Greg,
I don't have any pictures of my current project yet
but thought you might get a chuckle out of the inclosed. I had to
scan them on another computer, thus the strange name and address.
In 1971 I lived in Indiana and was racing 6 cylinder dirt track cars.
I had been reading about turbos in Hot Rod and ran across a guy who had
built a complete draw-thru system for a 292 Chevy six. His tech guys
had figured out what it was so he had to remove it. I bought the
whole thing for $50.
By 1973 I was living in Louisiana and built the 6-cylinder
modified (picture enclosed). After I had built my usual racing engine,
I decided to hang my turbo system on the side. The engine picture
was taken the day I first fired it. The next picture was taken after
it was painted and I was on my way to its first race.
I raced 3 times and had 3 blown head gaskets.
I then removed it in disgust and did not try it again until 1988 when I
put it on my current project, which at the time was a completely stock
54 Chev pickup with a 235. I learned two lessons from the installation
on the dirt car. First, it did not like high compression. Second,
it did not like a racing cam. The carb is a Holley 500 CFM 2-bbl, which
I was running on the car without the turbo. I since found that my
650 2-bbl was not too much for the stock 235. The engine was
a 250 Chev, by the way. You prabably can't see from the engine picture,
but I had a copper tube coiled around the intake pipe through which I pumped
ice water.(Early intercooler?) I also had a cool can in which I packed
ice. Two more lessons--ice lasts about 2 minutes on a hot, muggy
Louisiana night. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my folly.
Roland
Greg,
You may remember that I wrote to you about my turbo 235 Chev six
project. I am going to send you several pictures-- not for your
web site
but just for your amusement. I inverted the intake/exhaust manifold
combination and mounted my turbo directly on the exhaust flange,
which now
faces up. I thought it would be an advantage from the standpoint
of
minimum heat loss. I made my airbox out of a Hamilton Beach mixing
bowl(stainless steel) that is the perfect size to weld to my air
cleaner
base for mounting on my carburetor. I have welded on a pipe and
fitted a
radiator cap(13 lbs) to act as a blow off valve. I am now rigging
a bypass
valve that will divert some compressed air back to the air cleaner
when I
go from high boost to high vacuum. I think I may have a problem
with my
carb mount in that the mixture must make a u-turn since the outlet
flange
now faces downward. I am afraid that I will get some fuel puddling
at the
bottom of the u. If that does turn out to be a problem, I am going
to cut
a hole in the side of the manifold for the intake so no u-turn is
required.
I think the big advantage over the blow-thru system and my old draw
system
(which is a hell of a lot simpler) is the ability to use an intercooler.
I
am mounting a Buick Grand National intercooler right in front of
the
radiator. I am not sure how much I am going to have to trim the
back of
the grille for this. I am not too worried since my background is
in
building modified stock cars not street rods. The credo for those
guys is
take a torch to it if it doesn't fit! Anyway, I thought I would
send you a
bit of an update on my project since you were so kind to share yours.
I am
currently concentrating on modifying my carburetor and fuel delivery
system. Gotta go--take care.
Roland
Greg,
Several months ago I told you I would send some pictures of my '54 Chevy while being changed from a draw-thru to a blow-thru. Everything is taking much longer than expected, which, of course, is how it always goes. I am now using a Porsche 930 turbo and an intercooler from a Buick Grand National. The manifolds are mounted upside down with the turbo mounted directly on the exhaust manifold with a bolt on adapter. The carb bonnet is a Hamilton Beach mixing bowl sitting on a Holley 650 high performance 2 barrel. The short block is high mileage, stone stock. The head is ported with oversize intake and exhaust valves. I have a Holley blue fuel pump and a Holley high pressure fuel pressure regulator. I have a homemade water and alcohol injector (dribbler)--that's the blue tank on the fender panel. It also has a homemade mister aimed at the intercooler to increase heat transfer under boost. I also installed an HEI ignition from a late model Chevy 250. That's about it. How will it run? I have no clue. I was extremely pleased with my draw-thru so I am anxious to compare the two. In closing, I wanted to tell you again how much I have enjoyed your web site.
