ZZ3Astro

I have been around this place since the 90's (I was the guy with the v8 astro at the original third gen gathering in '99 at OKC) but have been out of the scene for quite a while. Last year I picked up an 87 Iroc all original down to the air pump and bose stereo for a great deal. I've been slowly working towards getting everything together to turbocharge it. About 12 years ago, I picked up a turbo setup for third gens and never did anything with it on my previous camaro. A friend ended up with it and it went into storage (still bolted to the engine in the picture below!) and I was recently reunited with it. My plan is to keep the car as original as possible and use as much of the factory equipment as possible. What I am most proud of is this turbo setup is also from the correct time period. The only area I'm kind of cheating is having wide band O2 integration with Code 59.

Where I'm at now is I have the manifold, crossover tubing and wastegate. The car is now running a PLX wideband O2 and PLX 3 bar map module and is currently running on Code 59 with the 7730 ECM. I just finished the PLX install including the DM-200 gauge last week and drove it on Code 59 this weekend. I'm not going to perfect the tune on the stock injectors of course and have a set of 60 lb/hr injectors to go in next. After that I'll have to decided on a turbo and intercooler - probably ebay for now and then a Turbonetics when I get the new engine built.

My goal is to make 500-550 crank and I think that will be enough for my weekend driver. I plan to keep the TPI setup 100% stock other than injectors, throttle body coolant bypass and of course the code 59 changes such as the 7730 ecm conversion I've already done. Right now I'm going to see how the 139k motor likes about 8 lbs (12 ) of boost but long term I will go with a forged rotating assy and maybe a bit of head work. I can't see the point in improving the intake side of the heads when using stock tpi runners but the exhaust side could give some benefit.

I figure on 8 lbs on the stock motor I should be able to make 340-350 hp. Once I pull the engine and get a proper cam and pistons I will run 15-20 psi. By then I will have upgraded the transmission. Will be interesting to stress test the 9 bolt rear also. Not planning on very much dragstrip activity. This is more to take out after a stressful day of work and unwind a bit, or scare the occasional unsuspecting passenger.

Anyway I'll try to keep you guys updated as things go on. Money seems tight these days so progress is unpredictable. I hope to have the turbo on the stock engine by some time in June.

fastsspr

Man it looks good !!

ZZ3Astro

Alright, picked up a set of 65 lb/hr Precision Turbo injectors today (ouch $$) so I'll be broke for the rest of the year. At least I can get those in place and try to get it dialed on N/A. I'm sure putting a turbo in the exhaust stream will totally change the required tune on the non-boost area but mayeb the idle area will still be the same.

As soon as I get some money together I'm going to get a turbo on the way. Most likely I will run very low boost and no intercooler for a short while as I hate being without my Iroc on the weekends!

ZZ3Astro

After getting the new injectors in, I can no longer get the engine to run properly on Code 59. It runs and drives fine with an 8D bin. On a $59 bin, the driver side of the engine leans out (according to the oem o2) and the manifold turns very dark and hot. The passenger side manifold is normal. The engine runs very rough. I've been trying to resolve this since my post in May. No amount of tuning or parts swapping has resolved it. I can upload my 8D bin right now and drive it anywhere.

There isn't much action on the Code 59 forums so I may have to jump ship and go to an aftermarket ECM. I was really hoping to make this work on the factory ecm. Thinking I might try going with a Megasquirt or maybe save up for a Big Stuff 3. Very frustrating start to the project.

kmo1188

iTrader: (1)

I can imagine that would be frusterateing. But just remember that it is all part of the game. If going fast was easy, even the honda guys would do it. Just think of the finshed project, its gunna scream.

jonarotz

iTrader: (26)

When I turboed my car I had intentions of running the code 59, but I had problems just like you have mentioned. I gave it an honest effort and then after looking back at all the time I had spent messing with it trying to get it to run right, I jumped ship. I now run an Accel DFI setup and the car runs pretty nice. The aftermarket ECM will still take a little time to work the bugs out but it will start up and be drivable a lot faster then trying to get the stock ecm to work.
I just wanted to give you my

Street Lethal

iTrader: (16)

Go MegaSquirt, they will have the '7730 processor replacement out very shortly....

