Projects "Hidden Agenda" Turbo Model A coupe rebuild

I used this one, it cut down on underhood temps a lot:

 

fuck yeah!

:d

 

Get the bitch done for bowling green !!! Im sure we will line them up 3 wide again !!! Looks good !!!

 

have you ever seen that 997 (or whatever the number was) special 32 roadster.....? made that number in hp...went 200 + at bonneville & ran in the 9's.... might have been george lange's.....not sure saw it at the shades one year , maybe 01 or so......keep the progress pics coming

 

cool idea. I'd put the turbo out by the rear axle though..

 

I know everyone thinks the turbo should be mounted by the rear axle. I originally was planning on this. The reasons why I am trying this first are.
1. The turbo is mounted high enough that I don't have to worry about an oil pump to return the oil to the motor. The pump adds the problem of an electric pump that can fail. (I hate electric pumps so bad that I am planning on running a belt driven mechanical fuel pump)
2. I feel that all of the ducting required to rear mount is almost a trade off of fab time for dealing with the heat.
3. Where the turbo is mounted now it is truly hidden. To be hidden in the rear It would end up taking trunk space and adding heat in the trunk area where all the beer and whiskey is in the cooler.
4.cleaner (in my opinion)
5. the turbo will work better closer to the engine..
6.If its really hot in the car then thats a good reason for my wife to go topless.
7.Everyone thinks Im nuts for putting it behind the dash.
8. If the damn thing dont scare me I have the option of putting another turbo under the back of the car.
9. If you dont have a lighter who wants to have to crawl under the car to light your left handed cigerette?
10. If it ends up hot as hell inside I bet I still dont put air conditioning on it. Ill kick the windshield open....I bet it will run good enough to have some kind of air flowing thru the car.......

I still like hearing your comments and ideas.

 

Well up until your last post I had to agree with all the under car people, but it sounds like you've put a lot o thought into this and have some reasons to try it this way. Either way it's gonna turn a lot of heads when that thing spools up and the wast gate opens...

 

Hey Jake...turbo's have been around a long time...long enough to be "traditional". Why not put it under the hood, installed the way a "smart" rodder would have done back in the day had he been able to get a hold of a turbo. No fancy bracketry and what have you. Just good ol' sound engineering!!! Rick.

P.S. Turbo and bias ply! I see rubber B.B's being shot from a tire smoke engulfed hot rod...

 

Well, cold beer and topless women seem to be good reasons! We need pics tho...........

 

As far as your heat issues are concerned.... of you could find a whole bunch of these (depending on how big your box is) you'd be set : http://www.webstore.com/NASA-Space-Shuttle-Tile-Sample-LI900,name,448320,auction_id,auction_details

 

I agree.

Looks like you have it all thought out. I can't wait to see you put it to its full potential.

 

I never have felt real "smart".

 

i've built a few o/t turbo motors and i dunno if i'd be comfortable having the turbo totally isolated between two fire walls like that even if you did have good venting. my concern would be getting in there with a fire extinguisher if you ever needed to.

 

I like the idea of thinking outside the box, and the name is gold. But I have a few questions, are you going to dress up the engine to look traditional? if so, keep on with the idea, if not what is the point of hiding the turbo? Also are you going to run a hood?

 

I am planning on running a hood. I am also going to dress the motor as traditional as possible. I'm planning on painting the aluminum heads, hiding the carb hat under an old oil bath air cleaner. All electronics will be hid. msd distributor will be painted. Im running speedway manifolds. eldebrock finned valve covers. If you look close you will be able to tell. Oh well, if it looked 100% traditional everyone would bitch that it is a small block chevy. When I get it done im only gonna take crap off of people with street driven cars that can out run me. I love a good period car with history. I helped restore the dick flynt roadster and the neal east roadster. Both are fabulous cars.....I drive the wheels off mine.

 

not much worse than being under an original 4 piece hood with latches.

 

i'm pretty sure you can open a hood. you building a door to your turbo?

 

that's a good Idea. I feel like at this point I have to make this work. the first thing that came to my mind about fire is an on board fire system like they require on alot of Bonneville cars. I have never messed with one before. (How do the useally work?) I have a fire extinguisher in most of my cars. I could probably run a hard line and some kind of a nozzel. I still think some kind of door may need to be worked in. what do you think if I could open a panel from the engine side of the turbo setup. This side will not be nearly as complicated. some kind of a louvered panel that dont look like it opens on the old firewall.
Does anyone know where I can get hard material like the heat shields that the factorys use on catolitic converters?
I wish I wasnt so damn busy with work. I want to be thrashing on the coupe.
Where is the best place to buy a 32 cowl vent. Brookville?