Best wishes,
Roland Pictures: 1 2 3 4Hello Greg, Great web site! Good information. I too, have gotten bite by the "Dick Datson" bug. Dick makes a very persuasive case for Turing "old" engines. My project is a GEN 1 Rambler V-8, have picked 5 engines & 3 vehicles with Gen 1 engines. I too intend to use Chrysler turbo's, have pulled several for the local pick-a-part. It's nice to see you progressing with your Stude. Good luck.Rodney
JUST GOT MY FIRST STUDE AND WAS LOOKING THRU SITES FOR IDEAS THAT DID NOT TAKE A BANKER TO FINANCE. I LIKE THE APPROACH YOU HAVE TAKEN,ITS IS SIMILAR TO WHAT I LIKED TO DO IN THE 60'S. MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF PARTS THAT YOU HAVE LAYING AROUND OR VAN BUY CHEAP FROM A SALVAGE YARD. I QUIT WORKING ON CARS25 YEARS AGO, BUT HAVE CAUGHT THE BUG AGAIN. I ALSO NOTICED THAT YOU HAVE A 53. ME TOO. I BOUGHT MINE BY ACCIDENT, I WENT TO BUY A CORVAIR AND THA GUY HAD A 53 COMMANDER COUPE. I DRUG BOTH HOME. THE STUDE HAS A NAILHEAD BUICK AND DYNAFLOW, BUT A FRIEND HAS A CADDY ENGINE AND TRANS. MY CAR WAS A 6VOLTPOS GROUND BUT THE BUICK IS A 12V NEG. THE CAR HAS 2 6V BATTERIES AND SOME TYPE OF WIERD(TO ME) WIRING. CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU HAD TO DO ON YOUR 53 TO CONVERT IT TO 12V NEG GROUND? GAUGES, BLOWER MOTOR, RADIO,, WIPERS, ETC. IS YOUR 53 A STICK SHIFT? IS YOUR TURBO BURNING RUBBER YET? A FRIEND OF MINE IS TRYING TO CONVINCE ME TO PUT A 6 IN MY 53, AS HE IS TIRED OF SMALL BLOCKJUNK TOO. KEN
Greg,
Read your aticle and have picked up three turbo units from the junk
yards. I have a 185 6 cyl, 1956 Flight Hawk with the T-96 and OD.
Will
try and duplicate your efforts. What do you suggest on the trans.
I have
failing synchos. Should I replace them or can I switch to
a T-86. Any
idea if that tranny will even mate up or work with the engine? What
are
your thoughts on getting the #23 axle out and putting in a #27?
Have you driven your Stude yet? Drop me a line and I'll keep reading
up
on these things. Will be working this weekend, but available during
the
week. I currently own a 37 Business Coupe, a 1963 GT with 4 bbl,
4 speed
and full dash, and a 1963 Super Hawk(R2). My daughter has the FH
and it
can not get out of its own way(suspect a worn clutch), as it has
a 4.56
rear.
Dave
Hello Greg, Have been looking at your web page and must say
that you have done a good job. At the time I have a 1950 2
dr coupe Studebaker sitting in the shop and waiting to get the time to
get it on the road as another street rod , I'm 62 yrs old but I dont let
that hold me back. I have done many many street rods from cars to trucks
. here is a pic of my Stude that I havebought about a yr ago.
Keep up the good work my friend Larry here in Fla 
Love
your site, cool car. also have some weird stuff. I drove a 51 Stude Pickup
from 1979 to 1991. Wore out the Flathead and two small block
Fords. Tore it down to rebuild it, then built wife's 48 Chevy
and got orders for England. Still have the truck in basket case form.
Finally building a garage at my new house here in Colorado. Threw
together a 48 Nash 600 4 door in a few weeks for the Rocky Mtn Street Rod
Nats. Flathead with glass pack. Had fun watching
people say "what is that?" -- "I don't know". Blue car provided engine
for copper car. Quick and dirty paint job, 97 Chrysler
Malibu yellow with flattener. Looks like Tweety Bird yellow
primer. If I end up keeping the car (and parts car) I'm thinking
about an 8" rear, Mustang II IFS, some late model 4 speed (or 3 speed)
and a bored, ported, relieved Nash flathead. You might want
to use some of that high temp coating on piston tops, head, and exhaust
ports. Might even use the second engine for a T-bucket.
