to feed X size injectors that feed X lbs of boost, weld you own pipes , find a used holly projection or DFI or electramotive fuel managment system. and i,m sure i have forget something..then..learn how to tune it. we did it ..now we have our 3rd 406 chevy up and running with gt70 turbo 8/1 pistons, electamotive computor,160lb inj,20lbs boost,that is stupid fast. now its trans issues..but damn, its a real 9 second street ride.it actualy scares me.its in a 81 nissan 280zx

 

[neat]

I've done several DIY turbo builds on both GM and Ford set-ups. It's never as easy as it sounds.

Some of the hurdles:

Headers. Build your own, or try to find some shorties that you can flip around and point forward.

Tune. The stock TPI ECM (like in my 91 Corvette) has a MAP sensor that is limited to atmosphere. It won't detect pressure beyond atmospheric, so it won't add fuel appropriately. You can use a boost referencing regulator like the Buicks do, but the fuel system and engine management weren't designed to work that way so you are kind of playing with fire. You can make it work with a 2+ bar MAP sensor and tuning the computer, but there isn't a whole ton of people who have done it that way. If you aren't comfortable with chip tuning, there isn't really anyone you can call and ask for advice. You're on your own there.

Fuel system. The stock fuel system on just about any car won't support the HP levels you are talking about. You'll have to budget for pump, lines, rails, injectors, etc...

Drive train. Most drive train parts won't take the power you'll be laying down. Budget for transmission, clutch/converter, rear end, axles, U-joints, etc...

There is a ton more, but that's a taste.

Here's how I would do it on a chevy 350, assuming that space wasn't an issue and you could package all this stuff:

2 T3 .60/.63 turbos from E-bay.
2 shorty headers flipped around and pointing forward.
2 intercoolers from 2.3 litre Thunderbird S/C cars.
DFI from big stuff 3 if budget allows, or megasquirt if on a tight budget.
Turbo 400 auto or T56 manual.

That should be capable of 600 wheel HP and spool like a rocket.

Shoot me an email if you undertake the project.

joshkinzey@gmail.com