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Plan B. Homemade turbo? quick questions

T

TRicker

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Okay. well since the Contour is the garage queen now and i already have the 3L done.... i want boost. i am hoping that joey will come out with an eaton setup i can buy for a reasonable price. but just for fun, as a rhetorical question.....

if you were going to build a custom "junkyard" turbo setup, which wouldnt necessarily be junkyard parts...... what would you use?

i'm talking about the turbo here. what size would you go with? the cheaper the better. it would be on a 3L, and the goal would be good midrange and great high end power. moderate boost, on the stock 2003 pistons, mind you.

now answer this question knowing that the nautilus kit isnt and option, and an ADC kit is unobtainable. so it's all custom. this is more for fun than instant gratification anyways, if you know what i mean. thanks for the input ;)
 
60 trim all the way. Figure $600ish + shipping. I'd add a water cooled center section and a 360 thrust bearing for longevity if it was me. Figure $700 + shipping for a reliable turbo that would go over 400 fwhp. If you're worried about lag do a .63 AR on the turbine instead of the .82.
 
I built a junkyard kit using a Toyota a CT26 on te 2.5 liter. Air/air intercooler from a Saab with a sealed duct It made 245 to the wheels at about 10.5:1 and 8psi. I swapped in new plugs had it leaned a bit and went about 10 psi...different animal but have no dyno to back it up...I guess around te 260 mark. I wouldn't do it again.
 
Well I guess I wouldn't do it again...mainly because I already did it. I wouldn't do it again based on the fact there is now a kit for it. After puttin gso much money and work into it...I never "trusted" the car again. So maybe all the way around. I wouldn't do another junkyard turbo b/c all the mistakes and redoing things will cost quite a lot
 
Do you say a ADC kits is unobtainable because of cost or availability? I happen to know where one could find an ADC kit w/out turbo. PM if interested.

no, its not mine for those that may ask. Mine will stay on the car for at least one more motor.
 
TRicker said:
Okay. well since the Contour is the garage queen now and i already have the 3L done.... i want boost. i am hoping that joey will come out with an eaton setup i can buy for a reasonable price. but just for fun, as a rhetorical question.....

if you were going to build a custom "junkyard" turbo setup, which wouldnt necessarily be junkyard parts...... what would you use?

i'm talking about the turbo here. what size would you go with? the cheaper the better. it would be on a 3L, and the goal would be good midrange and great high end power. moderate boost, on the stock 2003 pistons, mind you.

now answer this question knowing that the nautilus kit isnt and option, and an ADC kit is unobtainable. so it's all custom. this is more for fun than instant gratification anyways, if you know what i mean. thanks for the input ;)
Click to expand...

That's exactly the approach we took to building an affordable kit because the ADC kit was so expensive. Now we sell it for half the price.
You can save all the labor by doing it yourself but there are only a few ways to skin this cat.
Read my personal website because I took the approach to see just how far the factory hardware would take us. You will have to get a mig welder and some pipe and begin experimenting.
T3/4 turbos are very cheap and you can land some T3s from a junkyard.
If you are looking for cheap hardware then be aware that eBay is your friend but you get what you pay for. You'll find good deals on there sometime and used quality turbos abound.
You should be able to come up with the material for a turbo kit around $1500 for most of it but then you got to find someone to weld and the costs mount.
When I built my first turbo kit I was into it 3K myself with the water to air intercooler system and doing all my own labor. V6 engines are not as cheap to turbo as a four cylinder.
It's doable though so have at it. We won't have any problems offering you advice because we already have it so streamlined and cheap that it's almost not worth it for someone to do it themselves unless they are using it to learn and have a hobby.

Heres an idea of what I did the first time, look at my site for more pictures:
http://www.rumodded.com/warmonger/Jan%202004%20turbo%20changes/current%20turbo.htm This one shows how quick/simple it is to do the ovalport conversion and then slap a turbo on it with factory manifolds and make over 325wHP!
http://www.rumodded.com/warmonger/March 03 turbo build/turbo 03.htm This one shows the first attempt I made that worked out great but I never ran it past about 8psi. I kept telling everyone how much power a 3L made at only 6-8psi and I rolled around for like two years with the first and only 3L turbo setup in a contour. :cool: Now there are around 5-6 of them.
turbo_008.jpg
 
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haha... I thought I had a 57trim the whole time because that was what the Garrett originally was! I liked the Masterpower alot! No lag, at full boost before 3,000 rpms and it pulled like a mother to 7,000.
 
Yeah, all our initial kits with garret and precision were 57 trim and we went with 60trims on the masterpower.
You are not limited to that either. The 57 and 60 trims are similar but basically the 60 can do everything the 57 can do and still flow more up top. If you are in the higher 300s or trying to break 400wHP then you'd probably want the 60 trim if you still wanted decent spool and midrange.
Turbonetics and precision IIRC can offer these packages with ball bearing cartridges too.
 
Sure they can add BB centers. But a that cost you might as well just get the GT30R(3076). I always thought that would be a good match for the Duratec however you're looking at $1200.
 
well since we are on the subject of homemade turbos. what 90's cars have turbos that could be used on a 2.5.??

i rather build a cheap setup. learn about how everything works and whatnot. blow up the 2.5. drop a 3L in and get the natualius and be set knowing how to work everything.
 
Get a book to learn about it and do it right the first time. Do you really want a part that spins at 130,000 rpms under your hood that you have no faith in or knowledge of it's history? Buy quality parts is my best advice.
 
my final paper for english is on turbos and superchargers. im getting a few books too. i

i ment like tuning wise. i know i get what i pay for, but if i can get one out of a junkyard i will. hell my whole darn car is junkyard parts.

but back to the topic...
 
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