Turbo truck LS engine

[Rowdy Mclaughlin]

Rowdy Mclaughlin
we need a full parts list on this setup,i'm going ahead with it,just took in a donation of a built th400/stall,20 gal cell,chrome moly driveshaft,from a friends burnt up grand national,insurance paid him off and he got the car for 200.00,he donated parts to the cause,,any list would be great,part numbers,what ever you can do,,this is happening,,thanks
Charles

Very good, I cant recommend a turbo LQ4 or similar enough! This is the funnest car Ive ever had and Ive currently got a much bigger hp turbo 454 bbc car. The turbo has no lag, I got really lucky with the sizing, it is perfect for this engine. You roll along in any gear (th350 so only 3 gears) and at any rpm if you floor it you leave two black marks as long as you stay in it, smoke cloud behind you, but it is still accelerating like crazy. This car has 235 drag radials and 3.31 gear by the way. I drove around burning the tires off all weekend it is very addictive, the low rpm torque is insane. It idles like a stock pickup at 700rpm because it has the stock cam still! Even with the stock cam it made peak power at 5500rpm so it doesnt fall off up top.

These are the parts I used:
Flexplate and adapter..th350/400 convert to LS/LQ engine, GM part# 12621399 $60
http://www.crateenginedepot.com/store/L ... 399C0.aspx
Two right hand 03 truck exhaust manifolds $50
BW turbo S400 75mm compressor, 83mm turbine, T4 1.10 turbine housing $800 new
Edelbrock carbed intake 29087 $270
I used GMPP single plane intake just becaues I got a nascar take off cheap, same thing
LS1 to sbc adapter plates...mounts an LS1 same as a gen 1 sbc $55
transdapt #4572 http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TRD-4572/
Blow through carb hat Extreme velocity o-ringed $215
http://www.superiorairflow.com/carb-hat ... b-hat.html
MSD 6010 <---controls ignition, no distirubtor needed $310
Holley 4150 750 HP carb (any double pumper with 750hp main body will do) $500 new or around $300 ebay + new main body
carb mods like on hangar18 (http://www.hangar18fabrication.com/blowthru.html) $100 at most, buy a complete holley jet kit
this is where the tuning comes in, lots of trial and error pays off, not that hard to do
AEM UEGO wideband AFR meter <--absolute must have AFR meter of some type $200
LQ4 engine, 99k miles I think, junkyard $750
2.25 tubing for the crossover pipe, 4" downpipe into single 3.5" pipe and two mufflers(Dynomax bullet and Dynomax ultra flo welded), you dont need a big exhaust for only 500-600whp.

Fuel pump and regulator are personal preference. Aeromotive 13202 regulator and A1000 pump are very popular for blow through, will support alot more hp than this setup will give. Kind of overkill. My car came with that regulator with an Prostar 500 pump, way way overkill, and LOUD. For cheap but good, and right on the line but should support this, a single Walbro GSL392 and Mallory 4309 regulator for much less cost will support a little over 500whp, this is what I would do if I didnt already have the Prostar.

BOV and wastegate are also personal preference. Some of the chinese stuff on ebay works really good, neither the bov or wg are very complicated, but some people prefer American made name brand stuff since this stuff malfunctioning can blow your stuff up. I am on the line, Ive had luck with both, a JGS 400 would be a good single wg for this setup and is a fairly priced American made wg. I run two 38s, which are overkill.

You'll get ALOT of turbo advice from people who have no experience doing any of this, and alot of it is good and alot of it is garbage, so take it all with a grain of salt, this is the internet, soooooooo............and dont take my setup as me saying its the only way or best way, there are a million ways to do this and Im not a professional!!! Ive only built two carbed turbo setups on my cars (454 bbc and this LQ4) and have a turbo bike I bought already done.

Sorry for the possibly overly long post. I appreciate your interest, you'll be suprised at the lack of interest for the insanity this setup provides for the super low amount of money if you do it. You convert your car to run as hard as a Buggati Veyron in a straight line for under $3000 and not many people have any interest even at the track, but it sure is satisifying to yourself if this is your thing. BEST THING EVER

[Rowdy Mclaughlin]

if you put any more boost to it , you better get some studs in it for the heads , or youll start lifting them

Ive seen that said a few times too, it will be interesting to see what the effects are. My motorcycle does it and all it does is pressurize the coolant, Im going to have to keep an eye on the overflow bottle. So far at 14psi on the street giving it hell beating on it alot, no problems. Amazing the abuse these stock engines will take as long as you dont detonate them.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words and interest.

[stage169]

Are you using E85 or pump gas? I'm bench building at home

[72 SS PNL]

yeah the stock pistons HATE knock with a passion

correct youll get a pressurized coolant system , and some seepage from the heads , it will gradually get worse

having a couple LS motors myself they are alot of fun !!! my neighbors old truck ran 11.2@125 on low boost with a turbo 403 , not bad for a 1/2t 4wd xcab truck , it dyno'd north of 700whp

[2lucke4u]

Rowdy Mclaughlin
thanks a bunch for the info,can't decide which car to do the conversion on,80 monza or my 68 firebird 400,either way ,,,one of them getting a turbo'd ls motor crammed into the engine bay,let you know when the project starts,starting gathering/watching parts for the swap,,
Charles

[megavega]

Thats badazz, nice job!!

