So this project has been brewing for awhile. Countless hours of research, parts searching, information gathering, and just talking to about everyone who has done some sort of turbo set up on their fiero has finally led to this moment. So now i have about 97% of the parts (excluding oil hoses and a boost guage), but thought this would be the time to start my build up thread, and maybe a tally of costs. But i guess a little background info.

The Car: 85 GT...i converted it to a fastback. Has a 2.8 V6 bored to 3.1, only 82k on the clock.

The Turbo: Garrett T3 Super 60 turbo. I rebuilt it last week. .48 A/R Exhaust, .60 A/R Compressor. I bought it with an intercooler off of ebay for 300. The rebuild kit was 78 off of ebay.

Pipe Work: Custom made Crossover pipe and downpipe for the turbo. Can't really get these anywhere except your local tuner shop or muffler shop. 400 for these.

Electronics: ESC and Knock sensor, 2 Bar Map sensor and custom burned chip (85 eprom)
150

Misc: Bosch blow off valve, oil fittings, gaskets, Flow tested and Cleaned injectors, MSD 6A box
350

That's pretty much about it...going to start tomorrow, and hopefully many pics to follow. I don't plan on running a lot of boost. 8 psi max, and eventually i'll pipe in the intercooler, but not right away. Anyways, thanks for looking, feel free to ask questions or bash me...whatever

-Coop

[This message has been edited by Coop9200 (edited 07-28-2005).]

Good Luck, I read here recently about a knock sensor unit thing (a little box) that actually retards the timing as needed to avoid detonation. Maybe that would be worthwhile. Those pipes look pretty good, what diameter is the crossover? Looking good and I await moer pics of the install.
--Nathan--

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Finally the carbed, camed, 350 is in the 88GT and deafening people on a regular basis.
Please E-mail me at Wicked88GT@yahoo.com

quote Originally posted by White88GT: Good Luck, I read here recently about a knock sensor unit thing (a little box) that actually retards the timing as needed to avoid detonation. Maybe that would be worthwhile. Those pipes look pretty good, what diameter is the crossover? Looking good and I await moer pics of the install. --Nathan--

yup, i got the knock sensor...didn't have time to take a pic of it...and the diameter is stock i'll have to measure later, but i thbink it's the same size as the exhaust manifolds

-Coop

did they weld your downpipe to the flapper valve assembly?

quote Originally posted by Kohburn: did they weld your downpipe to the flapper valve assembly?

yea, they have it welded right to the waste gate assembally. It was a spare one that they gave me...i guess they didn't have any weld flanges? But yes

-Coop

quote Originally posted by Coop9200: yea, they have it welded right to the waste gate assembally. It was a spare one that they gave me...i guess they didn't have any weld flanges? But yes -Coop

I've been looking all over for a flange the right size for mine - hadn't though to weld a bend onto it then a standard size flange

edit: mine is going on my 3.4dohc -- but i did just get a friends 2.8 turbo up and running and its running 8psi with no intercooler and no knock sensor and pulls strong.. would be cool to see what a 3.1 could do with an intercooler, kock sensor and more boost.

[This message has been edited by Kohburn (edited 07-29-2005).]

so i tore into the car today, got a good amount of work done...so thought i would show ya the progress.

Plenum removed, egr and vacuum lines associated with it gone..y pipe almost completely removed, and i cleaned it up a bit. Amazing what kind of crap gets under there.

The removed and unwanted

My crossover pipe in place, and just test fitting the turbo....looks good i'd say.

That was all i did today, tomorrow i should actually have everything bolted into place, then it's a matter of running some oil lines, getting my elecontrics all wired , and firing her up.

-Coop

Looking good.....keep it up.

Can't help it........Just have to ask........What's with the surgical gloves?

keeps the hands clean, plus my mother works at a hospital so she gets a buttload of them for free

-Coop

more work...this time injectors

the new injectors, flow tested and cleaned. Rated at 15 lb/hr, which is stock rate, and probably the best to have for this project. Run them slightly rich, instead of what a lot of people do and go much bigger, and end up with problems.

old rail and old injectors...gonna clean that up today and put it back in sometime this afternoon, i'll keep ya posted

