Twin Turbo -84, Finally running

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Sep 11, 2005 | 01:44 PM
  #1  
Yesterday I mocked up the last of the intake piping. Because of some delivery problems of my intercooler I modified a 3 inch exhaust pipe and put it in the IC:s place instead.

The car made like 4-5 psi of boost on the first run. This is with no tuning of the wastegates at all. The rough fuel map in MegaSquirt worked quite ok, but I need to raise the fuel map a little when in boost.

The car suffers from a lot of exhaust leaks that needs to be fixed but the turbos can spool up and I'm quite happy with the way they work.

I also have some problems with oil leakage, the car is smoking a lot when rewed high. I guess this has to do with some undersized fittings in the oilpan, I truly hope that it is because of that anyway.

I can't describe the great feeling of getting this far with the junkyard setup. Homeported heads, Edelbrock Victor jr converted for EFI, homemade plenum, Volvo 850 throttle bodies, custom Garret T04:s made for Volvos 6 litre truckengines (diesel). MegaSquirt EFI and so on, it works.

The wastegates and the dumpvalve is made by a great machinist here in Sweden, and the sound from the dumpvalve is awsome... Some might say it sounds like I'm a riser, but feeling the torque from the turbo V8 and then let go of the pedal with an extreme whistling noise, it's pure magic I tell you.

/Anders
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Sep 11, 2005 | 01:48 PM
  #2  
Here's a lousy picture of the setup taken with my SonyEricsson Camera.

/Anders

Twin Turbo -84, Finally running-dsc00103-small.jpg  

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Sep 11, 2005 | 02:45 PM
  #3  
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Sep 11, 2005 | 02:46 PM
  #4  
definitely unique looking. and if it works than it is even beter than one of those ones that look like every other one
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Sep 11, 2005 | 03:07 PM
  #5  
Awesome!
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Sep 11, 2005 | 10:06 PM
  #6  
Looks great! Would be nice to have some of those wrecked Volvos around here.
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Sep 12, 2005 | 01:24 AM
  #7  
I have updated my www-link so it works now. More pictures on a quite outdated site can be found there anyway...

I just haven't had the inspiration to update that site during this long period of time.

Anyway, thank you for the nice comments.. I still believe it's a quite ugly installation - but if it makes power, who cares...

The whole setup fits underneath my standard hood (L69 intake duct is removed for clearance). Believe me, it's a close fit...

/Anders
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Sep 13, 2005 | 12:07 AM
  #8  
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Sep 13, 2005 | 01:52 AM
  #9  
You think thats ugly? You should take a peak under my hood... talk about rats nest... i really need to do something about it.

I think if you cleaned up those welds a little on the intake piping and maybe threw a little paint around it would make a big difference
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Sep 13, 2005 | 01:55 AM
  #10  
I really like the plenum and dual throttle body setup... Now install the IC and turn up the boost!
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Sep 13, 2005 | 02:38 AM
  #11  
How fast is that bad boy in the 1/4 mile
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Sep 13, 2005 | 05:37 AM
  #12  
Thank you... Well I'm not good at welding, but I'm getting better...

How fast, hard to tell - before turbo the engine made around 300+ hp (13.8s in the 1/4). That was with an old Holley and before EFI-conversion.

With E85 Ethanol fuel I'm aiming for 15 psi of boost with this setup, and then we'll see when I can swap the heads for something better (AFR 190cc perhaps)..

I won't be able to take it to the strip until next year though... Then we'll see some numbers.

/Anders
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Sep 14, 2005 | 04:39 AM
  #13  
Honestly the welds dont look too bad at all just take a grinder to them a little bit to even it out and make it look like one piece of metal and either mpaint or polish the intake piping or something and really i think it would look great...

The wiring seems to be pretty well in order... maybe its just cuz im comparing it to my underhood 'factory' wiring with a/c and all but i dont think it looks bad at all in fact the plenum and throttle bodies look real good to me

Either way im sure the butt dyno is registering a real improvement...
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Sep 14, 2005 | 04:42 AM
  #14  
And the best part....

