Yet another turbo LT1 project...

Hey guys, I've been doing an LT1 swap in my 85 IROC for a while now. But, I decided since I saved up a ton of money in Iraq, I want to go with a turbo. I just got out of the Army and found a well paying new job.. so its time to get this project started :cool:

My goal for this car is 500-550rwhp.

I'm trying to keep this project as low cost as possible. Now, that doesn't mean I'm cutting corners everywhere. I'm going with an all forged 355 for the shortblock(I'm going to contact VRE about that one). I want to do that part right the first time.

As far as which turbo. Right now, I'm leaning towards an MPT-70 with a .96 AR. I've also considered some larger Turbonetics turbos.. but they start getting pretty pricey. If I went with a Turbonectics, I would probably pass on the ball bearing option to save some money. Would that be a horrible idea?

My main question is the heads and cam. Do you guys think stock (unported) heads would be capable of my HP goal? Obviously, if I boost the hell out of the engine they could do it. I'd like to keep the boost down to 8-10psi to start with.

Then theres the cam. I'll probably go with a Bret Bauer custom cam. My research tells me that this is the best option. Someone let me know if I'm wrong here.

ECM... I was thinking of running a megasquirt with the Ford EDIS8 ignition. Seems pretty simple all around. But I've read that the EDIS can't drop spark, so the rev limiter can only be a fuel cut. Not good with a boosted engine... I've seen alot of guys around here making loads of power on the stock reprogrammed ECM... is that a better option?

I have hot parts already. But I'm also going to take a welding class this semester, so I'm considering just making my own since the stuff I have isn't that great(I'm 90% sure its made in china ebay stuff thats been rewelded).

I've been reading this forum alot for that last several months. I've learned alot, but obviously I'm still no expert. Any advice is appreciated. :cool:

Sweeet LT1 3rd gen turbo setup :D...cant wait to see some pics, Im contamplaiting turboing my 383 LT1 87 Iroc. But I need to sell the car. If I dont sell it I will turbo it but well see. Post some pics of ur car and hot parts. I would love to see.

Also 550rwhp should be pretty simple. Im doing 411rwhp N/a And if I turbo I am looking for around the 6-650mark. I have LE2s on my car. Just make sure u get a really dished piston (I have -28CC JEs with 6inch eagle rods). And make sure she is forged and splayed 4botl mains ;).
On a T70 u may have to put some good boost to it if its a mild 355 I would think tho.


Jay

9.0:1
stock crank
eagle rods
wiseco pistons
stock heads
Bauer cam with good springs
DO NOT get the master power, contact Jose at forced inductions and get the TC76

See my sig for times on STOCK HEADS/CAM.

When you contact us regarding the short block I will discuss some turbo options with your. We carry a variety of turbos from Turbonetics, Precision, and Borg Warner.

I would go with a T76 for sure (to guarantee 500rwhp @ 8-10psi).

IMO, I would definitely do atleast a small cam... doing ported heads will be even better. Alot depends on the hotparts design. Post some pics if ya can.

Whats wrong with Master Power!? Theres a TON off ppl on theturboforums that run them and I had planned on starting out on a T70 but Master Power will start shipping there new 76mm in a couple weeks for less than half what a Precision or tnetics sells for..

there is nothing wrong with master power turbos. They are built extremely well.
They got a bad rep a while back because they were using a small shaft and having shaft failure. Since then, they have upgraded to a larger shaft, and now the failure rate is much lower.

On the chance you do have a failure too, your only shipping it to florida for about a 3 week turn around time. I've researched extensively before I bought mine, and i was told that their failure rate is about the same as greddy.

Do you have pictures of your hotside? It may not be bad to use.

For your power goals, I would not contact VRE as that will be quite expensive to get 500-550 RWHP.

Short block i would look at
JE, wiseco, or speedpro pistons, -21ish cc dish.
Eagle h-beam rods (found at gofastparts.com for 335)
Stock crank

Cam, for your power goals you would be fine to use a cc503 and it would not realy hold you back, but you are right, contacting bauer is the best option.

I would look into LE1 heads, maybe LE2.
Megasquirt is probably the best option, but if you are a 4l60E transmission, you'll have some issues.

Heres a pic of the hot parts:
http://i34.tinypic.com/2nko6p.jpg

Driver side is a 1 5/8" primary tubular header.. passenger side is log manifold. I grabbed this up on another forum for a killer deal. It looks like the area around the turbo flange was re-welded.. it is beefy as hell around there. The biggest issue with these is that they do not have D shaped exhaust ports... so there would be a bit of a restriction using them.

Right now, I'm leaning towards stock heads, bauer cam, and a T76. Is the ball bearing turbo worth the extra cost?