-Coop

You may want to consider an expansion joint for the crossover pipe, the OE joint used on some of the late model GM V6 works exceptionally well and the the left over flanges from it coincidently have holes at the right location to have been used as a flange on the wastegate housing where your down pipe is welded. I have an example on an unfinished twin turbo setup but can't get to the car to get pictures at the moment. Your crossover pipe design appears sturdy enough to cause problems later due to the forces that the manifolds will be exposed to when it expands and may eventually break a bolt head or crack a manifold to port weld; that's a problem I experienced in the past on more than one occassion and the reason I incorporated the joint into my design, I do believe it is stainless steel so it's pretty sturdy.

quote Originally posted by Joseph Upson: You may want to consider an expansion joint for the crossover pipe, the OE joint used on some of the late model GM V6 works exceptionally well and the the left over flanges from it coincidently have holes at the right location to have been used as a flange on the wastegate housing where your down pipe is welded. I have an example on an unfinished twin turbo setup but can't get to the car to get pictures at the moment. Your crossover pipe design appears sturdy enough to cause problems later due to the forces that the manifolds will be exposed to when it expands and may eventually break a bolt head or crack a manifold to port weld; that's a problem I experienced in the past on more than one occassion and the reason I incorporated the joint into my design, I do believe it is stainless steel so it's pretty sturdy.

the new injectors in place...ready to be installed

-Coop

injectors are in...took a bit to get them in there, but some muscle and a hammer got them to cooperate Intake plenum goes back on tomorrow, and probably will start to tighten down the nuts and bolts for the crossover pipe and the flange to the turbo itself. That is all

-Coop

So today, i put the T fitting in, from the oil pressure sending unit. A very easy mod for those that want to turbo your cars...only V6's with A/C have the pressure sending unit by the thermostat, and mine happens to have A/C, so this was about a 5 minute modification. Obviously this is going to be the oil feed for the turbo, and you can see the feed nipple that i will have to put a hose on. Anyways, here are the pictures...got any questions just ask

-Coop

an here's an update cause so many people care

unwanted parts ...

finishing off the turbo...all tubes and everything set to go

just test fitting and getting everything lined up...seems to look good

and all the bolts tightened down, and the turbo sitting nice and perty inside...just gotta tie dowm the oil lines and i'll start up the turbo tomorrow without boosting the engine. No turbo chip yet, hopefully monday, and then it will be done! That is all for now...

-Coop

[This message has been edited by Coop9200 (edited 08-06-2005).]

The old exhaust Y-pipe/crossover looks like an '88, did you swap an '88 motor into your '85?

JazzMan

quote Originally posted by JazzMan: The old exhaust Y-pipe/crossover looks like an '88, did you swap an '88 motor into your '85? JazzMan

nope, from an 85 GT

-Coop

looks nice man, cant wait to find out how she runs. what boost pressure are you running on it?

just finished my project... same deal. turbo into a 85 GT. I've been running as much as 12psi without detonation. Did you switch to aluminum pistons? You can run much higher boost as they dissipate heat better than the stock pistons.

-Shawn

Bump. Fire it up
--Nathan--

quote Originally posted by White88GT: Bump. Fire it up --Nathan--

well i did, and a lot of smoke came out, haha. My inlet size was WAY to big, and way to much fluid was going into the turbo, i need to get me one of these

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Fu nction7-Garrett-T3-T4-4AN-Turbo-Oil-Inlet-Restrictor_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33742QQitemZ7990894063QQrdZ1

once i get this, i think my smoke problem will be solved

-Coop

post # 1900...sweeeeeeet

[This message has been edited by Coop9200 (edited 08-07-2005).]

Looks good so far. I hope you're going to use that intercooler or at least another one. I know a lot of fellows don't use them, but they should. Turbos really heat the air up. Most factory setups are intercooled and those folks won't spend a dime unless they deem it a real need. I'm running 7 lbs on my 2.8 with a crane cam, 9-1 pistons which I guess would make it close to 8 lbs with stock 8.5-1 pistons and I don't need a knock sensor. We did however burn our own chip after much wideband dyno time. I'm also using Mustange injectors. Here's a tip, when and if you do that intercooler setup, you might want to redirect (baffel) the air from the intercooler fan towards your turbo after it pulls air through the intercooler. It has to go somewhere, so why not put it to use. Works quite well on mine. Good luck and take it to dyno with a wideband when it's done so you can get the most out of it, and reliability too.

