I ordered an SSAutochrome turbo kit for my 383 on the 31st even though I know they have a hugely bad reputation and no one in their right mind would waste time on this junk. But then I did some looking, I couldn't actually find anyone who runs this thing. I mean if it is so horrible someone has to have run it to realize that right? But no, I could only find people who heard from a friend of a friend of a friend who they he met on a message board. So what the hell whats the worst that could happen? I get junk stuff it destroys my motor that I scrapped together for next to nothing anyway and everyone will see a firsthand account of why you don't buy cheap turbos from China. Or on the other hand the stuff works and I get a TT Small Block to put in something or other. I am however not as dumb as I may seem for doing this, I am going to take the turbos to the local diesel shop, which doubles as a turbo service shop, and have them check them out to make sure they aren't going to fly apart on the engine stand. Well hopefully they don't and everything works but I suppose only a real test will tell.

their quality seems to be improving, theres few guys on Turbomustangs.com that run them. As long as you support the turbo's good the headers should be fine. The turbos are not that great but should work for a little bit. I would recommend upgrading to some master power ones at the least, down the road. If you cant afford to do it right the first time, how can you afford to do it twice?

How much did the kit run you?

It was like $702 shipped so overall not too bad especially since I saw the same kit on ebay go for over 1k before shipping. It should be at the shop soon at least they didn't lie about shipping they charged me around $70 but the box weighs over a hundred pounds. I am hoping this works out like I hope it does but even if it doesn't I suppose something valuable will be learned from it. If it does come apart I will take it back to the turbo shop and have them figure out why it did so hopefully they will replace the parts though I'm not holding my breath.

Initially they got their bad reputation when they were building mostly import parts and their manifolds had a tendency of cracking.

They got a worse reputation when they tried to expand their offerings by taking setups that others were making and basically copying them to get into that part of the market without having to take one of the cars and figuring out how to do it (IE, stealing them). In the process they pushed out a number of venders/builders that were the ones coming up with new stuff and new products for assorted cars, in some cases, like ours, that didn’t have that many other’s looking out for them, and in our case specifically, I believe a sponsor and an active board member that was not only making a better go of it than most (and better than I expected when he turned up), but was also quite helpful to board other members that weren’t even using one of his setups.

I donno what to tell you, I’m all for a free market economy, but that involves a level playing field. Taking someone else’s work, sending it off to some factory in china that specializes in knocking it off and undercutting the original is in no way a fair way to play the game, and I would avoid supporting them if at all possible, especially if they do damage to something like our little community. Thinking about this I wouldn’t consider it unreasonable for some users on these board, especially those in industries fighting similar competition, but also just in general, since you’ve made it harder or all of us to get new/innovative parts in the future, to just decide not to help you with any future questions you’ll have about getting this thing running, tuning…

Ok thats fine but since I didn't ask for yours or anyone else's help you can go kick rocks. Don't think you can throw insults at me and I am just going to cow down, and do not think for one second that I will allow you to talk down to me or call me a detriment to the performance industry. I stand by my purchase and you have no right to accuse me of anything. I am very sorry to hear that your friend was put out of business because he couldn't compete with bigger companies, but blaming them and throwing insults at their customers is not the right thing to do. I do not make very much money but I do a job that I consider vital to the future of the free world so I proud to do it, but I also have a rather expensive hobby and sometimes I have to buy parts that are less than preferable. I would much rather have a hand engineered kit that is guaranteed to work and helps a small business but unfortunately I don't have that luxury. So I buy what I can hope it holds together and if not well I start over. It may or may not have been my best option to order this kit but I shouldn't be blackballed by people who don't know anything about me or why I made the decision I did. So maybe you can afford the "good" stuff but I can't so I make due and use what I have. I don't think anyone would hold it against me for trying to do what I love and be able to eat at night too.

I agree with you on this, very well put. Yes it sucks that the "other" small company quit making their products, but im sure in the long run they could still be going strong, i guess the initial drop on sales was enough to put them out or not make it worth their while.

83 Crossfire TA, you say that no one's going to help him get his stuff running because he bought the ssac stuf??? I find that hard to believe. Not only that, what other option does he have? BBS went out of business so how can he buy their kits? Its not like he bought it at the time when they were still selling kits. Yes its unfortunate that someone that was contributing specifically to our small comunity was put out, but that just how some things work sometimes.

Silentnight:

Post pics before/after. As for the whole SSAC vs. BBS Designs... whoever builds it cheaper, won. If SSAC's design lasts for a few years then falls apart (headers) then it paid for itself. Just keep a tab on those headers, support them and you'll be ok. All turbo headers will fall apart eventually.

Ignore 88 crossfire and in general, if going blowthru, this site isnt half as good as turbomustangs for tech support.