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/dfi-...asquirtii.html

ZZ3Astro

Thanks for the replies.. since the last post, I experienced a similar issue under the 8D bin. I'm pretty sure the 8.8 ohm when hot resistance of these injectors is causing some problems with the ecm injector driver. Well, that's my current theory at least. Right now I'm putting the stock injectors back in to see if the problems disappear. If they do, I'm going to assume the stock ecm just doesn't like these injectors. If the problems remain, I'll know I have some kind of wiring/fueling issue/ignition issue to sort out. I see a Megasquirt in my near future if this keeps up much longer.

Definitely will be worth all of this trouble once it's running right.

junkcltr

iTrader: (1)

I tried the $58 code with ford 42#/hr years ago and had problems with idle that I couldn't tune using the stock tables. After looking at the disassembled code I realized it is the fueling algorithm that is the problem.
I went back to the $8D and the idle was smooth.

Big injectors require changing the low pulse width correction and battery correction tables. Much of an unstable are due to these two tables.

I don't see what the MS in the factory box gains. Last I knew it still needed the external relay to control the HEI bypass at startup and a intake mounted MAP sensor is better. Trans. lookup is still missing along with SES light malfunction codes. It is a great race setup, but the code is lacking for a street setup.

One thing it really needs is to have code that switches between alternate fire bank mode and batch fire depending on pulse widths. That is the only advantage I think it has if it had that code.

The GM ECM has a better injector driver design than the MS does.

ZZ3Astro

I went back to stock injectors and everything was fine. Went back to the 65's and everything went wrong again. I'd consider a different brand of injectors but these were paid for by a friend. If I give them back I'll have to cough up $400, and then I might end up in the same place I am now with Code 59. I decided to give the MS2 a shot since I don't have a romulator, burner or ALDL cable of my own anyway. Borrowing gets old when you have to bring it back every week because they need it. The cost for the whole MS-2 3.0 with harness, boost controller and HEI module is about the same as getting the 7730 tuning equipment I'd need anyway. It was a painful decision but after two months of chasing my tail, I made it this morning. I wanted to keep EGR and cannister purge but that's not going to happen with the MS.

ZZ3Astro

Hmm looks like I might be able to get cannister purge working with the MS using one of the extra circuits you can mod in.

Anyway a TON of progress already on the Megasquirt. It arrived yesterday and I immediately started building it. In anticipation of getting it, I also removed the oem harness already. Since it is apart, I mounted up the turbo manifold to see how things will fit (or not fit!). Everything looks ok except the AC lines are going to be close. I need to get my hands on a turbo to test fit. I'm probably going with a 60ish size turbine housing so I think it will clear by quite a bit. The downpipe as it was on this kit will not work at all with AC. It occurred to me that I could use ovalize 3" tubing so I grabbed a piece today to test fit. It works! I'm 97% certain I'll be able to make it work with no notching of the frame, although engine movement on the mounts might be a factor as the clearance is less than 3/4". I will also have to grind off one of the A.I.R. bungs on the log. The big question is if I can transition from the turbine outlet 3" round, make a 90 degree bend in short radius and have it exit as an oval 3". Might take some fancy welding to make that piece. Sounds like a weld it, grind it, powder coat it kinda piece.

Anyway a couple of pics..


Harness gone.. awaiting Megasquirt arrival.


Megasquirt build completed this morning!


Turbo manifold mounted for test fitting. Planning wire lengths on the Megasquirt harness. All wiring will be under the plenum when done. Note 3" oval pipe jammed in place.


