Hey guys. Welcome me to the club! Hah.
Anyway. My '86 7 is sitting in my Mechanic's parking lot, and i'm about to run into some more money than I thought it would. So, the option of doing a Turbo II conversion comes up again (originally I'd just planned to get a rebuild and deal, until I graduate college (4 years)).
Now, though, the conversion could be feasible.
What are the total costs involved with the conversion (it's a Series 4, but i'd use Series 5 engine, etc. J-Spec goodness)?
How reliable is a Turbo II?
Reasonably, can I get 250 hp and keep the reliability up?
(Reliability is an issue, since i'm about to be a "broke-*** college student", but if i'm not going to destroy an engine then I'm good to go)
Thanks for all your help.

 

I believe there is a guy around the forum that runs a shop...um Hypnotz or something around those lines. I believe...now this is just all in theory that he quoted someone once 1500 to do it and that is with a J-spec engine. You can probably get a J-spec for around 900 dollars from either corksport or fc3s.org. Than, though I don't think you need it but it would be helpfull, would be the T2 tranny since it can hold a considerable amount of power. With the N/a tranny I think it can hold 220 and the S4 had 188 and the S5 had 200....so you do the math. Try and contact the guy I mentioned though. I believe his shop is Rotary Resurection or something...his sig is a black T2

 

I actually always recommend www.fc3s.org But there is a guy right near you, his name is Bryan and he located in Pelham... http://www.lourdsmusic.com/bnrsupercars/index.htm you can get a Jspec from him since hes local

now email Kevin Landers for the install hypntyz@charter.net

 

I've seen Bryan around town, I think. I've seen the brown/goldish FC on BNR's page, that's for sure.
I tried to catch up with him in Mom's Turbo Volvo, but after thinking about it, i'm glad I didn't. That car is undefeated, but only because I've been careful about who i **** with.
(That car's ****, btw, doesn't stink. It's a badass.)

 

Heheh... broke *** college student..... never been there!!!! (That's all I know...)
Anyways, I'd recomend you just buy a TII...
The only reason I'd do the conversion is if you have a MINT condition chassis/body you don't want to part with, or you can get an entire turbo drivetrain for a killer cheap price.
It's pretty damn involved to swap in the entire TII drivetrain- which is everything from the engine to the rear axle.
If you are not going for more than 250 HP you can just use the stock engine and drivetrain, and put a turbo on that motor.... it's not that difficult... a few people here (including myself) are in the midsts of doing it.
Here's the list for the add-on turbo:

-Turbo
-Exhaust manifold
-Custom made manifold spacer
-Intercooler (HIGHLY recomended, but not required if boost is kept down)
-piping for intercooler
-TII injectors
-TII fuel pump
-Fuel correction for boost- Either an S-AFC or a FMU pressure regulator.
-Custom make oil and coolant lines
-TII exhaust downpipe
-Boost gauge

Thats abuot IT... off the top of my head... if you do a TII engine swap, that list is a twice as long... easily
Do a search on it- a few people have compiled a list of all the required elements.. scary... buy a TII!!

Plus, you have to change the entire wiring harness, and ECU...

However- the TII engine/drivetrain swap can definately handle more power safely.

 

$150FC, where are you in Birmingham? I live in Vestavia Hills, I have a red 88 TII. theres a few of us here in birmingham.

Have you really thought through all the hassle of swapping to a TII engine and drivetrain? Lots of both work and money involved. Get in touch with Bryan and see what he says, he just built me a race ported engine that im still breaking in, so far so good. As for reliability, it doesnt take much to get 250 out of a TII, as long as you stay on top of things (oil, tune ups, etc.) there no reason it shouldnt be reliable. anyway....good luck!

 

Ok, keep in mind a few things.

1) It will NEVER be a TII, so the resale value is much lower.

2) This is a LOT of work.

3) There are more parts differences than you think... here's a FAIRLY complete list:

Transmission
Clutch
Pressure Plate
Flywheel
Clutch slave cylinder
Driveshaft
Differential
Halfshafts
All brake parts IF you have 4-lug wheels, otherwise all the same.
Engine wiring harness
ECU
Boost sensor
Fuel pump
A couple of wires on the main dash harness
Instrument cluster (you CAN use the NA one with an aftermarket boost gauge)
Springs/struts/shocks.
Swaybars
Wiring harness to the sensors on the transmission


That's all I can think of at the moment... I'm in the middle of this swap myself... BUT, I have a convertible, so I think it is worth it.

Brad
88 Convertible
87 TII parts car

 

If all you want is 250 hp, you COULD get that with a ported NA.

Brad

 

BoostedRotors: I'm right down the road, in Hoover (Riverchase, actually.) Today or Monday i'm going down to BNR (Bryan, i guess) to meet them and say Hi.

I know I could get some pretty good power out of a ported NA, but Torque is nice, too. I still haven't really decided.
What I've thought about doing is simply waiting until i'm not a broke-*** college student and doing a 13B-RE or REW (or, hell, a 20B) conversion. That way I could burn some <b>real</b> money.
Alright, so you guys have basically made up my mind for me. Port an NA, exhaust, intake, whatever.

So another N/A doesn't bite the dust.

 

head down there monday, ill probably be down there.

 

Cool. Look for an old dark red Volvo Turbo.
(I've got a soft spot for turbos, you see. Two turbo volvos in the family, now.)