[2lucke4u]

Rowdy Mclaughlin
still looking for that turbo,can't seem to find the same one you used,not all s400 are the same,,or are they,,
Charles

[stage169]

Charles, I don't know how much you have looked into turbo chargers but for any one turbo the options are quite a few. Check this link out http://www.agpturbo.com/product.php?pro ... t=0&page=1 You will probably find a better price but this is just an example. Brian

[Rowdy Mclaughlin]

Hi sorry for the late replies.

It is currently a mix of 50% e85 and 50% 91 octane gasoline. I am going to put another carb I have on and run gasoline next year, e85 is too hard to get around here. I'll run 2 degrees less timing and it will be fine.

Here is the turbo

http://www.forcedinductions.com/productsborgwarner.htm
S400-75 ETT* 950 1.10 83mm T6 and T4 $599 Add $199 for a T4 turbine housing, so it comes out to $798


There are a million different S400 configurations! I think this configuration must be used on some stock big rig since it is so cheap. The key to it spooling so fast is that 83mm turbine wheel, the standard S400 so many people have used is the same one except is has a relatively large 96mm turbine wheel.

[2lucke4u]

Rowdy Mclaughlin
thanks on the turbo info,,found it,with the msd box do you also use the original wireing harness and computer?,do you have some insight on baseline jetting sizes on the carb,thats the next purchase,any sugestions would be great,also found a bunch of different alt brackets,did you use the single piece that looks a little like a T or is it a big shroud looking thing,sorry to keep bugging you but I am very serious about the swap and want to buy the correct parts the first time,thanks again,,

how are you doing on the rear end thing,are you looking to go posi or spool,bolt in with stock brackets and mounting location or custom mounted,I've done two and 2k is no problem,its just a lot of running around and ordering the right parts,first hint,find a truck nine inch on craigslist locally as a starting point as they have nice clean tubes to work with,most are geared right and are posi,last two i bought were 3.70 and 3.50 paid 150.00 and 200.00,,I'm on the hunt for one now to put in the firebird
Charles

[Rowdy Mclaughlin]

With the MSD box you dont use any of the original computer or harness. The MSD box has its own harness that plugs into the cam sensor, crank sensor and coil packs, its really nice. The alternator bracket is the LS2 Corvette bracket, its the big one that holds the power steering pump and power steering res. I dont use power steering though. I got the LS2 Corvette water pump too, it is exaclty an LS2 Corvette setup minus the power steering, the belt I found that worked is Dayco 5060755, took a few tries to get it right as usual! Look up "LS Corvette Engine" on google and you'll see the setup, thats the picture I went off of when looking for the bracket. I think the LS1 and LS6 Corvettes use the same bracket. Search for "Corvette alternator bracket" on fleabay and you'll see it for about $90. If you watch on there you can find a new one for $75 sometimes, but $90 isnt the end of the world. You can get a new Dorman harmonic balancer cheap from advanced auto online site. I try to buy most my stock parts from there they ship really fast, Ive had lousy luck with autozone online. I think my gasoline carb is jetted at 72/80 for this setup, I'll have to take the bowls off and check. Make sure to get an AFR meter!!!

I bought a bolt in Dana 44 from a fellow on here, the check just arrived to him yesterday so hopefully I'll get that rear soon. I bought an 8.8 out of an Explorer to put in the car, but with narrowing, new axles, then fabbing up a torque arm mount I was kind of stalled. How do you put the torque arm mount on the rears you do?

[2lucke4u]

Rowdy Mclaughlin
thanks for all the info,will be waiting to see some pictures of the motor mount setup and downpipe/exhaust,should have all the parts together by the 1st of the year,,

used comp engineering camaro/firebird bracket on the last two,if i need one now i will fab it myself as 249.00 buys a lot of mistakes in making my own,,


Update,,,bought 2005 6.0 with 97k for 500.00 full dress,,I am pumped,,,,
charles

[Rowdy Mclaughlin]

How did you get a 6.0 for $500?! That is cheap especially now, the prices seem to have gone up around me since I got this one. That is a steal, I have been looking for another one.

Here are a few pics of the exhaust and turbo flange. The turbo weight is supported by the exhaust manfold. It is hideous but it works.

[2lucke4u]

Rowdy
the pictures are great,,I'm finding some piece of mind here,,i can do it,,,bought the engine from a family owned salvage yard,pd cash no reciept business to business deal,has a cracked intake manifold but i can't find the crack in it,going aluminum anyway,,looking at using E85 on this job as its available all around here and will run super cool,,gathering parts,did you buy that crossover pipe or have it bent local,thanks
Charles

[Rowdy Mclaughlin]

Its really easy, just have to break the project into pieces and not get overwhelmed, its done before you know it.

For the exhaust I used this
http://www.mandrel-bends.com/catalog/builder-kits-33/pro-builder-kits-46/2-25-od-3-00-radius-16-gauge-aluminized-pro-bk-1000.html

Columbia River Mandrel Bends there has a ton of different kits to choose from. You just hack and cut and fit and weld and do it over and over until it fits correctly!

If you can get E85 locally then definitely go for it, it is SOOOOOOOOO great if it is available. Just remember you needs a big fuel pump because you have to flow more volume. I dont think a single Walbro GSL392 is enough for E85 and 500whp or more, but its worth getting a bigger pump to be able to run it. I think an A1000 a good step up. I have a Prostar 500, but it is really loud, I dont recommend it.