You didnt spend 4 grand on the banks kit and it probably works just as good
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Sep 14, 2005 | 02:17 PM
  #15  
what turbo headers are you using? or did you make them?
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Sep 15, 2005 | 01:06 AM
  #16  
I built my own setup and some pictures can be found here:
https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=230315

The pipe from cylinder 7 is probably the most overdesigned part of my whole setup, it's curved in several different angles so that a 3" downpipe could get passed it and the stock brakeparts could be left in place.

No this setup didn't cost 4 grand I tell you, but things start to get expensive.
I think I have put as much money in hooses, fittings and small parts - as in the turbos themselves.

Perhaps I'll take the old grinder out and smooth out the welds, but the car won't go any faster due to it, soo....

/Anders
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Sep 15, 2005 | 01:44 PM
  #17  
Wow, that is extremely impressive! The amount of work combined with all that fabrication and thinking... that's amazing.

I know all about the MegaSquirt too, as I made one for my swap into my Toyota MR2. Now THAT'S fun to make and tune! lol
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Sep 16, 2005 | 02:40 AM
  #18  
Thank you aaron7, I'm very satisfied with MegaSquirt as well.
I even passed the sniffer test here in Sweden with lots of headroom.

I'm going to add control for the 7-pin HEI module (stock -84 distributor) during the winter. And I'm probably going to add a boost control valve from a Volvo or a SAAB as well. And everything will be controlled by MegaSquirt.

But for the moment I'll try to change the fittings in the oilpan to accept 1/2inch hoose or bigger.
I got a 3/8 inch at the moment but the internal diameter of the oilpan fittings are not even that big...

I guess that's why oil starts blowing through the turbos and out into the exhaust. The turbos are brand new...
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Jul 18, 2006 | 10:54 AM
  #19  
Hi again, thought I should drop a line with the current status.

I have spent a lot of time hunting down exhaust leaks, I've had the headers milled so now things has started to work as they are supposed to. I'm not satisfied yet but the exhaust is almost "silent" now.

Took the car out for a drive and I saw 7.5 psi of boost (0.5 bar).

The engine is pulling hard, the car has a really nice sound now. You can hear the turbos spool and when you let go of the pedal the dumpvalve screams loud and clear and let people now there's a new kid in town.

I'm using the firmware "Megasquirt and spark EXTRA" now so I've got support for "over boost protection" and rev limiter, the last one works nice...
The engine revs a lot faster now than before so the rev limiter is a very good idea to configure.

Hopefully I will be able to turn the boost up to 10-12 psi within the next month.

Anyway, the car is running and I am happy..

/Anders
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Jul 18, 2006 | 12:13 PM
  #20  
That's another reason to grind/sand down the joints; any of the pinhole leaks you have in your exhaust system become more obvious; another trick I've seen is that you spray carb cleaner inside the pipe at the weld, then you hold your hand on the outside; if it gets wet you've got a leak.
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Jul 19, 2006 | 06:17 PM
  #21  
Quote: Anyway, the car is running and I am happy..
Thats what it's all about! Good to hear its working out. Just had my TT IROC out the other day. Its so much fun, but I need to make it faster. I think MS and some big injectors are in my future
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Jul 24, 2006 | 11:44 PM
  #22  
Quote: Its so much fun, but I need to make it faster. I think MS and some big injectors are in my future
Do you feel that too? Faster, faster, faster... It's almost embarassing that I once thought that the L69 (190 hp) stock engine was fast 10 years ago when I bought my car... Swapped the L69 for a tad more wild 355 and now that engine has turbo and it's still not enough@0.5 bar boost..

About the Megasquirt - I choosed to use MS because I didn't have the money to buy an aftermarket EFI intake, TB, fulerails etc.. So I fabricated many parts. It would probably have been better to try and buy parts secondhand and use a GM EFI-computer to steer it all.
I still have to implement 7-PIN HEI support so that I can use the MS for ignition as well.

Anyhow, it's unique looking and somehow that makes it more fun to drive.
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Aug 8, 2006 | 06:35 AM
  #23  
Haha, I've started to like MegaSquirt again.
Yesterday I did some old fashioned fault analysis on the engine.
Found one disconnected sparkplugwire and one malfunctioning injector (wirefailure).
Efter connecting these parts again the engine is running smooth and very, very strong..