1- I did not “throw any insults”
2- I’m not some independently wealthy person that has all his parts custom built for him by some boutique performance shop (as I don’t think most/all third gen owners are, we all know that a half rotted 3rd gen just screams $$$). I do fab a lot of my own stuff when I need it because often I can’t afford buying high end stuff off the shelf (and usually it doesn’t work out to be as nice as you’d expect or what you get when you do make your own, custom parts). I’ve also worked for a small speed shop as well as done fab and install work on that level so I know the pressures placed on these businesses.
3- I never suggested that you “should” be blackballed, but did suggest that some people might and it wouldn’t be for a bad reason.
4- No, I don’t know BBS personally, as a matter of fact when he initially showed up here I treated him just like every other business showing up promising cheap turbo systems for 3rd gens and not delivering, and was rather impressed when he actually did deliver, even when it was at 2x the cost that he initially projected (which I still thought was a good price). He is the only one that I know of that stayed around long enough to produce some kits.
5- BBS did not go out of business, they just chose not to compete and get into other work. They do still sell kits (I believe that there was just recently a group purchase) but it is more a special request type thing on the side then them doing it full time and developing new products…

Now if this was a discussion of cheap, Chinese knockoff an fittings that Jegmmit now sell to compete with the old school Russell/edelbrock, Aeroquip, earls products I wouldn’t have wasted my time saying anything. That falls under your “that just how some things work sometimes” statement, it’s unfortunate, still not fair, but I would also argue that it’s targeted at a somewhat overpriced market of parts that has been taking advantage of rules to make an exorbitant $ off of “us.”

Instead in this case this is a more blatant case of steeling the design of one of our community members and my point was that there are people that will, and should react to that. Instead of attacking me for saying it, think about it next time you wonder about why it’s so hard to get parts for your precious cam/bird unless you’re willing to pay someone hourly $ to fab it up custom for you.
----------
theturboforums (current name for turbomustangs) doesn't have nearly the tolerance for ssautochrome stuff that this site does.

I am going to ask you nicely please leave me alone. I understand your argument and I appreciate the effort you have put forth to try and preserve the parts we do have but singling me out is not the way to do it. Please in the future do not accuse anyone of being a detriment to the community because they bought parts for their car from a source other than what in your opinion are the correct manufacturers.

I got some pictures taken. Overall the stuff looks like it is of good quality. The fuel pressure regulator and BOV are pretty lame but I think they should work. Anyway here are the pictures.


The intercooler is pretty shiny and good size as well. The welds look good but I can see some spots where they got a little sloppy towards the ends of the bead but other than that it looks like a solid piece and should function as intended.







I know what people say about these headers but they appear to actually be of pretty good quality. All the welds are TIG and look very neat and professional. The tubing is 1/8 thick and should hold up well, the flanges are very thick but I didn't measure them with my caliper best guess would be 3/8" maybe 7/16". I think with some brackets they will hold up nicely to weight and heat of the turbo.




And last but not least the turbo itself. OK their not Garret or BW but they appear to be solid construction, nothing rubs, no shaft play, the housings appear to be very solid and if the wheel is actually in balance they should last a long time. I will let you know what the turbo shop says about them when I ge them back next week hopefully they will work as intended. So overall I think $700 shipped this is a very good deal.

I changed my mind about what I motor I am going to put the kit on though. I am building another 383 I was intending to put in my 240z but I think it may be better suited for my Camaro. It is a GM 4-bolt, Eagle 4340 Crank, H-Beam Rods, JE Dish Pistons, Dart 215cc Iron Eagles, Comp .600" Lift 248/245 Duration @.50 Cam, Victor Jr. Intake, Holley 800 DP, and an MSD Distributor. I think that this motor may give me a better idea what this kit is capable of than my junkyard 383. I have been stockpiling the parts for this motor for along time with the intention of turboing it some day but I was going to opt for a Banks kit, now I think I will take a chance with my Chinese turbo kit. I really think it will work, the quality of the parts I received was quite good so I am willing to risk my good motor on it.

from what i can see the system looks good. manifold looks good but i have seen banks headers on a friends jeep wrangler that cracked in 4 spots in 1 year. if the headers crack, i dont know if that even meens the system is junk. good luck with it.!!!

I bolted the headers and turbos on a core motor and threw on my Victor Jr. and a Predator on top for good measure. It looks like everything fits the way it should although I did notice that the drivers side turbo sits a bit farther forward than the passengers side but oh well just a little detail I going to have to live with. I am still impressed with this kit and how well it has fit so far it definitely looks nice. I got the verdict back from the turbo shop today, they gave me the thumps up to run them, the wheels are in balance and they say they are made of the good material, they also mentioned the casting is of good quality and shouldn't be an issue. So it looks like my little project may work out as planned. Hopefully I will have the rest of the pieces I need to put it together soon and I can run it on the stand an see if it is really going to work.

