turbo task force

[akdg87]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

I like your old wheels but I understand why you changed them.

May I suggest '51-'52 Chevy car hubcaps? I had them on my old '46 truck and they looked good. Not sure if Wheel Vintiques makes their rim so it will accept them but not to hard to make it happen with the addition of clips if you need to. '55-'56 truck caps are also very nice on Rallys.

thanks Dan i will look into those, i found a oem derby style cap that fits but i just dont like how it protrudes out, i think a simple dish with a bowtie would be perfect. I like the somewhat "sleeper" look it has now, the 20" def looked sweet but it rode like a sherman tank.

Your truck is coming along nicely i must say!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by akdg87

...Your truck is coming along nicely i must say!

Thanks so much for the kind words. Your project has me thinking, "Hmmm, how long will it be before I want to turbocharge my 6.0?"

I can't wait to hear how happy you are with the performance and reliability long term. How much boost do you regularly run? Intercooler, water injection, any of that stuff?

I had a shot at Cameo bedsides right about the time I started the body work on my truck but none of the other Cameo pieces. I did a little research and decided I might be biting off more than I could chew so I didn't pursue itt further. Your truck ROCKS!

[Rods57]

Originally Posted by akdg87

Cranking away at things, getting sick of being up until 2 am working on this but nearly done installing "hardware" and almost time to work on the 'software"

I mounted secondary trans cooler (with fan below front bumper). Also wrapped up most of the 4l80 harness conversion and methanol kit wiring. Upgraded the PCM OS to a 3 bar map so i can safely run more than 14.7 psi New turbo is hung, mounted exhaust back up; took some slight modification as the 4l80 is much larger. Also had the drive-line shortened and a new slip yoke put on.

Ordered this really cheap electronic speedo on ebay which almost matches my previous speedometer. Its actually a really nice piece and has some optional features like a high speed or rpm warning where the gauge will start flashing red. Only caveat is that the gauge back light is blue and there is no bulb to change...

Still trying to decide on centercaps, i like the police rallye caps but unsure if they will clear the dust cap on the front.

Couple Pics for inquiring minds:

Looks really good, what is the size of gadges you are using? I like the two in there.

[akdg87]

wow thanks photobucket, but i guess you cant blame them as im sure it costs money to handle/store all this data.

anyhow, had a weird misfire at WOT in 3rd gear since we thought we were done with tuning- after tearing through the ignition system and scratching our heads for a while determined it was either too rich at WOT or the Park/Neutral Rev Limiter was kicking in. Re flashed with some changed parameters and wow considering it has 3.08 gears the truck really moves out. My new 3.73 just showed up today so hopefully get them installed at some point this week.

Also have been working on a customers car- 2001 transam- went from stock to a heads/cam/full exhaust and stall converter. Also replaced the valve-train and oil pump system. Should start tuning it this week. Got some good takeoff parts (241 heads, f body manifolds and a stock cam). expecting it to be around 450 RWHP all said and done. I dont think i could ever own one of those cars as its a complete nightmare to work on- everything so tight. my hands and arms look like i got in a fight with a pack of feral cats... ha

[akdg87]

3.73 gear swap was a success (back in july). my father in law came over and helped me knock it out.

Those gauges are a 3 and 3/8" i believe. I really want to switch to a dakota VHX cluster..

The nitto tires were okay, i lowered the PSI down to around 20 psi but they just never hooked up great (even with pre heating them). I raced a few imports, a modified 5th gen camaro SS (450 RWHP) and pulled on him but i had a lot of tire spin. We did a race a from a dead stop and he pulled away 5-6 car lengths and once i finally hooked up, shot past him like he was standing still. Im going to switch to a mickey thompson or hoosier tire for next year, this thing should be animal if i can get it to dead hook from a standstill.

[MIKESAD50]

What are you running for rear tires to plant that powe?

[akdg87]

Originally Posted by MIKESAD50

What are you running for rear tires to plant that powe?