MJW
- Truck.jpg
- nashfrnt.jpg
- Greg,
Thanks a ton for sending me the link to your website! I think
it's great that
you're building up a Stude. I've got a part time job working as
a parts guy at
Checker Auto (to pay bills while going to college) and all too often
I hear,
"I've built the FASTEST smallblock Chevy! Got about $8000 in the
engine
alone!" and then it turns out to be some clapped out Camaro with
chrome valve
covers ) I've got an '84 AMC Eagle as a daily driver, which will
probably get
a turbo as soon as I can rustle up some $, and a '74 Javelin AMX
as a toy. I
love seeing Chevy and Ford guys jaws drop when the Javelin starts
up. I've
done my research on AMCs and put the $ into where it pays off most.
My
ultimate goal is to build up one of the two 401s I've got with a
dual carb,
twin turbo, nitrous setup. Mind you, this is WAY down the road,
but hey a guy
can dream can't he?) Once again Greg, thanks much I really appreciate
you
responding. If I'm ever down around that way I'll drop you a line.
Nathan
SalStude
Greg, You and I must have been separated at birth. I also have a
flat 6 turbo
in my driveway. Mine is in a 54 Cpe. If you are interested, I can
send
photos. I did mine a little different than you, but the concept
is the same.
I have had mine on the road a couple of times to work out the bugs,
but have
no performance data yet. So far, its building about 14 lbs of boost
at 4000
rpms, and the power increase is quite noticeable. At the time we
were running
through a 2.75 rear end, so now that it has a 3.25, it should be
much better.
Anyway, Dick published some photos of my intake and exhaust manifolds
some
time ago. Unfortunately, the project go shelved for quite a while
as I
started a new business. Now, its back on track and undergoing some
changes,
like, pressure box, internal regulator, higher pressure fuel pump,
etc. Let
me know if you would like to share info. Yours looks great. I am
already
jealous of your work space. I get a 10 x 5 foot space in the garage.
Good
luck on all you're doing. Sal
Greg, Sorry I cant help you with the solenoid problem. To be honest
with you,
my project is pretty much a slam bam kinda job. I am not concerning
myself
too much with looks right now. I am trying to just get the beast
on the road
to see how viable the turbo package is. I figure it should run pretty
well,
but you never know. When I had it on the road last time, it would
build boost
to 12 psi, but would run out of power due to lack of fuel. The first
turbo I
had on there was like the one you're using, from a Dodge 2.2. (
or 2.5 ),
whatever. Anyway, it only produced 5-6 psi at 4000 rpms. But I think
it was
partly due to the turbo being a little "lazy". It didnt have quite
the free
spinning ability of the one I have now. Also, the turbo from the
Audi 5000
has the same size exhaust side with a slightly smaller compressor
side. That
seems to as much responsible for the increase in boost as the "newer"
nature
of the Audi. At any rate, it will hopefully be put back together
in the next
couple weeks. When I get some data and a seat of the pants report,
I'll give
you a full update. I'm thinking of taking it to the drag strip to
see exactly
what sort of times it will do in the 1/8 th and 1/4 mile. That is
where I'll
learn more than anything, I think. And if it blows up, then I will
have lost
some time, but only about $2-300 in investment. Not bad for all
the fun its
been. I still get a kick out of telling people what I'm doing with
the car.
The shocked look on their faces is always worth it. Sounds like
youve been
getting the same sort of responses as I have. Its fun, eh? I love
to tweak
the purists. Its also fun to imagine how much power potential there
is in
package. If it does work as we hope....We may put Cathcart out of
business.
LOL My opinion on the OD is to leave it for later. You wont
need it till you
know if you can drive it that fast anyway. You will certainly have
some bugs
to work out of the system as you go along, so anything you can do
to expedite
the first drive, the better. That is going to be the best indicator
of what
needs to be done versus what you want done. Then you can make a
punch list of
fine tuning the subsystems till you get the desired results. Remember,
my
opinion is worth what you paid for it......nothing. Good luck on
the work, I
hope it goes well and smoothly for you. I'll be happy to pass on
any
successes or failures to you. Anything to save a step. More later,
Sal
The flat 6 turbo lives again. This is a Stude 169 cu in flat head
6
with an Audi 5000 turbo mounted directly to the exhaust manifold.