SIR! get rid of the hose you are using for oil feed to your turbo NOW! or you are headed for a possible fire. Maybe I was given the wrong hose in my incident, I'm not sure but it was a blessing I discovered the problem before disaster struck. I twin turbocharged a camaro once and used a "T" fitting to feed oil through oil hose to both turbos, after a few months I proceeded to disassemble the setup because I ran with the waste gates dis connected and the acceleration intensity took my mind off what I was doing long enough to over boost and burn up my piston rings. Upon attempting to disconnect the oil hose from the fitting at the turbo I found it was so brittle it broke off. It was just a matter of time before the right bump in the road caused it to snap on its own while driving spraying oil all over a turbine housing that sometimes glows with heat. The picture above with the example of the expansion joint is mine and you should be able to see the brake line used for oil transport to the turbo using the exact same method you have used where the line feeds from a T adapter directly to the turbo. The brake line is very cheap and can be purchased from any major parts store along with the little tool needed to bend the line into shape I purchased mine from pep boys.

It's not a difficult task to tie the turbo into the water cooling system either, there should be a point against the aft fire wall near the passenger side strut tower. Although it can run without it, since it is designed for it I would use it, in that the design difference compared to the turbo that does not have the water jacket may make the cartridge hold more heat as a result of the extra metal, otherwise use synthetic oil only to build up your heat resistance to oil coaking. It may sound picky but when you have had to redo turbo issues as much as I have you welcome any advice you can get and at a later date you may want to have your cross over feed to the turbo redone in a split fashion so that exhaust is fed directly into the turbo from each bank for better flow and efficiency.

[This message has been edited by Joseph Upson (edited 08-08-2005).]

quote Originally posted by Joseph Upson: SIR! get rid of the hose you are using for oil feed to your turbo NOW! or you are headed for a possible fire. Maybe I was given the wrong hose in my incident, I'm not sure but it was a blessing I discovered the problem before disaster struck. I twin turbocharged a camaro once and used a "T" fitting to feed oil through oil hose to both turbos, after a few months I proceeded to disassemble the setup because I ran with the waste gates dis connected and the acceleration intensity took my mind off what I was doing long enough to over boost and burn up my piston rings. Upon attempting to disconnect the oil hose from the fitting at the turbo I found it was so brittle it broke off. It was just a matter of time before the right bump in the road caused it to snap on its own while driving spraying oil all over a turbine housing that sometimes glows with heat. The picture above with the example of the expansion joint is mine and you should be able to see the brake line used for oil transport to the turbo using the exact same method you have used where the line feeds from a T adapter directly to the turbo. The brake line is very cheap and can be purchased from any major parts store along with the little tool needed to bend the line into shape I purchased mine from pep boys.

you can't see it in the picture, but my oil feed line is a brake line, that i bent myself. It's tucked behind the engine, and has 2 short rubber hoses at the ends where i couldn't bend the tube anymore. Thanks for the concern though

-Coop

quote Originally posted by Joseph Upson: By all means tie into your cooling system. Whereas I did away with my TB water lines, I simply routed from those locations to the turbo and as he said, always use steel lines for oil. I used breaded lines for the water. SIR! get rid of the hose you are using for oil feed to your turbo NOW! or you are headed for a possible fire. Maybe I was given the wrong hose in my incident, I'm not sure but it was a blessing I discovered the problem before disaster struck. I twin turbocharged a camaro once and used a "T" fitting to feed oil through oil hose to both turbos, after a few months I proceeded to disassemble the setup because I ran with the waste gates dis connected and the acceleration intensity took my mind off what I was doing long enough to over boost and burn up my piston rings. Upon attempting to disconnect the oil hose from the fitting at the turbo I found it was so brittle it broke off. It was just a matter of time before the right bump in the road caused it to snap on its own while driving spraying oil all over a turbine housing that sometimes glows with heat. The picture above with the example of the expansion joint is mine and you should be able to see the brake line used for oil transport to the turbo using the exact same method you have used where the line feeds from a T adapter directly to the turbo. The brake line is very cheap and can be purchased from any major parts store along with the little tool needed to bend the line into shape I purchased mine from pep boys. It's not a difficult task to tie the turbo into the water cooling system either, there should be a point against the aft fire wall near the passenger side strut tower. Although it can run without it, since it is designed for it I would use it, in that the design difference compared to the turbo that does not have the water jacket may make the cartridge hold more heat as a result of the extra metal, otherwise use synthetic oil only to build up your heat resistance to oil coaking. It may sound picky but when you have had to redo turbo issues as much as I have you welcome any advice you can get and at a later date you may want to have your cross over feed to the turbo redone in a split fashion so that exhaust is fed directly into the turbo from each bank for better flow and efficiency.