I keep going back and forth on the megasquirt. I've never tuned anything like that, and I don't know anyone who has. Really, I'd just need to get it close enough to drive it somewhere for a dyno tune(which is like 4 hours away).

Looks like a BBS design (copied by SSAutochrome) on ebay... made for a 3rd gen TPI setup.

Yeah, thats exactly what it is. I'm like the third owner of it... original owner claims that he had some local guy make him a copy of the BBS stuff in stainless. I don't believe it.. I'm almost positive its SSautochrome stuff.

But it has been re-welded, so maybe its not total crap.

Its probably fine. Fitment might not be right... I dunno though. You'll have to tell us!

theres a guy on another forum using that same setup from ssautochrome and he likes it.

I am just curious to how the crossover pipe connects to the passenger side since there are no vbands or anything

The crossover is a slip fit. I don't care for that at all.. I'll most likely add some v-band flanges there.

It should fit. Thirdgen LT1 conversions just use off the shelf headers for a thirdgen, so I don't see why these wouldn't fit.

And before someone points it out, I know my hot parts will put the turbo right where the alternator on an LT1 f-body goes... I'm running Corvette accessories, so all that stuff is on the drivers side. I have plenty of room to work with on the passenger side.

The crossover is a slip fit. I don't care for that at all.. I'll most likely add some v-band flanges there.

It should fit. Thirdgen LT1 conversions just use off the shelf headers for a thirdgen, so I don't see why these wouldn't fit.

And before someone points it out, I know my hot parts will put the turbo right where the alternator on an LT1 f-body goes... I'm running Corvette accessories, so all that stuff is on the drivers side. I have plenty of room to work with on the passenger side.

haha, i didnt even think of that. I just run a madman kit so i never think about the alternator anymore ;)

How about twins.:cool:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j109/crazyjrock/100_4319.jpg
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j109/crazyjrock/100_4316.jpg

^Yeah what he said.
The car in this link is what I dream my car can look like one day.


http://www.ls1speed.com/intmd8.cfm


:drool:

How about twins.:cool:

[IM.G]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j109/crazyjrock/100_4319.jpg[/IMG]
[IM.G]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j109/crazyjrock/100_4316.jpg[/IMG]

That looks nice and all, but I'd really like to be able to close my hood ;)

Another questions for you do it yourselfers... how difficult is MIG welding? I checked out the local community colleges course catalog, and I'm not so sure I will be able to take the course that teaches inert gas welding. It looks like arc welding is the only class that will fit in my work schedule.

Is MIG welding something I could just teach myself with books and videos? It can't be too difficult.. I'd imagine most of it just comes down to practice.

That looks nice and all, but I'd really like to be able to close my hood ;)

Another questions for you do it yourselfers... how difficult is MIG welding? I checked out the local community colleges course catalog, and I'm not so sure I will be able to take the course that teaches inert gas welding. It looks like arc welding is the only class that will fit in my work schedule.

Is MIG welding something I could just teach myself with books and videos? It can't be too difficult.. I'd imagine most of it just comes down to practice.

Yes, Mig and Tig are both something you could teach yourself with videos and books.

Wow.. that's just plain sexy! :)
What's she putting down on dyno and track?

To the orginal poster, my goals were pretty much the same as yours. Low price, decent power. Look at my sig to see the source of most stuff. I purchased several items from other members here.


How about twins.:cool:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j109/crazyjrock/100_4319.jpg
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j109/crazyjrock/100_4316.jpg

Mig is easy to get the job done, both are hard to perfect.

The masterpower is an great choice for your goals, DO NOT let anyone else tell you otherwise, they either stand to make money from selling you something else or are justifying the price they paid. All brand have failures, pure and simple. Browse tech and you will find brand new $2k turbonetics turbos dead on the first run. It happens, sometimes its manufacturer, sometimes the install.

For your goal you don't need a lot of turbo. Even with sources far better than most I still went with a masterpower. You can buy three of them for what most want for a 76. I did not know MP had a 76 coming, I am actually excited about that, wonder if it will be a direct swap for me.

Megasquirt is a good option, but a huge commitment. EDIS8 won't "cut" spark but MS doesn't have a "no spark" limiter - It pulls an amount of timing.

Ex:
10 degrees @ 5700
20 dgrees @ 6k
It will build a curve based on two points, you will def feal power loss at 5700, and be completely out of steam before it reaches 6k. This is easier on your motor because its not as sharp of a start/stop limit. No ricer na-na-na-na-na-na-na shifts.

The fuel cut WILL turn off the fuel if you set it to.

Set your goals early though, the 70 will not feed much more than you are looking at, especially at our cubes.