Some recent changes to the car are: a pressure box for the carb,
holley blue fuel pump, Hurst shifter for the 3 spd trans,fuel
pressure gage and boost gage. A pressure box holds the AFB carb
and
the fuel pressure regulator. This was done to test the regulator
in
the box. It works well. The pump is preset to 19 lbs and the
regulator is preset to 6 lbs. With the regulator in the box fuel
is
always delivered 6 lbs above whatever pressure is in the box. Boost
comes on at about 2000 rpms, builds quickly to 4 lbs and climbs
steadily to 12 lbs at 4500 rpms. The engine felt as though it could
keep the power building, but the engine was a freebie and its
condition is unknown, so.....we took it easy. Only 75 mph for this
trip. Next time were going to go to 5500 rpms and maybe try 6000.
I
only hope the clutch can handle it. The Hurst shifter was a great
blessing. The last time it had a junk shifter and we lost all the
rpms (and power) between shifts. Not today!!! Great drive. Still
has
a few glitches to work out. Fast idle for one. Were chasing down
a
vacuum leak. Also, the clutch linkage needs a little fix. Nothing
big
though. It feels like a small V8 power wise, but the power comes
on
at the higher end instead of the low end as the Studie V8s do. More
later as things progress. Oh, by the way, total price for the project
so far...$185. Good fun for cheap, eh? Sal
- Greg,
The AFB is a standard Carter variety 4 bbl. I plugged all the
vent holes per
a worksheet I got from Dick Datson. It still has the original brass
floats
and so far they have not collapsed.
The regulator came with the blue Holley pump. I put it in the box
just cuz I
wanted to see how it would work. It did great. the pressure goes
up with the
boost just as it should. No more fuel starving at the high end.
As Ted said,
it would work just as well, if not better if you pressurized it
with out a
box.
I am not using vacuum advance. I just set the timing advanced a
bit, ( I did
not measure ) just by advancing the timing as far as I thought it
would take
it while idleing at 2500 rpms. Seems to work OK for now.
By the way, the box is just a wood box with a plywood lid that I
threw
together just to see if it would work. I will probably switch back
to a
bonnet in the next week or so. the box is a pain in the neck.
It makes good power even past the 5500 rpm mark. The next change
is to get
smaller gears in the rear end. I have 3.25s in there now and its
just too
stinkin tall. Bogs in first. I am looking for a 4.11 or 4.56 for
a Ford 9". I
think that will be ideal. These little 6s need all the gear they
can get to
get off the line. After that it would take off on the turbo.
More later...Sal
- Greg, How ya doin? I finally got my turbo back on the road. Wow, what a
difference. Now using the Audi 5000 turbo and it made a big improvement
in
the spool up. Now power comes on at about 2000 rpms and builds to
12 lbs at
4500. Power keeps coming, but the engine was a freebie and I dont
know the
condition. Also, I got a Hurst shifter installed and that also made
a big
difference. I used to lose the boost and the power between shifts,
cuz the
shift was so slow. Not anymore. Also I'm now using the Holley blue
fuel pump
so Im not starving for fuel anymore. The power is great to 75 mph.
Thats as
fast as I wanted to go for the first try. We're still working out
a couple of
glitches, tho. High idle for one. We have a vacuum leak somewhere.
Also, the
clutch linkage needs to be radically adjusted. The shaft keeps slipping
out
of the socket. No, I'm not getting personal. Anyway, I haven't seen
any new
info on your little project, so I thought I would send some of my
news. Sal
- Flathead 6 turbo...good-bye for now (from the Blowthru list)
We took the 169 inch flathead 6 turbo out for one more run before
we
pulled it out of the 54 Coupe. We ran it up to 110 mph and outran
my
son's Chevy S-10 which has a 350 in it. That was satisfying. The
whole project was done just for the fun of it while the car was
in
hibernation anyway, so we had the fun we wanted. We never planned
to
run it with the 6 for long. (Even tho the turbo's been in there
for
over 3 years now.) But now work is finally giving me time to play
with the car a bit more now. The turbo 6 really gave me time to
work
out fuel systems and carb sealing, and besides, we found out that
a
little 169 flat 6 of 1939 design and a whopping $250 of used turbo
and hardware store parts will make an old motor go pretty well.
