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Datsun L series turbo


Lonewolf1990

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Pictures would help a bunch.

There was a factory turbo L18 with a real bastard turbo flange, at least one aftermarket (HKS), and countless home brew ones, some good, some trash.

 

What else will you need ?

Money, lots of it, or failure will soon follow.

You can build cheap, half-ass, end up having a rod sticking through the block, or have so little performance, that it isn't worth the work,

kind of like the late '80s, early '90s Toyota Supra that made a whole 10% more power than the non-turbo.

 

Do it right, with forged pistons, H-beam rods, everything fresh, and a good after market stand-alone ECU with supporting fuel injection, and make a reliable 300-400HP, but then you will eat transmissions, and who knows what else.

 

Really, unless you have a really big bank roll, forget it, enjoy the truck for what it's worth. Buy a Honda civic, turbo it, you will have better luck.

 

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That is a home brew turbo manifold, that is about the worst design possible.

 

Good manifold, note equal length runners, smooth flow paths:

honda-acura-b-series-t3-prostreet-turbo-

Not quite as good, but still viable:. No longer equal length but still decent flow paths.Mani2.jpg

 

Getting on the crappy side of designs, Never found on a serious performance car.

Welded up pipe fittings, but at least junctions are smooth. (even steam fitters know the importance of rounding corners.

 

IMG_5776_1_1024x1024.JPG?v=1461849992

 

Really crap, but at least the runners from the head are dumping into a larger main tube.

Seen lots of this on very early (pre WWII) GP cars, and aircraft.

IMG_0015.jpg

Edited by G-Duax
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24 minutes ago, G-Duax said:

That is a home brew turbo manifold, that is about the worst design possible.

 

Good manifold, note equal length runners, smooth flow paths:

honda-acura-b-series-t3-prostreet-turbo-

Not quite as good, but still viable:. No longer equal length but still decent flow paths.Mani2.jpg

 

Getting on the crappy side of designs, Never found on a serious performance car.

Welded up pipe fittings, but at least junctions are smooth. (even steam fitters know the importance of rounding corners.

 

IMG_5776_1_1024x1024.JPG?v=1461849992

 

Really crap, but at least the runners from the head are dumping into a larger main tube.

Seen lots of this on very early (pre WWII) GP cars, and aircraft.

IMG_0015.jpg

So it worth getting and fixing it up?

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And your manifold....ARG !

90 degree junctions, all ending going into the same size tubes.

7ce41d9ef0554f1caaf1f2c9c37b08b4.jpg

 

And a vintage GReddy L4 manifold, capable of 600+ HP with things like forged internals, a good 1" thick crank girdle, head & crank studs, etc., etc..

Probably dates back  to the early '90s.

celicalb1975-img600x450-1230596243k9linu

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I believe you have to look at it this way, to get any real performance out of a turbocharged L block your going to have to drive it like you stole it(like a race car), circle track guys are lucky to get a season out of one of their engines, they just don't last long when driven like that, a season is likely 200/300 miles.

Do you really want to spend a small/large fortune on an engine to have it either blow up or wear out in 3 months or maybe less if driven daily, that is if you have your license for long driving like that.

If you want more power, get an engine that already has a turbocharger on it from the factory or better yet an engine without a turbo that has more power.

Edited by wayno
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19 minutes ago, wayno said:

I believe you have to look at it this way, to get any real performance out of a turbocharged L block your going to have to drive it like you stole it(like a race car), circle track guys are lucky to get a season out of one of their engines, they just don't last long when driven like that, a season is likely 200/300 miles.

Do you really want to spend a small/large fortune on an engine to have it either blow up or wear out in 3 months or maybe less if driven daily, that is if you have your license for long driving like that.

If you want more power, get an engine that already has a turbocharger on it from the factory or better yet an engine without a turbo that has more power.

Ok makes sense thank u for the advice 🤘

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There were lots of turbo cars in the '80s with stock internals and hyper-eutectic pistons. Chrysler 2.2, the Ford 2.3 and the 280zx come to mind. 5-7 PSI will last forever BUT they had some sort of boost retard ignition, probably a knock sensor and good EFI or fuel control. Likely a larger volume oil pump, and cooler larger rad and a better head gasket. In theory 7 PSI is 50% more power. But that's it!!!  