A closeup of the oval pipe. In case you are considering using it, the measurement is 4" X 2.5". Basically squashed 3" tubing. This is probably the only way you'll get turbo + AC + rear exhaust on a third gen unless you go to a rear mount turbo.

rtkjadams

iTrader: (2)

I'm running 4" oval piping that goes to 3 1/2" right where the pipe turns parallel to the ground. Granted I'm NOT running AC.....

Ray

ZZ3Astro

Small update.. I borrowed a 60 turbo like the one I'm planning to use and mounted it up to check clearances and grab a for pics for motivation. I just realized this engine bay needs to be cleaned badly! Anyway, the hotside looks great. On the compressor, I was looking are various clocking and think the best path will be to relocate the battery to the rear. I'll put the air filter under the battery tray and run the charge tube along side it and then around to the intercooler. Most likely I'm going to run low boost and no intercooler first though. The biggest problem I ran into is the compressor housing hits the wastegate. I should be able to make it work with a bit of fabrication, or I can always come off the crossover tube. AC lines are in the clear but will need to insulate them from the turbine housing.








Well that was fun but now I have to put the stock manifold back on and get this megasquirt install running. Hopefully by the end of summer I'll have this thing on and running.

noboostnogo

iTrader: (4)

its been over a month, i'm sure there have some updates...

Bullydawg

iTrader: (7)

Nice. Glad to see you back in the game... And it looks like that car is in great hands and will be put to good use...

ZZ3Astro

Yep I finally have an update. I've been tuning and driving it for most of the past month and just this past weekend I finally took it off the road until the turbo is on. I still don't have the turbo I'm going to use but should have it by the end of the month.

I gave up the idea of using oval tubing because of the prices for transitions and bends. I found that 3" round pipe DOES fit and quite nicely!

Definitely stuck going with a 60mm Ebay turbo for now. Once I get my feet wet with all of this, I'll decide how crazy I want to go. Low boost for now or course. When I get around to rebuilding the engine, I'd like to have 20 psi so I'll need at least a 67mm turbo based on compressor maps I've seen. Not ready to fork over $750 on a turbo yet.

For now the numbers sure look good at 12 psi. Stock 230 hp/330 ft lbs with 12 pounds of boost should produce 375 to 400 hp and 530-550 ft lbs at the crank. That is some 700R4 shredding torque. Looking back at my old 86 Camaro when I had a stock ZZ3 in it, with far less torque, I was running 8.20's in the 1/8th. I know the Iroc won't get the short times of my old sport coupe, but it should be interesting to see what it does.


Very pleased with the clearances up top


Once you get past the manifold there is a ton of space. Plugs are clear but will need longer than stock wires to route away from hot stuff. Second piece is tacked on in this pic.


Trusty pawn shop chop saw hard at work


So far... note brown burnt spot.. note to self, turn ON the argon BEFORE using welder!

New2Chevy

iTrader: (11)

I'm a huge fan of Garrett DBB turbos. I'd get one of those, if you're gonna spend money on a turbo.

noboostnogo

iTrader: (4)

if you read his post he said he is not ready to spend that kind of money yet, he just wants to get the feeling of it first.

junkcltr

iTrader: (1)

There is always the Ebay GT45 turbo. It has a 69mm inducer and a Garrett GT45 sized exhaust wheel with a 1.05 A/R turbine. It would give you room to grow, but would spool later than the 60mm you mentioned. I estimate the Ebay GT45 spooling around 3000 - 3500 RPM and sooner when you put a bigger cam in it.

Is that a harbor freight TIG setup? It sure looks like it. How do you like it? You will need to grind the pipe to get a clean weld. The alum. coating will contaminate the weld.

ZZ3Astro

Cool Junkcltr I'll look for the GT45 and check it out.

Yep that's the Harbor Tig. I got it when they were on sale for $199 and it has been fantastic. A friend of mine uses one all the time for building headers and his first one burned up a while back. He borrowed mine for a long while and it has held up so well he bought me a new one LOL. Anyway it's great. I rarely use my mig for anything if I can get away with using the tig. I'm still learning but sometimes produce a decent looking weld. Of course the downside is it is DC only so no aluminum welding. Still, I'm not gonna complain for the price and it's perfect for this kind of project.

junkcltr

iTrader: (1)

There was a person on ebay selling them for 280 with 40 for shipping. He was taking $280 shipped using best offer. You could try a less offer.