Too
bad the little clutch wasn't just a bit stronger. It sorta gave
up
the ghost in the last outing. I guess it wasn't intended to handle
6000 rpms under 15# of boost, eh? Oh, well, the 232 will have a
10
1/2 inch hi-perf clutch, 1/2 inch fuel line, fuel cell, new carb,
and
we decided to break the bank and spend $25 MORE dollars on all new
plumbing for the turbo. We will spare no expense to make this turbo
run the doors off its competitors, even if we have to spend 50
dollars. Thanks, Dick for all the help and support through the years.
We could not have done any of it without your work on the
newsletters. Sal
- Greg,
Thanks for the note on the passing (maybe more later?) of the
flat 6 turbo.
It sure was fun while it lasted. I will try to get some photos together
and
send them to you. The 6 is already out of the car. I will take some
shots of
the engine and turbo setup before we dismantle it.
We took the low-buck approach to the car. No wastegate, no blow-off,
no
pressure regulation of any kind. Mine didn't even have a flapper
valve. The
turbo blew into the carb and we watched the pressure gage and the
tach at the
same time, sort of. Sometimes it was all we could do to just watch
the road.
110 mph is pretty fast while we're wondering about whether the clutch
is
going to blow up at any time... Great fun, eh? I am thinking about
the
possibility of running a much lightened Lark with the turbo 6 in
it someday.
If I could get the car down to 2500 lbs, that would be a gas. It
would really
need 4:11 gears minimum to make it launch tho.
Have you had yours out on the road lately? How does it run? I would
be glad
to hear about it, or share any of my vast turbo knowledge with you,
LOL.
Later, Sal
- Greg,
Welcome Greg. You're doing a great job getting the word out on
your little
Stude 6. I've seen a real leap in interest in turbocharging little
inline
sixes of all kinds in recent months and I hope this continues. Who
knows,
maybe we'll see an old turbo six running in SCCA or Rallying, etc.
Keep us
updated on your progress. Dick
I'm relieved that the oil pressure thing has gone well. This has
to be the
only real weakness of the engine. I'm old enough to remember when
the small
main bearing flatheads raced in midgets. In fact, the first real
car race I
ever saw was a midget race with a Stude Champion running against
the popular
Ford 60's. Even in 1948 they were turning 7000 -- because they bragged
about
it! So we know it can go -- its just keeping it together that's
the question.
You're off to a good start -- looking forward to a long, successful
drive.
Dick
- Greg,
Took a few pictures of your site. Great site and very informative.
Only
problem I see--your carbusretor is only half the size it should
be. No
problem for everyday driving but if you ever get the urge to run
Bonneville
you should plan on at least a 400 cfm 4bbl. (No, I'm not kidding).
Using
Ted's car as a gauge, do you realize that you should have about
600cfm. (More
than half of the 1200 cfm Ted uses on 300 cu.in.) Actually
a 350 Holley 2bbl
would probably be easy to fit your manifold.
I'll have to cut the dark background from the pictures of your complete
turbo
and manifold setup. If you ever get a chance, send me a nice photo
I can use
for a cover. You can just take it off your own site-- you surely
have a
quality color printer. I use black and white for the dozens of things
I print
daily -- mostly print, so quality isn't that good at my end. You've
got great
photos though.
Dick
I found your site and really enjoyed it! I plan on adapting a turbo to my T Cab when I get it back together. I am in the process of re-assembling it now. It was a basket case when I purchased it, so it has been a slow go. Thanks, Kerry
Greg
My name is Bill in Carlisle Pa. and I just found
your web site last
night and it
blew my mine. I am a 50+ year old, junk yard hot rodder who is the
proud
owner of a
1949 star light coupe. I bought the Stude cp after I sold my 1947
Ford
business cp that I built over 10 yrs in my back yard. I have been
torn
between keeping it stock or
modifying it.Your turbo idea sound like the cats ass. As I like
your self,
like to be different and to screw with peoples minds. I did build
my ford
with chevy running gear
only because it was the cheapest way to go,but I ketp the stock
front end and
put on
disc breaks. I also added power steering by using a chevy 605 box
and
inverted the
pitman arm, and if you read all the hot rod books this was not possable
unless I sent
the arm to Ca. to have it bent a special way. So if you don't know
any better
you just
make things work.