What does the tag on the turbo read?

Looks good. I hope you get it together soon and put some miles on it I want to know how it works out

If this stuff does survive.. you got one hell of deal!

Thats probably what the guys at the Turbo shop were thinking when they gave him the "Thumbs up"

LOL, coming from someone who has a fake blower scoop for a carb hat and rims that stick out like a "low rider".


@SilentNight:
your pics arent working, i think its because they're blocked at my job.. I'll check it out later when I get home.

Workin fine for me... probably the job thing.

That was too funny.......

+1 for you.....

I don't think the turbo shop was trying to be funny, they said the turbos themselves are actually pretty decent. I am realistic though I didn't expect a Garret quality turbo when I ordered it and after having the turbo shop look at it I feel confident that it they will survive. But I guess only a real test will tell.

so when is the real test?

SilentNight: I hope your setup works pretty well. keep us posted for sure. Its good to see that you can take a joke. BDR must have took it to heart or something. No offense to you BDR or anyone. I almost bought a TT kit from SSauto as well about a year back. I opted for ATI procharging instead. So im courious to see how it holds up. I doubt they would just break ya know.

BDR: Whats wrong with my scoop man? It adds about 100 appearance HP. (It makes up for the nitrous bottle nobody ever sees). My scoop always seems to be the first thing most Import people ask about after we race and they beat me.
"Man im running 18lbs of boost and a Greddy cam and blah blah, but yeah dude is that really supercharged??"......
"Nah man, sorry. You can't brag to your friends that you beat a supercharged V8 yet lol"

I like the way i setup my car. Its different and I do what i do. But hey at least were all rollin F-Bodies right.

I dont think anyone was just trying to be a jerk here.. Hes just bustin on you for bustin on silentnight... I think yur car looks pretty good... Definetly think a blower would look pretty sick under that bird catcher

silentnight: I like it but I would **fab up some supports** that way the headers dont have to hold the weight of the turbos on their own.

urmom: just giving you a hard time. let silentnight play around with what he's got.. if it lasts a few months then the "I told you so's" can be plastered on all his posts.. lol.. if its lasts for a few years then honestly I think the investment was worth it. $700.. thats a steal.. I'm way over that in my tt setup..

I'm getting the support brackets figured out now, while my machinist finishes my the 350 for my truck. I think I may put this setup on that motor to get everything dialed in the way I want. That way when I put the 383 together I can just bolt it on and go no need to modify parts because it will already be done. I also decided to run the Predator as opposed to the Holley after reading some threads on The Turbo Forums and talking with a few people. I think the Predator will work well for me since I seem to one of the three people on the planet that actually likes them. I didn't realize that almost no one ran them, I've always had great luck with mine and my Dad swears by them, he's got six hanging on the wall.

Are those the T4/T3 hybrid turbos with a T04E compressor (46 trim, 2.0" inducer) and a T3 .63 A/R turbine? I am curious because I haven't seen that size turbo with the internal wastegates before.

Looks like a fun build. That built up 355ci might have a little too much exhaust if you turn up the boost and the turbines are .63 A/R T3s. Keep an eye on back pressure when you start out.

I believe they are the 46 trim T04E compressor based on the measurements I took and the ones the turbo shop gave me. I am starting the to think the turbos are going to be a little on the small side but they will work until I can get my ands on a pair of Holsets or at least something a little bigger. Thanks for the warning about the backpressure, I seem to be hearing that alot from guys that are stopping by the machine shop, at least thats what my machinist says, of course not too many guys build TT small blocks in South Sioux City, NE either.

dude SilentNight, Did you say "NE"? lol, im from Omaha.

Yep I'm from Jackson it's a little town about a hundred miles north of Omaha and about 15 miles west from Sioux City. Small world, eh?

I am definetly looking at this thread. All I read were BAD things about it, but like the original poster said it was everyones friend that had the bad experience. One guy had the turbos not oil properly, so I would check that before anything else.

The whole thing with BBSdesign aint cool by any means. Its just not something anyone should do. The fact, however, is that this will happen, and the world is not just. Plus people don't have 500 buck + to buy a set of headers. Some do, but a lot of others don't. I've read bad things about the BBS desgin headers too. Its the fact that he was one of ours that makes me double think any purchase.

All in all, if you want to buy a set BBS is out of business, and these dudes are the only choice. So, I can't but not give the 'go ahead' nod to this purchase.

Its just freaking life.

P.S. 83 Crossfire's posts have 0 indication of busting anyones balls, he is usually not the one who gets on anyones case.

I am looking forward to reading more on this test. I appreciate you putting forth your engine and your money to find out if this kit for our cars will work.