Over at the hobart forums I told a guy how to setup a cheap foot pedal with that TIG unit. I think he had less than $30 into the entire pedal setup and really likes it. He said it made a world of difference using the TIG. I have played around with them a little because I had one that was blown up. The IGBT that does the 220v switching for the weld voltage was fried. They work good for the price.

I lost second gear in my low mile rebuilt 700R4 with a stock 305ci TPI with about 10 PSI of boost. I think the 2nd apply servo is busted.

New2Chevy

iTrader: (11)

I understand what you're saying. I guess I'm the kinda guy who only gets a feel for things, AFTER I've bought an awesome turbo. I wish I weren't that way. It's expensive, and I must work many hours to afford the darn thing.

88Roc6spd

Looks amazing! Is is finished and running?

ZZ3Astro

Not running yet. I'm waiting on getting the turbo right now. I think I've found the ebay turbo that will work for my setup...

"T70" clone
Flange T4
Compressor .70 A/R Compressor
Turbine .96 A/R Turbine
Compressor Wheel 91mm/61mm
Turbine Wheel 74.7mm/62mm
HP Rating 400-500 HP

That gives me a bit of headroom above my projected hp, in case I get silly and crank up the boost a little more than planned. Of course I planned for 8 psi and will go for 12, so what's another 2 or 3 psi? LOL

Anyway I think I'm ordering it later this week or the first of next week. Still have to get the oil return line in place and finish up the downpipe and cold side plumbing as well. Will be a few weeks before I drive it still.

noboostnogo

iTrader: (4)

have you looked into the master power t70 instead of the chinese knock off?? what about a borg warner s400?? they are all around the same price. just my .02

ZZ3Astro

When I spend that kind of money I'm going to get a Precision Turbo as two of my customers are dealers and owe me a good deal or two. But even at cost, it's a lot more than I'm going to spend now. I went with a "T70" clone ebay turbo. After looking at real T70 compressor maps, this looks like the best betwith support for 400-500 hp, which is sufficient with my just under 400 hp projection.



The first section of the downpipe is finished except for final welding. I reworked the lower part of it and used a 45 bend on the third section. This got it close but I had to add on a small piece (cut at an angle) to get the flange alignment where I needed it. The flange ends up right below spark plug #8 and there is good access in that area to install and remove it. The next section will be one piece from there to the front of the cat. Haven't decided if I will just weld it to the cat or put on a flange in front of it.

I have to find a better source for mandrel tubing. The 45 degree elbow is overall a larger diameter than the 90's from the same source (local trucking supply). The 90's have a touch of compression in the elbow area vs the straight section. It works fine but just doesn't look good.

I'm gonna wait until I have the T70 mounted up before I do any final welding. Ordered the turbo tonight (finally!) so should be kicking this into high gear in about a week.

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

You guys have no idea how badly this makes me want to go buy a welder and some crappy exhaust manifolds and go to town...

cmexlr8

iTrader: (1)

do you have any detailed pics of the log manifold? It looks like it was built using weld elbows. I plan on going that route but I am not sure if I want to make the merge into the passenger side manifold.

ZZ3Astro

I will take some closeups for you when I take of the manifold this weekend.

Update: The Ebay turbo has arrived! I also decided to give a second look at the cold side box that came with this system. It is big, heavy and has some weird hardware on it. One is some sort of pressure switch, two square covers across from each other (one with a hole in it), a second inlet (capped off) and is just generally ugly.