Nitto NT555r- 275/60r15

[mongocanfly]

Akdg...how are those nittos for traction with your power? Thats the same tire I'm planning on running on my rears behind my ls3 and the reg nt555s on the front.. I've seen where the 555rs only last around 15000 miles so I'm assuming they're a soft sticky tire

[akdg87]

Haven't ran them yet. Actually going out to datalog tonight. Probably
be a few days until I'm fully tuned up , fingers crossed. I'll report back then.
But for $150/EACH that's a pretty good deal, I only get 1500-2500 miles a year.

[akdg87]

Well everything's working really good, had some hiccups with tuning but otherwise its running pretty good.

The 4l80e is a vast improvement over the TH350, lockup converter and OD is super nice. With the revised trans cooler arrangement it runs about 165-170 consistently, even after beating on it.

The methanol injection is sure nice; get into boost and the IAT's start dropping as opposed to rising.

Finished up at about 16-18 PSI, will probably turn it up later, (tuner said no more until i after i run it like this for a while!) i am however going to be changing to a 3.73 rear gear ratio as the 3.07 is somewhat doggish and it really is apparent with the 4l80e gearing. Its no slouch by any means but to take full advantage of the turbo and converter i need to go lower gearing.

[akdg87]

minor updates; I got the dakota digital VHX gauges with new bezel i will be installing this year (have the OBD interface to link with the gm PCM).

Also ordered a new hot-side for the turbo kit- passenger side log manifold with a crossover that goes under the engine. Ill post pics whenever it shows up. I was having poor boost control with my homemade kit so this should help as well as get rid of excess heat under the hood and be much more aesthetically pleasing...

I'm going to swap the rear axle shafts out with some Yukon or Moser replacements and try to get a set of adjustable drag shocks under the back.

[akdg87]

Got the upgrades done, just working back through the tune to make sure everything is in check-pretty close. New tires are awesome, dead hooks from 5 psi on the footbrake. Also the boost controller helped things out tremendously as i can now regulate boost and its much more enjoyable at 10 psi vs the 18 psi i was making before with no traction!

Ended up adding-
MT Et Street R's on the rear in a 28x11.5xR15 size
44mm wastegate wit GFB G Force 2 boost controller
New RM performance log manifold hotside- Had to modify my downpipe a bit
Dakota Digital VHX gauges with OBD interface
Viking Dual Adjustable Shocks on the rear
Monkey Fab Garage Catch-can/Overflow tank combo (won on Facebook)
Moved the coils back to valve covers with modified 12 an fittings for breathers.

[lower50's]

Looking real good!! I have heard that before guys will turn the power down a bit and it is way more fun. Any plans for a 1/4 mile run?

[akdg87]

I really need a cage before i hurl it down the track!


So i had a ton of issues with the RM Performance piping setup, the log manifold kept cracking, i ended up pulling it off 4 times to fix it, it was made of thin tubing. It actually ballooned. SOO i purchased a huron speed SS t4 manifold, a tbss driverside manifold and rigged up my own turbo kit. in addition i picked up a clone of a s475 borg warner turbo.

This has now snowballed into a full on motor build; over christmas i picked up an lq4 out of 05 pickup. purchased some forged wiseco pistons and k1 rods. The motor required .010 bore and new cam bearings. they are balancing everything right now and it should be ready for pickup later this week. We will be assembling it at my shop. in addition i acquired some 127# injectors and a mild turbo cam. .560 lift with a 114 LSA.

Right now im aiming for 750 rwhp at around 15 psi. The only thing i have not decided on is the intercooler. currently i have a 3" core with 2.5" tubing. which seems like it would be a restriction. im somewhat limited on space with the intercooler. if i can find one that is the same dimensions and thickness with 3" inlet and outlets that would work great. I guess if it came down to it i could modify my current one.

[mongocanfly]

Nice!!...

[akdg87]

Motors been running good, up to about 10 PSI and its an animal. However my single 44mm wastegate isnt holding boost so i will be adding another one down on the crossover pipe. Id like to be able to set this turbo at 5 psi or so and have a decent range to play around with, plus tone it down for when my dad drives it.


For a while ive been wanting some tunes in the truck, however i wanted to keep everything hidden and simple. I dont listen to the local radio stations anymore and soley stream music through spotify.