 

Just an FYI that may help you make a decision regarding heat. I borrowed one of those little hand held heat readers that have laser pointer from work (I forget the official name).

Pretty nifty little device. I took my F250 down the street for a few minutes, and came back and took a reading on the turbo. I wanted just a normal operating temperature, and didn't get the RPM's over 2100 (normal for this truck at 65 is 1800rpm)

340 degrees.

That's a friggin oven you're installing under your dash. Even with heat shielding, nobody is going to want to ride with you.

Personally, I love your stealth idea. Putting it back by the rear axle seems to be the best option if you decide not under the dash. Note that they do that with the new Vettes too. Your big problem here however is keeping plenty of cool oil pumped to it.

God Speed!

 

How about mounting it down low then behind the frame rail in the engine compartment? A guy could even build and engine pan with louvers to help hide it.

 

Thanks for the heads up. on the heat....My main problem is still this....
.Imagine I recess my firewall 6 inches. Now the turbo is in the engine compartment. just like every other application. this is what I am planning on the passenger side. Now put an origional firewall in the origional location with a bunch of louvers in it. Plus a 32 ford cowl vent blowing across the turbo when Im moving and the heat comming out of the vent when Im stopped???

 

Maybe you could install 2 small 6" spal fans pointing down to increase airflow.

I think in traffic on a hot day, you are going to be miserable.

340° is pretty generous, on the COOL side. There's alot more room under there. You're putting yours in it's own little environment, insulated to keep heat out of the cabin, but that also keeps heat IN the turbo chamber. The cowl vent is a good idea.

 

Well, line the area with heat shield material and run a fan to evac the heat. A Turbo Timer might also be a good idea.

Keep us posted on this wild ride!

 

If you move the solid firewall back, and have a faux, louvered firewall in front of it? I see what you're saying, and that should work. If the turbo will fit in there, you could also hide one of those oil coolers for the air cooled VW's to assist (or auto trans cooler). I also like the door suggestion, so maybe the faux firewall could be 2 pieces, held on by something like dzus fasteners. You're going to need to access it either for maintenance or emergency.

However... I'm now thinking you've given away your hiding location, because nobody in their right mind would have louvers in the firewall, right? Might as well save yourself the work and just keep it in the engine compartment and don't open the hood for nosey peeps.

I looked at the pictures of your coupe again, and notice the trunk is pretty big... You could louver the decklid and they wouldn't be out of place. Then mount your remote oil cooler to the underside of it, and a little electric radiator fan. Pumping the oil by a big mechanical pump would be best if you can retrofit. An electric one would continue pumping hot oil all over the place in the event of an accident.

 

Good idea. I've also seen a variation on the turbo timer that actually works off of engine heat temp, rather than time. It shuts down at the preset temperature, regardless of how long it takes. Might work better for that confined space.

 

ha. egts can easily go beyond 1000 degree f under load on a turbo application. i've seen many a turbo manifold and turbine housing glow after a decent power pull.

to the op: i like your idea and execution but imo the practicality just isn't there. i'd put that turbo front and center above the front of the motor and point the compressor outlet right at the carb.

 

Think of the other surfaces that could be (maybe unexpectedly) screaming hot - the cowl, the engine-side firewall. That handprint burned into the top of the cowl will be a real conversation starter.

Fabulous idea, though. We will be watching as you learn how to keep the heat where you want it. Projects like this are the way to add knowlege, rather that just doing the same old stuff over and over in different ways. Post your progress.

 

Yes.. Agreed, but my point was that just cruising around town at idle, then stopping and turning off the truck it was 340.

I have a pyrometer gauge, but I figure gauges really just give you an average. However when flooring it merging to the highway, or pulling a trailer I hit 600 degrees + occasionally.

1000 though? I hope not for long 'cause those pistons are getting cooked.

 

I think he means the temp of the turbine housing,(scroll?), not the inlet air temp............

 

Man, now you I want to party with. A damn crazy GREAT idea like this car. And a mind like that, in my opinion equals alot of fun. Good luck on your project, hope to see it in person sometime.