I didn't think it would even fit in front of the throttle body without hitting the radiator, but sure enough it fits perfect. The inlet lines up exactly with the compressor outlet. I started taking things off of it and now that it doesn't have all the junk, I think it will clean up and look quite good. Certainly works for now, until I get my intercooler sorted out. The best news of all, I took off one of the opposing square covers to find a nice round hole. The bolt pattern lines up exactly with my blow-off valve! This saves me a ton of fabrication for the cold side. I'm literally done with the cold side after the purchase of a clamp and a little cleaning/polishing.

Pics coming later tonight!

ZZ3Astro

Very close to starting this thing. Lot of running around the past couple of days getting lots of little parts like bolts and AN fittings. I decided to wrap the crossover pipe and downpipe with 2" header wrap.

Took the log off today, cut off the wastegate flange and rotated it 90 degrees and tigged it back on. Now it will clear just about any compressor I could throw on there! I put in a copper gasket and tried out the new hex head bolts I got for the manifold.. Five fit perfect but I had to use a 3/8 header bolt on the inside bolt for cylinder #2. Direct access is slightly blocked by the crossover tube and the hex socket wouldn't work at the slight angle.

Cold side... WOW you won't believe how easy it was. I installed the 'space ship'. What is that? It's the original cold side connection that came with this old turbo kit. At first I didn't want to even consider using this thing. It's huge, heavy and looked ugly. After cleaning it up and removing all of the useless fittings, I realized it looks pretty cool. Very 80's looking. Someone worked hard to make this thing too. It will do for now, until I get the intercooler plumbing done. As a bonus, the blow off valve (not on in the pic) bolts right up to one of the openings!

Everything is a mess right now... just bolted the turbo on and stuck the oil line up for tomorrow's startup. Still need to get a 90 for the oil inlet, figure a way to mount the inlet box securely, block off vacuum ports and run lines to the wastegate and blowoff.

While one part of me thinks that box is ugly, it does have some interesting things about it. Should have an intercooler in the next month or so - then it won't matter any more.



Also, as promised, some pics of the manifold/log.. before I rotated the wastegate flange:

noboostnogo

iTrader: (4)

Looking good!!!

weberflorida

iTrader: (2)

What do you think your quarter time is gonna be brother? Looking good

ZZ3Astro

Got it running! And now, of course, it has not stopped raining for a second in two days. I have driven it a couple of times and have been up to 6 psi. There was a break in the rain for about an hour last night and I was able to get traction in third gear. It feels great in third. On wet roads it will spin in third as soon as the map approaches 0 psi.

I was in a hurry to get the downpipe finished and on so I did't get any pics yesterday. The second half of the downpipe really turned out to be the more interesting one. It has to come back off so I can weld up the cat. Right now I just tacked it on until I get some 3" flanges. The metal on the cat doesn't like being welded, but it doesn't seem to be stainless. I guess I'll try some stainless rod. Anyway I'll get some pics when it's off.

I got under it last night and tried to fill in between the tacks on the front of the cat and made a mess of everything. But, it did make it quieter. Now I realized I have an exhaust leak somewhere and it sounds like the turbo log near cylinders 6 and 8. Will have to re-tighten those bolts when the downpipe is off.

As soon as the roads dry up a bit I'll get it out with the video camera. With this stock style muffler, you really can't hear the turbo whistle much. Of course I haven't been able to really spool it much and we finally did hear it last night during the traction. But what you really hear is a very loud hissing sound. I am pretty sure it's the wastegate. I haven't tied it back in to the downpipe yet. The $20 ebay blowoff valve is pure sex sounding. You'll see in the vids when they get made. :-)

ZZ3Astro

I think it should run some solid 12 second times when I get it to 12 psi. We're all in the 1/8th mile mindset down here with no 1/4 tracks anywhere in sight .. so my math is saying the car should run 7.9 to 8.1 in the 1/8th. I'm basing that on 375-400 hp and 500-550 ft lbs at the crank.

Probably won't see times like that until I get a converter though. Right now I'm spinning the wheels before I see any boost when I stall it up.

noboostnogo

iTrader: (4)

good to hear its finally running!! hurry up and post some pics... haha

weberflorida

iTrader: (2)

Nice man. Sucks you don't have a 1/4 track but oh well. Good luck with her.