I had the idea for a while of using a small ATV/Marine style 4 channel amplifier and a bluetooth reciever to connect to my phone. However i wasnt very pleased with the speaker bracket selection for the 55-59 trucks. And in my case i wanted it out of sight. Luckily another forum member who had reached out looking for a volunteer; bigblock73 has designed some bracket that fit in rear cab corners and hold a 6x9 speaker:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=776818

Obviously you would need a truck that doesnt currently use the factory fuel fill or gas tank location.

So i purchased:
JL MX280-4 Marine Amplifer
JL MBT-RX Bluetooth Adapter
Kenwood 6x9's
Misc Wiring/Connectors

I bridged the 4 channels to 2 channels and have it running the 6x9's plenty loud, initally i was worried about getting a tin can sound with the speakers but they sound fairly decent and the brackets bigblock73 supplied are plenty stout.

I think if i did this all again i would take the seat out, its not very fun drilling holes or trying to wire up a stereo while pinched between the seat and the cab while performing an acrobatic manuever. His brackets do require 4 very small holes to be drilled but are out of sight with the brackets installed.
Obviously my paint "match" looks way off because it doesnt account for 64 years of dirt/rust etc. I will get some pics of the amp tonight.

[mongocanfly]

cant wait for progress.....
how are the MT sr's holding up?

[akdg87]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

cant wait for progress.....
how are the MT sr's holding up?

They seemed to be really good, i need to work on my shock settings though theres about 20 different settings for compression and then another 20 for rebound.... Im thinking about switching to the radial version as i dont like how the bias ply drives on the street.

i attached a pic of the S475 and the new log manifold from huron. it did require modification to the motor mount support bracket, but was minimal in effort.

[akdg87]

Im really bad at taking progress pictures but heres the motor mostly done. its in the truck now. my least favorite part....running around finding all the little parts i need etc...

[slammed57]

Originally Posted by akdg87

Im really bad at taking progress pictures but heres the motor mostly done. its in the truck now. my least favorite part....running around finding all the little parts i need etc...

nice lookin motor!!!!

[Kim57]

Looks real good.
Kim

[akdg87]

idle clip.

turbo truck alaska - YouTube

[akdg87]

Ended up doing a few more modifications over the winter, added a larger turbo (80mm billet wheel), changed the muffler and got a restalled converter.

I ordered some custom offset rear wheels through wheel vintiques back in november-needless to say it was a nightmare and i just cancelled the order at the beginning of april. I ended up ordering the wheels through summit racing (via US wheel this time). 8"x12" rally with a 9.5" backspace. Not sure when they will be in..

Used a trailer fender (cut in half) and did minitub to the rear, after that was done i decided it was time to finally tackle the bed wood, i was sick of the plywood. So i purchased some trex and had a buddy with all the woodworking tools help plane it down, cut to width, then we routered the edges to fit 1.5" metal strips down between the boards. Turned out pretty good now i need to touch up the rest of the bed that sticks out like sore thumb

[akdg87]

Finally got my wheels, still dont advise buying from wheel vintiques.

We figured we would have to modify the brakes back to the factory drum for that year, well it didnt fit. (they are like 11-12" diameter) So we ended up robbing the backing plates and 10" drums from a 88-98 c1500, as well as cutting off the flanges that are welded onto the axle tubes (different bolt pattern). Mocked everything up to get the flanges welded in the right spot. (they were about 2" further in on each side).

Also got some new mickey thompsons ordered- Street SS 29x15R15. The comparison pic is them next to my 275/60r15 Nittos. Quite the difference.

Drove it and everything works fine, however not enough clamping force to build boost on the footbrake, so researching options there...

[akdg87]

I did finally take it to the track this fall, its a 6 hour drive away. The local dodge dealer does track rentals for all the mopar guys (picture like 50 variants of vehicles with hellcat motors). This was my first time ever at a drag strip, so i was cutting a R/T of like 2 seconds haha.

Couldn't really footbrake it without blowing through the brakes. The best i did was a 1.83 60', also had to turn down the 2-3 shift rpm to 5000 rpm because it would blow the tires off half track. Managed a best of 10.74 @ 128 MPH. Tech guy told my buddy i need a cage next time (i have one sitting in the shop for it).

Possibly going to go to a holley efi and see if i can get it build boost on the line, there's some pretty neat features in their software to assist with that. Id like to get a high 9 with it.