As far as "cheap kits" go. I think if one company can make a part less expensive while still making something not totally a piece, it is just capitalism. I keeps the big guys in check with their prices.

Obviously this kit is not top of the line high dollar ball bearing turbos and conical cast manifolds. We need to do more research like this to find better alternatives to the price rape from the mega profit company.

The manifolds look good and solid. Really thick flanges. I agree with extra support. I guess it's due to the weight of the turbo, the length of the manifolds and the heat that will be generated. The intercooler doesn't look very efficent but WTH. You can probably upgrade the weak links later as they show up.

Please keep us informed as to your progress. And I appreciate the effort.

Any updates??

Not anything to note really, the short block is done and the heads are on the bench or so I'm told. My machinist is rather busy right now fixing heavy diesels for some reason so my project is on the back burner for the moment. But he volunteered to donate the machine work if I put his businesses name on the car, which I don't really have a problem with since this saves me quite a bit of money and it will be a mostly track car anyway.

your machinist must like the look of the turbo set up that you have if he wants to put is name any where near it.

My question to you is. How would the fitment look like in the engine bay, cuz it looks, to me, like there might be some issues.

Thanks for keeping us up to date. I am very interested in the progress.

The only problems I see with the manifolds are that the flanges are mild, and the runners are stainless, and that the bead isn't run completely around where the runners and flange mate.

Definately add some good support to the turbos, the flanges will most likely corrode due to the extreme heat turbo headers endure, and the welds will seperate from the corrosion point in time, and even faster if they are supporting the weight of the turbos.

They still don't look like that bad of a deal though, at that price, you could always get the flanges replaced with stainless ones at a later date if the mild ones do fail, and still have saved money.

The flanges are mild and the tubes are stainless because mild has a lower rate of expansion when it is heated then stainless so the flanges will move less as the parts get hot, better maintaining a gasket seal.

The reason that they’re welded only part way around is that those welds are only for added strength, there should be a full bead around the inside edge.

Well according to banks headers are not the way to go. They (the CEO who appeared on powerblocktv) said they now make TT SBC and use a FE (or some other common alloy) and silicon.

It does not shift and move (which eliminated blowing gaskets and leaky headers) and is resistant to extreme heat. I mean of all the people i think i believe banks. he's been at it since the late 50's with turbos.

Then again i have not been on the turbo mustang site so maybe i don't know what i'm talking about

Nickel… most high temp alloys are nickel based.

I’ve been saying something along those lines for years… that basically the less outside surface area and the thicker the walls the more heat you hold in, the less you have to deal with heat’s negative effects and the more heat gets to the turbine. People will argue that tubular headers are “more efficient” because you’ll see less pressure at the ports, but I would counter that if they are properly designed a log style isn’t losing as much energy and because of that you really need to run a larger turbine which is what is causing the pressure at the port, not the manifold design.

I don’t know that I’d buy that a heavy casting seals better then a heavy flange with the same expansion coefficient (in other words, make your header with a ½” flange out of mild steel), but I suppose that marketing BS doesn’t have to specify what you’re comparing it to as long as it’s true about something, huh?

Tough tubular headers do look cool.

well ya that's what he was saying. It keeps the heat in more and they hold up to higher temps and the weight of the turbo (no bracing needed). Ya turbo headers look better but they let so much heat out and are known to discolor and sometimes crack or blow out gaskets.

Hey i'm just glad it comes in a crate motor so i don't have to do it by hand and piece stuff together!

Isn't anyone questioning the fitment of the headers? I mean, they really look like they would be a pain to fit in the car.
I'd like to see a set of these in the car already.

lol

No updates? I'd sure love to hear more on this... See more as well (pictures! hint, hint). Anything new at all? Must know more!

Sorry, I'm Navy and the sea was calling so I had to oblige (okay in reality I got dragged out with the rest of my squadron for a waste of time underway). But anyway the motor is sitting in pieces back home at my machinists shop, everything is there and the machine work is done it just needs to be assembled. I'm having him hold off until I go home on the 14th so I can be there when it's fired for the first time. I'll post up more pictures in the next few days of the rest of the parts.

Can you let me know how the whole thing turns out, I myself want to put a twin turbo kit on my 350 Z28 but am hesitant because of how cheap the kit really is. The kit is so affordable that its makes you wonder.

I will most definitely be posting up pics of the assembly process as well as a video of it when I start it with turbos for the first time. If I have time I may even take it over to Dan Harry and use his engine dyno more than likely that wont happen though. At this point I'm just excited to be able to assemble it and hear it run. Hopefully it doesn't come apart on the stand.

Well I didn't get it started with turbos but it does run with long tubes on it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kd50jbaKXeU

I am working on fitting the turbos and figuring out oil drains and what not, hopefully in a little while I can get the turbos spooling.

Where did you get the kit from? Was/Is it worth it?