Fiat Coupe, Lexus V8 and a Mazda MX5
Discussion
I had it on the dyno after it was serviced and it made 218bhp at the wheels.
Had a few problems with the standalone turbo oil feed which I'm still ironing out so I've not had it back on the dyno, this size turbo and running the same 7psi should be somewhere between 320 and 350bhp.
I was running very low boost initially and was suitably impressed with the response despite 18ft of charge piping.
The turbo spools up really well. Only recently I've increased the boost as the 7 pound spring in the external wastegate was being pushed open by the exhaust pressure.
So a 1 bar spring now gets me 9psi, which is too high for the stock fuelling.
I'll post up some videos in it's own thread when I have some more time.
Had a few problems with the standalone turbo oil feed which I'm still ironing out so I've not had it back on the dyno, this size turbo and running the same 7psi should be somewhere between 320 and 350bhp.
I was running very low boost initially and was suitably impressed with the response despite 18ft of charge piping.
The turbo spools up really well. Only recently I've increased the boost as the 7 pound spring in the external wastegate was being pushed open by the exhaust pressure.
So a 1 bar spring now gets me 9psi, which is too high for the stock fuelling.
I'll post up some videos in it's own thread when I have some more time.
RoverP6B said:
Why rear mount other than because cool? Pretty sure there are LSs about with twins up front.
There is that, and people do. But, I couldn't fabricate manifolds at the time, often people sacrifice air con to get a turbo in and have to relocate the battery. Then they get excess heat problems.
The engine bays don't have a lot of free space.
At the time rear mounts were not so common, and I figured I'd be scrapping the shell within a year so I wasn't fussed about having the boot floor out.
With it running now, the engine bay looks pretty much stock, I don't have any hot running or excess engine bay heat.
The other good thing is that I can have it running N/A in ten mins if need be.
I made a link pipe so if the cheap turbo craps out I can be back on my way. Plus it sounds cool and is a great talking point when people are looking in the engine bay trying to figure out where the turbo is.
RoverP6B said:
Fair enough... so what are you doing with the Fiat now you've ditched the idea of using MX5 axles?
The front will use the Fiat set up, albeit some remodeling of the front crossmember, initially I just cut the middle out of the front subframe just so I could sit the engine and box in and work out what can fit where. Ive now got the engine sitting somewhere acceptable which means I'll not need to cut up the bottom. Of the subframe, just cut away the top part and build up the lower part.
Obviously then I have to use a different steering rack which sits low down and in front of the subframe.
Perhaps something like a Sierra or maybe BMW, just depends on the measurements yet.
I'll add more pics shortly.
As for the rear, I'm now figuring out some measurements from BMW E82 & Nissan 350z. I've preliminary ruled out the RX8 rear end due to concerns about the torque the diff can take.
So here's the first chop, I wasn't worried about making a mess of this as I have another one that will be the "proper" one
So here's the first chop, I wasn't worried about making a mess of this as I have another one that will be the "proper" one
Edited by Steve20vt on Thursday 18th June 18:35
Now that I butchered the front subframe, I was able to attack the firewall to make a start on the transmission tunnel so I could finally try the engine AND gearbox in the hole.
The first try was successful and I was quite pleased with the room I had available.
I think Nigel O had commented about interference with seat mountings but as you can see here the gearbox is still a fair distance I'm front of the seat mounting points.
I will have to "adjust" the crosmember for the tunnel, but I plan to reinforce the crossmember directly underneath.
These cars are not the most rigid in standard form and with the subframe chipped and a big chunk out of the firewall I was pleasantly surprised that so far without any extra bracing the doors still open and shut fine!!
Anyone who's jacked up one corner of a FIAT coupe will know that the door catches hit the striker differently!
When I'd taken the sound deadening out, I found the strengthening panels were not as secure as they could be. Twenty years of twisting forces had really taken their toll.
I'll stitch weld these when I've finished trimming and making the tunnel.
It's now getting to the point where I'll make some extra temporary bracing to hold the car together while I cut more of the shell up.
The first try was successful and I was quite pleased with the room I had available.
I think Nigel O had commented about interference with seat mountings but as you can see here the gearbox is still a fair distance I'm front of the seat mounting points.
I will have to "adjust" the crosmember for the tunnel, but I plan to reinforce the crossmember directly underneath.
These cars are not the most rigid in standard form and with the subframe chipped and a big chunk out of the firewall I was pleasantly surprised that so far without any extra bracing the doors still open and shut fine!!
Anyone who's jacked up one corner of a FIAT coupe will know that the door catches hit the striker differently!
When I'd taken the sound deadening out, I found the strengthening panels were not as secure as they could be. Twenty years of twisting forces had really taken their toll.
I'll stitch weld these when I've finished trimming and making the tunnel.
It's now getting to the point where I'll make some extra temporary bracing to hold the car together while I cut more of the shell up.
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