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If I had some spare time and a good L motor laying around, sure I would play around with the turbo setup he's got. Why not? You could probably get it running for a $1000 or less, but even with 7 psi of boost, you will need to at least get a set of modern pistons. They don't need to be forged, just some nice late model hypereutectic pistons with a good ring pack. If you're going that route, may as well get some 6" N85 rods and bore it to 87mm. This will add another $2000 (assuming rebuild too).

 

So now you're in at $3000. Could you buy a KA24 or SR20 turbo for that? Probably. But that's not installed, wired, plumbed...

 

Ask yourself, how much do you want to throw at this can of worms? If $1000 is your limit, then go play with it, but keep the boost turned down.

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23 minutes ago, datzenmike said:

IMG_0015.jpg How does this even work???? Turbo on upper right? What's the opening on the lower left for???

this is for a GM LS engine, you would have an underpipe to join onto the lower left like an early 90's gm 6.5 turbo diesel

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I have a GM 6.5 diesel. I never thought about it. The under pipe is correct for the 6.5, but the front turbo mount is not correct. On my 6.5 the turbo mount is between cylinder outlets 2 and 3, without the extra outlet for the wastegate. I don't know what the LS needs.

 

Don

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Hello everyone.  I bought that set up for 100 bucks just for kicks.  I had planned on doing some kind of simple low psi set up just for show.  Wanted that old Japanese rat rod feel.  It sounds like I might have bit off more than I can chew from the nay sayers  here.  I had looked at some Australian threads that have been doing this set up on old Datsun's for some time now.  I also found this site. http://www.turbodatsun.com/Blow Through Carby Kit.htm.  Just trying to make something different and thought provoking at old Datsun shows.  Plus its fun to tinker with my son.

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On ‎10‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 7:05 PM, datzenmike said:

There were lots of turbo cars in the '80s with stock internals and hyper-eutectic pistons. Chrysler 2.2, the Ford 2.3 and the 280zx come to mind. 5-7 PSI will last forever BUT they had some sort of boost retard ignition, probably a knock sensor and good EFI or fuel control. Likely a larger volume oil pump, and cooler larger rad and a better head gasket. In theory 7 PSI is 50% more power. But that's it!!!  

 

Seldom does 7 psi gives 50% more power, unfortunately.

 

A closer analogy to that kit are the turbo cars coming out of Detroit back in the late '50s to early '60s.

They simply didn't work very well, were not reliable, and most were in the scrap yard prematurely.

The ones that did survive, were either hardly ever driven, or were converted to NA just to get away from the issues.

 

Why not you and your son enjoy tinkering with something that will have a more positive outcome, instead of almost certain failure.

Hang that thing on the wall of the garage, close to the fridge with the beer in it, and the bar stools.

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I would still give it a try. Why not? What will you be out if it fails? Some intake and exhaust tubes, a little bit of plumbing, some tinkering and fitting. Even if it didn't make huge power, it could certainly be made to run well enough to drive for a while.

 

The key to taking any kind of risk is knowing when to back out. Understanding the signs. If you get ready to go and it seems way out of your wheelhouse, then maybe cut your losses and hang it on the wall, but I'd give it a shot first.

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The more people say no the more I want to do it.  I want a turbo L20 because we never see it at shows.  I really don't care if I only get about 20hp gain.  It is a challenge I look forward to trying to figure out.  I know its crazy but what if it works?  How cool will that be to see.

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4 hours ago, Jetscat7 said:

 I want a turbo L20 because we never see it at shows.  I really don't care if I only get about 20hp gain.  It is a challenge I look forward to trying to figure out.  I know its crazy but what if it works?  How cool will that be to see.

 

The trouble with doing an armature turbo installation just because you don't see it at shows, is because anyone in the know will look at it and think 'what a waste', or 'that won't make any real power'. The other reason you probably don't see them at shows, is it's a can of worms.

 

And if you do run into problems, which you probably will, seeing you don't have any turbo engine building experience, then you will be out an engine, or into a lot of replacement parts expense.

 

Someone like hosestop, or Stoffrgren, or myself or a dozen other people on here could do it, but we have years of experience, and probably would never use that pos turbo manifold to attempt it.

Do this, go buy a book on turbocharging, there are several out there.

Spend time reading it, and get to understand all that is involved with such a conversion.

Edited by G-Duax
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