Now for my questions
(1st) what year mustang II rear did you use and
did it bolt
right to the studes springs or were they the mustangs springs?
(2) My car is 6 volt positive ground, what do I have
to do to change to 12
volt neg ground and what about the amp gage, gas gage, and fan motors?
(3)On your turbo setup do you need a computer for the
oxygen sensors and
if not
how do you control them?
I am waiting to hear the answers to the question
you asked. about
carburetor etc.
also where did you get the premium valves and springs? There is
so much I
want to
ask you when you prove things out and I am working on a shoe string
budet.
Because when I turned 50 I was out of a job and now trying to start
over
again at a lot
less pay, but that my problem. But if you can help out with common
sense
building
I would be greatly appreciated because all the magazines do is cater
to the
BIG BUCKS GUYS.
Thanks Bill
Greg, 2/7/01
Glad I found your site for a couple
of reasons. I'm an old hot rodder whose
been playing with forced induction
for 25 years. Good to see you progress on
the flatty turbo. I started out doing
turbo installs and later played with
both centrifugal and roots type superchargers.
About a dozen years ago I bought my
first Caddy 500 and shoehorned it and a
GM 425 Turbo Hydro into a downsized
Toronado. That was my daily driver for
many years. Now on to the current
project -- the one where I need your help.
I've put some money down on a 1950
Four door Studebaker. The original six
is still in place but my measuring
stick says the Caddy 500 will fit. First
question: Do you agree? Secondly,
what is the weight of the stock engine and
what is the weight of a stock version
of the Studebaker?
Looking for somebody who knows both
the engine and the car. You seem to be
the man.
Thanks in advance,
Darius
Thanks for the prompt reply.
I can understand having too many projects
and not having too much time. That
Turbo-Stude sounds like my kind of
project. I started out in the 70's doing
Corvair powered dune buggies and
street cars. I ran a max of 22lbs of boost
on the street. The engines held up
extremely well considering that the first
ones I modified were running stock
cast pistons. Forged pistons got the
chance later. The problem was with
engine cooling, which on an air cooled
engine is marginal to begin with.
Had some fun with GM straight six-292s
and your typical small blocks. Played
with some Mopar small blocks as well.
Anyway, it was all good. It sure is
easy to get addicted to that push
in the back which seems to never end. LOVE
THE RUSH!
Thanks for the numbers on the Caddy
500. The one I built and put into the
mid-sized Toronado was a 30-over
bore, with a custom cam giving about .520
@.050 and 228 degrees on the intake
and 230 on the exhaust. On the bench the
intake flowed really well with mild
pocket porting but the exhaust side
didn't wake up until going to a larger
valve. I ran a stock Q-Jet, on a
stock intake, with stock exhausts.
That somewhat limited the benefits of the
head work.
I am rebuilding that engine with a
different cam, Sanderson headers,
Edelbrock intake and aftermarket
FUEL INJECTION. I do have a stock Cadillac
F.I. for the 500 but it is under-slung,
just like the standard carb
manifolds. Not sure if I'll freshen
the same late-model, large-chamber heads
or have a set of the early heads
done. It depends on the compression ratio
available with a set of custom forged
pistons. I do want more squeeze.
I am grateful for the information
you provided but am still wondering about
the weight of the Studebaker Flat
Six, and of the Champion. Do you have any
number?
As far as suspension and brakes go,
the stock units, front and rear, will be
replaced. Trying to get an idea of
weight to determine if the package is
sufficiently "light" to allow the
additional weight of an all-wheel drive out
of an Astro/Safari van. I too am
comcered about hooking up.
By the way, my business involves a
new supercharger with a unique design.
Maybe after you get the Stude sorted
out you might was to become a beta
tester?
Darius
Love that low weight number. It leave
me room to work. I'll call on the
engine weights. Thanks for the help
and yes, feel free to post it cause I
probably qualify as a nut.