So how is this working out?

Only 15lb injectors, make sure not to run lean because your cylinder walls are thinner. Plus an engine with 82k...good luck and hope it goes well.

You had the upper plenum off and you didn't refinish it? What where you thinking?

I have a 40" braided feed line with required brass fittings spare after my turbo install - let me know if you are interested
I also used the same restrictor on my setup - you can see the braided line here

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/kohburn/Cam_0605.jpg

Coop -The oil sending unit? after unplugging the electrical connection, does the entire unit just unscrew? It appears to be entirely plastic although the base looks like a large nut. I'm afraid I'll break the whole thing trying to take it out. Ed

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Watch your air/fuel gauge very carefully if you still plan to use 15lb injectors. I made the mistake of using the stock injectors and ran too lean under boost. I simply could not get enough fuel. I took out the 15lbs and used the Mustang 19lb injectors.

quote Originally posted by avengador1: You had the upper plenum off and you didn't refinish it? What where you thinking?

other priorities first...gotta get the thing running without smoking first

quote Coop -The oil sending unit? after unplugging the electrical connection, does the entire unit just unscrew? It appears to be entirely plastic although the base looks like a large nut. I'm afraid I'll break the whole thing trying to take it out. Ed

yes, the entire thing just unscrews from the metal block that it is in. Nice and easy really. I took the battery out to get more room for my tools, so that's a suggestion i can give ya.

At this point, i'm trying to figure out why the turbo is burning oil. The center section is brand new, so it's not that scenario most likely. I'm gonna swap out my oulet fitting for a bigger fitting tomorrow to see if the oil is just being backed up because the outlet fitting is to small. I have a restrictor on there now, so i know that anything large will be plenty to have oil drain out of. Running out of ideas here, but just gonna keep tinkering

-Coop

I installed an inline 'tap' before the turbo. I slowly reduced the oil pressure until it stopped smoking. That became my ideal pressure. Too much pressure allows the oil to push its way into the exhaust side.

quote Originally posted by YellowArtero: I installed an inline 'tap' before the turbo. I slowly reduced the oil pressure until it stopped smoking. That became my ideal pressure. Too much pressure allows the oil to push its way into the exhaust side.

can you explain this in more detail...like the item itself, price, places to get?

-Coop

Thought i would give you guys an update on this project.

I've been home from school for a few days, so i decided to pass some time i would try to do the rest of this project. But one of the last major issues was to plumb up the turbo to the plenum. So my father and i mocked up a pipe system using rubber and small pvc pieces. Yes i know that this wont hold up for the long run, but it's a good model for a machine shop to use, when i'm ready to switch it over to just 1 metal pipe. But it ran, and certainly sounds cool. The turbo builds up around 2300 rpm's and goes very strong up the rpm band. I didn't go all out on it, becuase i'm not running a knock sensor (don't think i'll need it for awhile because my computer chip was programmed quite well and it's not knocking), or a blow off valve, and or boost gauge. I was just trying to see if the car would run with the turbo feeding the engine. Certainly seems very strong and quite torquey now. But yea, there are other things to do, and i'll try to do it this week....

-Coop

Keep us updated on your progress.

Are you planning on having it dyno'd?

Also want to strongly recommend the flex joint on the cross-over pipe. The last thing you need is to have a weld crack and have to take it all apart again.

Coop - OK, I looked back at the earlier photos of your install and see the Zim Oil Restrictor. Mine does not have the same connection on the turbo.
A suggestion for the future - You might want to consider re routing the rubber oil supply line away from the top or side of the turbo or replace it. Get a braided stainless oil line (pre made) from a speed shop.They will give you the oil sender end adapter which is not an AN fitting. Get a 90* -4AN fitting and connect it aimed toward the cooler side of the turbo. There have been old posts here which say that over time the intense turbo heat will crack the hose and BOOM; oil all over the place. Looks good. Happy Thanksgiving. Ed

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Just wonderin what is the consensus on the flex exhaust connectors? Are they that necessary, and are we incorporating them into a turbo exhaust manifolds. Currently, I dont have one but then I have not put too many miles on the turbo. Do you the heat-cooling cycle will fatigue the pipes that much?