LB9Iroc87

i have a 87 with a 305 that mite get the same treatment. but sweet build up get some vids so we can hear this thing!!!

ZZ3Astro

Finally a clear afternoon to drive it around. Was just gonna make a few drives with it but a friend came over and we ended up driving it for an hour or so. Then another friend came over and wanted to ride around too, so we took it to dinner.

On the way to dinner, I didn't like my AFR at peak boost so I pulled over to adjust. I'm also having an intermittant IAC motor issue that clears with a power cycle. I shut her down and tried to restart - NADA lol. Heat soak to the starter. I had to jack it up and get under there to beat on the solenoid and it started right up. I'm going to shield it anyway, but I also plan to wrap the downpipe when I have it all off this week.

Other problems:

1> AFR is close but slightly too lean ~ 12.3 at full boost. I want 11.9. I think I've reached the limits of the stock pump but the filter is probably as old as the car (140k) so I'll change it first. Walboro pump is on the way also.

2> Ignition - I found the limit tonight. During the 2-3 shift at 6 psi it breaks up

3> IAT - definitely gotta run the inlet to a cold source. Saw 179 IAT's, which led to detonation even with a very conservative timing under 20 degrees. That led me to the temporary drier hose solution seen in the photo. It brought temps way down to 140 (with and without boost). I think I want to relocate the sensor to the charge pipe at the throttle body. I'd rather it sense too cold and add more fuel than to read intake heat soak with the stock location.

4> Can't hear the turbo inside the car very much - friend driving behind me said that's all he could hear lol. Need outside video.

Anyway a very successful first day or playing around. I can't wait to feel 12 psi.

Disclaimer for the following: not done yet, not tuned, lots of finishing up and cleanup to do. Just glad it drives for now!

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0geddRGmNBU

noboostnogo

iTrader: (4)

this looks awsome.. seems like alot of fun. how are you liking it so far?? what kind of wideband is that??

keep up the good work, keep us updated

ZZ3Astro

So far (four days of being able to drive it now) I am LOVING it.

Today I *finally* got the flanges for the front of the cat welded in. Now the whole exhaust system is completely done and quiet. Unfortunately this 2.5" cat back with stock muffler is holding the boost down a bit now. Amazing how much pressure you can dump with a few holes around a tacked weld joint! It still runs great but definitely taking longer to spool and the boost is about 1 to 1.5 psi less. Not bad considering the cat back is not mandrel bent either. It's close to 2" on the bends. In the next week I should be putting on a 3" system. It's not mandrel either yet but will be as I get time to work on it.

Also got an air filter today along with some PCV related items, fuel filter and some heat barrier tape for the AC lines and drier filter.

Here is a pic of the entire downpipe assy to the cat all welded up. After the pic I put some header wrap on the upper part of the downpipe down past the middle v-band.

LB9Iroc87

hey man sweet fab work keep it up and give us a few sound clip and time slips and stuff, all of us here love to see some results.

ZZ3Astro

Got another video today. Nothing too fancy, we were just out testing the AC operation as it was 90 degrees today. I put on some thermal barrier tape and a heat shield on some of the AC system components and it seems to work very well. I did experience a slight heat soak issue on the starter after we had been abusing it for about 30 mins. It started on the second try, but I need to get that barrier stuff on the starter too. AC blew nice and COLD and was very nice to have.

I can't wait to turn up the boost. I played around with the fuel maps and get my AFR's into the 11's at full boost so at least I haven't hit the limit of the stock pump yet. Walbro coming this week and then we'll see. Not getting as much peak boost still so that 3" can't come soon enough. FUN FUN FUN is all I had today driving it around.