Darius
Greg,
I was looking at what you're doing with the intake manifold and it looks very interesting. I am fairly familiar with this type of setup through my job. I am contracted to Ford SVT and we have used various designs of this in most of our cars. However it has been my experience that with forced induction a runner configuration like that is not necessary. With a turbo or supercharger the boost makes up for the lost torque at the low end assuming it spools up quickly. Let me give some examples:1996-1998 Cobra 4.6l motor had what we call intake manifold runner control (imrc). This was a plate that uncovered the second runner to each port. The primary runner was short and improved low end torque then at about 3500rpm the second would open and give you a little kick in the pants. In '99 team Mustang engineered that out and went to larger intake ports with a completely different manifold the result was that the car picked up peak horsepower and torque but lost the midrange surge. The car felt like it had no torque. However tuners are getting much better power numbers with blowers on the '99's than any previous year. As for boost our lightning has 300lbs/ft of torque at 1000rpm. That's plenty of low end without any special intake. In another exaple we have developed a new type of variable length runner that is a true variable length runner for the upcoming svt focus. It is similar to what you're doing and it creates a very flat torque curve through its tuning. This is a 4 banger that gets 85% of its torque at 2200rpm and continues to pull to 7000. This is because of the variable runner length. It works great and really makes the car feel faster than it is. However if it had a turbo I doubt we'd do that. Well I don't mean to discourage your manifold design but I'm not sure it's ideal for the turbo. I'd sooner tune the motor with a smaller turbo. Sticking with the variable runner length I might design a manifold for the inline motor that had two runners to each port and make one shorter than the other with the longer one having a butterfly. It would be pretty easy (easier said than done huh)to do this with steel tubing. I can think of some possibilities for sure. Well I wish you luck and if you want to bounce any ideas I'd be happy to converse to the best of my ability. For the record I'm not an engineer though I am pretty technical and I work with engineers on all this stuff. Take care,-Jesse
I'm sure you get plenty of e-mail from all over, so you probably don't remember me. I e-mailed you a couple of times and played (unsuccessful) phone tag with you. I'm the guy in Lakeville building a 51 Stude with the original champ engine. I just wanted to say the photos of the car look great. I didn't get a chance to see you at Back to the 50's because I got called out of bed Sat night for work and couldn't drag my butt out of bed on Sunday to make the show. I guess I should have gone earlier in the week instead of waiting till the swap meet. Oh well. Just wanted to say that the pics look great and I look forward to seeing you and turbo Stude at Red Wing. PS. A buddy of mine talked your ear off at Back to the 50s, then came back and told me all about your car. Pretty good considering he is a die hard Chev fan. Keep up the good work.Dan
Rick M sends kudos and describes his very hot 53' Lincoln
Dear Greg, I found your site today and quickly scanned it with great interest, as I recently bought a project car from the McDonald auction in Yakima, Wa. Picked up a virtually rust-free (as far as Studebakers go) little 59 lark 2 door sedan with a champ 6 in it, and pretty much decided to put the body on a stude v-8 frame, so as to go faster; and then your article came out of the computer and bit me....looks like this turbo idea would be a lot more fun, not to mention confounding the "me too! me too! "350/350 boys... I'll read your article in its entirety to see how you did it- Thanks for the great idea-be talking to you soon, Larry
I have occasionally looked on your site to see your progress on the turbo project. I was to the back to the 50's last year but did not see your car. Didn't go this year as I have been too busy trying to get my '53 hardtop painted... I am planning to have my project in a unfinished state at redwing so we could "gross out" the purists together, hehe. I have a 3.8 ford v6 in it (not yet running). Too bad its not the super coupe version... The rest of the car is going to be stock in appearance. I do have a interest in turbos as my winter beater is a rusty '85 t-bird turbo coupe. If I started over on my project or ever do another one, I might do something like you did and keep the flathead 6 in there. Maybe with EFI and a turbo, and a T5 or something...
Good site, thanks!
Jeff
Hi Greg: Enjoyed your
site and purest type hotrod ethics. It brought back fond memories
of the 1960's when my brother and I built up a 1950 Stude 2 door coupe
hot rod using the a Stude flathead six. Some of my memories of 35
years ago are a little fuzzy now but as I recall we used an engine from
a '58 Stude Scotsman station wagon because it had a little longer stroke
and a few more cubic inches. We installed an Offenhouser multiple carb.
manifold from Clifford research and development, 6=8, company. The
reground cam was a Weber. I think we used a 170 head because the
chambers were smaller but the premium gas back then was like aviation gas
and it was almost impossible to make anything ping on it. We changed
out the rear and went to a really low ratio with mag wheels, raised the
back end and installed a floor shift. We had a custom blue paint
job and a hood scoop installed to one side where the carbs were.