I was going slow in 1st gear and then gave full throttle, the rear tyre screamed, throwed in 2nd gear and the rear tyre was still screaming untill I let go of the throttle. I need a non-open rearend....


I thought I had a VE-table problem but has most certainly been running on 7 cylinders for quite some time which made my megasquirt computer try to compensate for it.
I didn't even think of these problems before I lost the 2nd cylinder... The car has always been running rough, but when on six cylinders the engine shakes bad and one knows something is really, really wrong...

I remember an old post from me where I thought that these two T04E's might be too big for this engine. They're not, they fit perfectly. My old Audi S4 with turboengine had quite some turbolag, this engine has not... The boost comes along quite early, I'll log a run tonight to have a better look.

BTW! The car is running on 100% E85 fuel. Smells funny, goes like a rocket..
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Aug 27, 2006 | 01:16 PM
  #24  
10 psi of boost @ 4700 rpm (engine starts loosing power@5800 rpm).
Unfortunately the AFR is @ 16.7 so I guess I have to check that the Bosch pump is actually giving enough fuel. I still have the stock fuellines from 1984, might need to upgrade them and the fuel pickup in the tank.

The 42.5 lbs injectors are running at 100% dutycycle @ 10 psi of boost, but I want to check that the injectors are getting enough fuel before I replace them..

But one should have something to do during the winter...
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Aug 27, 2006 | 01:44 PM
  #25  
did you fix all your exhaust leaks ahead of the O2 sensor? If not, you're not getting an accurate reading. When I fixed my leak at the manifold my AFR went from 15:1 at WOT to 13.5:1 at WOT (it's an N/A motor, so it's where it should be)
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Aug 27, 2006 | 02:57 PM
  #26  
Since you are running E85 then you need a rather large fuel pump and injectors. Roughly 1.5 times what you would need with gasoline.

TO4Es are a good twin setup for a 350ci.
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Aug 28, 2006 | 12:24 AM
  #27  
The exhaust leak I had on the driversside, between the turbo and manifold is fixed and it's probably because of that I was seeing another 0.15 bar of boost. The lambdasensor is placed on the driversside downpipe so I guess it's seeing the correct value..

You are certainly right, I had to increase my fuelcurve a lot before it ran good on E85. The fuelpump is a Bosch and is used in a lot of modified SAAB Turbo cars here in Sweden. Perhaps I should get another one and install in parallell just to be sure. And I guess I should increase the fuelline size as well.
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Aug 28, 2006 | 01:05 AM
  #28  
measure the flow in the return line after the regulator. (engine not running)
Disconnect the rerurn hose somewhere and add another hose to a bucket on the side. You can put a wire instead of the fuel pump relay to force the pump to run.

If you have an adjustable fuel pressure regulator then add 10 psi to simulate 10 psi boost.

If the return flow is less than the total inlector flow then you need another fuel pump.
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Aug 29, 2006 | 10:45 PM
  #29  
Doing what JoBy said is a good way to test if the pump flows enough fuel. Keep in mind that you should also check the voltage at the pump during idle and make sure it is the same voltage at WOT/BOOST. A lower voltage will mean less gallons/hour.
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Sep 2, 2006 | 06:27 PM
  #30  
Your car is sick. How much do you have tied up in the turbos and all the other necesities?
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Oct 27, 2006 | 05:05 AM
  #31  
Actually the whole swap from carb to EFI and all the turbo stuff is around $2.200. The setup has a few expensive parts, the turbos, the injectors. The custom made oil-feed lines and fuellines (very high quality stuff).

The real money savior here is the MegaSquirt EFI computer and the fact that I've bought several parts on the 2nd hand market and I also got the turbos (brand new) for a very good price. Doing a lot of fabrication yourself also saves a lot of money.

I had big plans for the upcoming winter season but it seems like my 2 months old son need a lot more attention than I first thought. But hey, the kid is fun.

/Anders
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Oct 27, 2006 | 10:29 AM
  #32  
Seriously if you just grind down the welds and polish up the pipes it will look amazing nicely done
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