I hear ya. Kids and classics go great together. One of the first Father/Son projects I did with my oldest was to install some repop seat belts in the back. A little safety goes a long way. On the capscrew rods, I wouldn't worry for a mild build. Turbocharging acts as a "shock absorber" of sorts so the engine will generally survive higher power levels than naturally aspirated. It will certainly fare better than nitrous. Keep the boost conservative, and especially rpm, and it would be okay.
I don't have any, but would certainly be willing to make them again. I would need a loaner to make the templates from again. Sadly I tossed everything after my stroke as I didn't think I would be able to do the work anymore.
Well, I'm pleased to announce the new twin turbo kits are available! The new manifold design is very similar to the setup I made for Sean's original car (the white one that just went to the dyno). They are schedule 40 weld el and 1/8" wall steel construction. The flanges are my own design, laser cut from 3/8" steel. They're very heavy duty like the originals, but I think they look even hotter! They fit great in the mockup car too. Here's a few pics. The first one looks a little funny because I didn't even wait for the coating to fully dry to post them here!
As the dyno tests from a few days ago prove the design is sound. Here are a pics of the manifolds that made 460 rear wheel hp at 10 psi on a pretty much stock 9:1 350.
Clean looking design, sturdy and economical. I like it! It has got to be the best bang for the buck as a bolt-on performance item. Paul
Mark, I have some ideas to share with you if you're interested. I'm not interested in money, only making suggestions to support our community (and the Buick 350) in any way I can contribute. PM me if you're interested, and I'll get back with you as soon as I'm able. Gary
So. What are the advantages of using an external wastegate versus an internally wastegated turbo? The hardest part of my install was making the downpipes. The external wastegate and additional tubing was very hard to make it all line up correctly, took up more space, and was a PITA to remove and replace if needed. No exhaust shop in my area had any interest in touching it. Wouldn't even give an estimate when I said I didn't care within reason. Fortunately I had a friend:grin:.. Even if an exhaust shop would then you have to figure out how to get it there and home. If downpipes were made for the kit, it would be easier to make the downpipes fit if they didn't, than to have them made. If downpipes were made to attach to a header back system, then it would be something that could be installed in any garage. That's a BIG BIG sticking point. BIG. The kit can be made as a complete bolt on. I know it can. That's when it will really appeal to more people. A single turbo setup where the fuel pump plate is used for the drain and the pan doesn't have to be removed with a down pipe made that will get you to the exhaust shop would be ideal. Just a thought from way out here.
BTW. There is nothing in the world like the immense and silent torque of a turbo'd V8 buick. It's worth every obstacle that you have to overcome.:TU:
This is a biggie, I agree. Also realize that a single kit isn't going have the same performance potential as a dual turbo kit (space and turbo size considered), and people realize this, and so less is expected with a single kit. With this in mind, better fitment using smaller piping would be a reasonable accommodation, and so the crossover pipe from the driver's side to the passenger's side wouldn't need to be much larger than the stock pipe, permitting it to fit under the oil pan much like the the OEM design "Y" pipe. One could even use the driver's side exhaust manifold, and just make the kit a passenger side conversion kit to keep costs and labor down. Remember folks that exhaust tubing doesn't need to be as big for turbos as it does for naturally aspirated engines. A single 3" downpipe is good for 500+ hp on a turbo engine (I've read where it can handle sub-800 hp combinations--but increasing size beyond 500-600 hp will net some power increase), while it's limited to about 335 hp on naturally aspirated before it starts to limit power increases. (EDIT: seems my power figures were pretty conservative according to memory. Just did another google search on the subject and read where many people are reporting 750+ REAR wheel turbo hp on a 3" single pipe, while others claim over 900 REAR wheel turbo hp, so I'd say 500-600 REAR wheel hp is quite doable with little or no restriction with a single 3" pipe!) The rules change when you add boost instead of relying on scavenging. Camshaft designs change, and backpressure isn't nearly as detrimental. If anyone wants to know more about this kind of thing, all one needs to do is check out the turbo v6 stuff, where engine size matters less and the amount of air moved is what it's all about. This means it's a combination of displacement, RPM, and amount of boost. More displacement (Buick 350 vs Buick v6) means less RPM and boost for similar power output, with more potential and earlier power on the larger displacement engines. Exciting stuff! Gary
So here's the problem with prefab downpipes. The header flange bolt holes have around .020" clearance to account for variances in the heads. Same on the turbo flange. Same on the wastegate. Then you have the motor mounts, frame variances etc. There's a reason headers hardly ever fit without some tweaking, denting etc. So if you add up all these variances, small variances become significant 2' away. There's no way around it, it's a tight fit. I suppose a single kit that puts the turbo on the passenger's side would make for an easier install in a non-A/C car. However the big perk with designing a single kit is that it is going to work with A/C, which places the turbo on the driver's side. That brings up the question about internal wastegates. That trades one problem for another. The internal wastegate makes the downpipes simpler, but limits turbo placement and compressor discharge options. I will definitely consider an internally wastegated turbo for the single kit though if there's room.
Maybe it would be possible to make just the start of the downpipe and offer that to buyers? Like the white section here:
Everyone that bought headers made them fit. That's way harder than making a downpipe fit between the engine and the frame. All you have to do is make the downpipe fit snug against the engine. DONE. There has got to be a way to make this more appealing to the bolt on crowd. That's still me. Like I said, it's easier to make the pipe fit than to make the pipe.
So what you're saying is that the prefab downpipe is STILL a huge gain for the customer even it it needs some tweaking like headers? I really see the point though. Like you said, headers "never" fit right, and people tweak, bend, dent or whatever to make it work. So maybe an internally wastegated single turbo kit, with a prefabbed downpipe with a 3 bolt header flange? That way any muffler shop can finish the exhaust. I like it.
Vband do would be better than bolt on flange, and no smaller than a 76mm with a .98 or larger A/R . Setting it up for a BW s475/80 T6 would be better and allow more room to grow
I'm with Ethan (hugger). Any adjustability like a v band clamp is good. And a oil and drain solution. Should be easy. A turn key bolt on kit with ALL of the necessary parts is not cheap. Not just Buick. Not cheap with a Chevy either.
Any updates? I've been hoping to pick up a twin turbo kit but the EFI setup on my car ended up becoming a bigger project than I anticipated. Now that the car is just about done I'm hoping to do the turbo swap over the winter. For me I think the most appealing parts of the kit would be the manifolds, a short section of downpipe and maybe some sort of intercooler kit. It makes the initial cost of the kit easier to swallow and allows flexibility in turbo and wastegate choice. I'm going to shoot for 600whp and see if my motor will liveray:
Try sending him an e-mail I don't think he comes on V8 much anymore... I saw a cool video the other day of one of his twin turbocharged fords laying rubber downtime highway. I talked with him a few weeks ago and he is doing well.
I would personally do an alky injection kit way before I would spend the time, money, and trouble of an intercooler for only 12 psi or so.