Don't expect much on this video.. just showing how it behaves and a couple of boosted moments. Outside video at the end didn't work out the way I'd hoped so I'll make a new one soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UQnbDcRoYk

ZZ3Astro

Another week of driving and shake down tests. I've been sick for most of the week (swine flu, yay) but I did get a few things done.. relocated the battery to the back, fabricated the air inlet tubing and mounted a filter under the battery tray. I thought about leaving it on top of the tray but there is just so much underhood heat with the fairly sealed design of 3rd gens. I think I fixed part of that today by removing the rubber weatherstripping along the back of the hood. This leaves about a 3/4" gap and I can feel the heat coming out now.

AC working great and boy has it been hot down here all week. Took a 100 mile cruise yesterday and everything went great. Decent mileage (about 17 mpg average for 20 miles of in town driving plus the highway cruise). We were in boost every 5 minutes too. Love the 3rd gear part throttle acceleration now.

Drove it again today for about 20 miles testing the new heat release mod (the removal of that weatherstripping) and the results are good. IAT is down around 115 with 85 degree temps outside and the AC on. Better than the 140 I've been seeing, although it will heatsoak to that after sitting for a while, but cools down pretty quick once you get moving again.

Having some strange AFR variations going on.. Today it started up and idled at mid 12's AFR. Driving was fine. It was also doing the low idle thing. I haven't touched the VE curves below 1000 rpm. Yesterday it was idling perfect 14.6-14.9 all day. Go figure!

So here is my engine bay as of this weekend. I know the couplers are different colors. I'm using whatever I can get my hands on from my friends shop (free) until I get the intercooler piping done.. then I'll pick a color and get some new stuff. I need to pull my harness soon and add in boost controller wiring and get some of the other wires inside the harness. Gets out of control sooo quick when you're having fun!

noboostnogo

iTrader: (4)

Very nice. the cold side looks interesting

junkcltr

iTrader: (1)

It looks great. What RPM does it start to spool at? I am guessing pretty low RPM with that turbo. Are you running the drain back into the fuel pump block off plate?

ZZ3Astro

Thanks guys.. with the completely stock exhaust and no stall converter, it has a bit of lag.. the boost really comes in around 3000 rpm. I haven't tried much low rpm boost building because my rear tires are still the 15+ year old gatorbacks that were on it when I got it. They are hard as a rock. Tires coming soon.

The oil return is going into the fuel pump blockoff plate. So far no problems. My oil pressure has been low on this engine since I got it. When it's hot the pressure ranges from 12 to 35 psi. Because of that, I figured it would be safe to run with no restrictor on the pressure side and it seems to be fine.

V8Astro Captain

iTrader: (1)

Which Ebay turbo is that? Just curious which one you got. You have the same compressor housing as mine but your turbine housing looks bigger.

I'm pretty sure mine is too small for my engine, so I ordered one of those GT45 knock-offs.

junkcltr

iTrader: (1)

The china GT45 is a pretty good fit to a 350ci. If it stays together it should flow enough for 700-850 BHP.

That china T70 with a 73mm inducer TW w/ .84 A/R should be spooling at 2000 RPM on a 350ci with a decent tune. The 53mm inducer CW is only good for up to 450 BHP. The CW is on the small side for a 350ci.

ZZ3Astro

It's advertised on Ebay as a T70 from etdmotors. Exhaust A/R is .96 and yep it's good for 450-500 hp tops. Won't be so great for a modified engine but for a stock tpi it is plenty.

I odered a PTP turbo blanket yesterday and I got my 3" catback with a dual outlet flowmaster on the car. It's a lot quieter than I expected, thankfully. It picked up 1 psi additional boost and spools faster than it did with the stock exhaust. I'm seeing 7.2 psi and maybe a 7.5 thrown in somewhere. I want to turn up the boost bad, but still waiting on the fuel pump and need some softwer rear tires too.

Speaking of tires... I am working on getting these to soften up a bit, but they seem to be wearing away for some reason. I got a video, maybe someone can help me figure out the problem. At the end of the video you can really hear that $20 ebay blowoff valve.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sQsZ5jJztI

ZZ3Astro

Updated pic.. still gotta get some new silicone when I pick a color some day.