wanting to turbocharge... help?

PPiechocki · 06-06-2009, 08:47 AM

I am purchasing an '85 in.... 3 hours. it is stock, no turbo. i want to change that, but i CANNOT find a turbo kit offered for it anywhere! anybody willing to give me some advice on turboing it on my own?

328FTW · 06-06-2009, 09:35 AM

Small turbo plus some form of engine management and a tune. Depending on how good with cars you are it can be of average to hard difficulty. Over here a lot of people use secondry Subaru turbos because they blow engines all the time so the turbos are cheap.

I have helped make turbo manifolds before and they are not that hard to do, once again skill level dependent and how much material and machinery you have access to. Tuning can be done diy style or by a pro not something you want to get wrong though. Still a big fan of putting the 3sgte in it though, the torque is the deal cutter there.

PPiechocki · 06-06-2009, 09:51 AM

i have a performance shop that owes me hours, but i have to fab everything myself. what do i have to do as far as modifications go to the manifold?

328FTW · 06-06-2009, 07:15 PM

Use the original flange pattern (obviously) and then either fab or have fabbed a 4->1 setup. You could also use a silvertop manifold and cut and reposition the pipes and that would save some work. This is where you put some though in, you can go 4->1 into the pattern for the turbo you intend to use or 4-1 into a large more universal pattern then make an adapter for the turbo you land up using. Either is going to work but if you fab the original manifold for a small turbo inlet and change later it is harder to change.

This is a tacked up manifold, it doesn't have to look pretty it just has to work

PPiechocki · 06-06-2009, 09:38 PM

alright. thank you for the help. now, maybe you can help me with another problem... the car idles at between 500 and 1000 RPM. do you think this would most likely be a compression problem, or if the idle needs adjusted, or if it just needs a tune-up?

328FTW · 06-07-2009, 02:25 AM

Next to the throttle body there is a little screw thing that adjusts the idle, wind it out to raise the idle a little and while your at it check for vacuum leaks and anything out of the ordinary. Should idle a bit better then.

PPiechocki · 06-07-2009, 10:53 PM

i popped the air filter off today and it was disgusting. we'll see if replacing it helps too

mhamrick · 06-11-2009, 11:58 PM

Don't mess with the idle adjustment just yet. Check and be sure that you have the coolant system burped properly and also that you have enough coolant in the car.

PPiechocki- You can buy a turbo manifold off of eBay for around $150 or probably less. I am amidst a turbo build myself so holler at me anytime and I will help you as much as possible. I am going to open a build thread on here once I commence.

328FTW · 06-12-2009, 12:17 AM

I keep forgetting you guys have e-gay with all its parts. Over here we have no cheap aftermarket stuff. I make everything I need from scratch. I have a $100 turbo, a welder and a parts bin (also may have a link ecu a little bit). With that I shall make boost!

Capt.Evergreen · 06-19-2009, 07:19 PM

gze ecu is apparently ok to run on a stock NA with turbo...
Capt. EverGreen

06-06-2009, 08:47 AM	#1 (permalink)
PPiechocki No Skills Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Granby, CO Posts: 32 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	wanting to turbocharge... help? I am purchasing an '85 in.... 3 hours. it is stock, no turbo. i want to change that, but i CANNOT find a turbo kit offered for it anywhere! anybody willing to give me some advice on turboing it on my own?

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06-06-2009, 09:35 AM	#2 (permalink)
328FTW Can you say grippy? Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: New Zealand Posts: 1,513 Thanks: 12 Thanked 99 Times in 83 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Small turbo plus some form of engine management and a tune. Depending on how good with cars you are it can be of average to hard difficulty. Over here a lot of people use secondry Subaru turbos because they blow engines all the time so the turbos are cheap. I have helped make turbo manifolds before and they are not that hard to do, once again skill level dependent and how much material and machinery you have access to. Tuning can be done diy style or by a pro not something you want to get wrong though. Still a big fan of putting the 3sgte in it though, the torque is the deal cutter there.

06-06-2009, 09:51 AM	#3 (permalink)
PPiechocki No Skills Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Granby, CO Posts: 32 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	i have a performance shop that owes me hours, but i have to fab everything myself. what do i have to do as far as modifications go to the manifold?

06-06-2009, 07:15 PM	#4 (permalink)
328FTW Can you say grippy? Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: New Zealand Posts: 1,513 Thanks: 12 Thanked 99 Times in 83 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Use the original flange pattern (obviously) and then either fab or have fabbed a 4->1 setup. You could also use a silvertop manifold and cut and reposition the pipes and that would save some work. This is where you put some though in, you can go 4->1 into the pattern for the turbo you intend to use or 4-1 into a large more universal pattern then make an adapter for the turbo you land up using. Either is going to work but if you fab the original manifold for a small turbo inlet and change later it is harder to change. This is a tacked up manifold, it doesn't have to look pretty it just has to work

06-06-2009, 09:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
PPiechocki No Skills Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Granby, CO Posts: 32 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	alright. thank you for the help. now, maybe you can help me with another problem... the car idles at between 500 and 1000 RPM. do you think this would most likely be a compression problem, or if the idle needs adjusted, or if it just needs a tune-up?

06-07-2009, 02:25 AM	#6 (permalink)
328FTW Can you say grippy? Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: New Zealand Posts: 1,513 Thanks: 12 Thanked 99 Times in 83 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Next to the throttle body there is a little screw thing that adjusts the idle, wind it out to raise the idle a little and while your at it check for vacuum leaks and anything out of the ordinary. Should idle a bit better then.

06-07-2009, 10:53 PM	#7 (permalink)
PPiechocki No Skills Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Granby, CO Posts: 32 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	i popped the air filter off today and it was disgusting. we'll see if replacing it helps too

06-11-2009, 11:58 PM	#8 (permalink)
mhamrick Some Skills Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 51 Thanks: 1 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Don't mess with the idle adjustment just yet. Check and be sure that you have the coolant system burped properly and also that you have enough coolant in the car. PPiechocki- You can buy a turbo manifold off of eBay for around $150 or probably less. I am amidst a turbo build myself so holler at me anytime and I will help you as much as possible. I am going to open a build thread on here once I commence.

06-12-2009, 12:17 AM	#9 (permalink)
328FTW Can you say grippy? Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: New Zealand Posts: 1,513 Thanks: 12 Thanked 99 Times in 83 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	I keep forgetting you guys have e-gay with all its parts. Over here we have no cheap aftermarket stuff. I make everything I need from scratch. I have a $100 turbo, a welder and a parts bin (also may have a link ecu a little bit). With that I shall make boost!

06-19-2009, 07:19 PM	#10 (permalink)
Capt.Evergreen Cage Fighter Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 102 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	gze ecu is apparently ok to run on a stock NA with turbo... Capt. EverGreen