And yes, we cut a real hole thru the hood for the air intake under the
scoop. It used to give the stock '55, '56 and '57 alternate stock
brands which were as common back then as fly poop on paint a real run.Try
TRW or Sealed Power brand bearings. They are a little harder and
might hold up better. I think that is what we used but then they
might not make them for this old engine any more. Back then, parts
were real common. Make sure that your oil pump is right up to specs
and pumping max flow and pressure. Check the relief valve spring and maybe
increase it a little.I wish I had a pic to send you of that old car but
we sold it years ago.Happy Stude rodding: Norm
An incredible site! I absolutely
love the way you're putting this
together, low-buck, trial and error...just
my style! It's great that you
haven't been discouraged by those
that suggest the fast, expensive and
un-original way to do things. I will
check back often to see your trials
and tribulations! I'm
in the middle of a similar project, though much
simpler with easier to obtain components.
I'm building a 2.3 liter Ford
with blow-through turbo on my Mustang
II. I won't listen to the typical
response: "just buy a late model
2.3 with EFI already set-up with a turbo
and a computer" My response..."I
don't like computers in cars and I love
the challenge", The most fun is trying
to figure out how to do it, find a
part that might work, and building
a way to put it on.
My system is a little more modern...kind
of early 70's (that's retro to the
kids these days)
78 2.3 Ford
Garrett Turbo from a turbo coupe
Intercooler from same
Holley- Weber 5200 carb
electric fuel pump flowing through
a Cagle regulator (lucked out finding
this as it has a fitting to reference
boost pressure)
half of a late model intake with
a homemade carb adapter plate
started working on the bonnet until
I fund someone that would sell me one
ready made for cheap
found a by-pass valve that I'll mount
before the carb to bleed of pressure
when I let off the gas (keeps the
turbo spooled up and stops surge).
Anyway, enough about me....continued
luck with your project, it looks like
great fun!
P.S. the photo of the carb plate with
tubes looks like a carb adapter that
was sold by Turbo City for draw-through
applications.
Kind regards,
FrancisTed Harbit put me onto your website, since my '51 Champ coupe can be embarrassingly wimpy climbing local hills in traffic...even after I rebuilt her. Greg, I'm really impressed with what you've accomplished and have to think the old Studebaker engineers, long in their graves, would be proud of you, man. You're an innovator. I met Bill Cathcart last summer, when in CT visiting my daughter, and had a great time with another guy who uses new things with the 'tired-iron' from bygone days and finds the marriage works. I spent over two hours at your website this morning and realized how little I know about the dynamics of the internal (infernal?) combustion engine...trying to grasp what you've done. Wish I lived closer to you, to be your wrench-gopher and learn something! (I was born in IA, but parents grew weary of the cold and we moved to FL years ago.) Thank you for taking the time to chronicle your work and photograph stuff as you went along. You're right about restoration and rodding being projects that are never finished. When you have a sec, check out my site for 'Cheeks' and please, don't laugh too much. :-) God bless and thanks again!
I hope I have e-mailed the right guy. If not-please
direct me to the correct
party. I was reading the story about the Turbo-Flathead
six. Strangely enough, I am
considering a very similar project. I am in process
of restoring a 1948
Chrylser Windsor Sedan with a 205 CID flathead six.
The engine's stock output
is a less than inspirational 100 HP though it does
have impressive torque.
Still with a 3800+ pound car I wanted to bump out
the power. had considered a
late model engine swap but decided that there would
be nothing "special"
about an old car with a modern engine
(anybody can do that). I decided that a turbo upgrade
would make the old wagon that much more "unusual". Having a Turbo
LeBaron of my own for the past 260,000 miles I had a lot of respect for
that turbo package.
The "48" Sedan has more than enough room under the
hood for the turbo and
associated plumbing. Somehow, I stumble onto your
website with your turbo conversion and I was pretty impressed. I would
like to get the story on hard copy and steady the
details.
We should keep in touch.
Regards,
Al
