Okay so im kind of new to the whole turbo thing so i got a few questions.Im pertty mechanicaly inclined so i know my way around pretty good and i can figure things out pretty well but i want to ask somethings without being made to like a complete idiot just because when it comes to the turbo thing i have no experience.So Ive read in a couple sections about JDM motors being no good & EBAY turbo kits arent worth a crapp and so on. Im just curious about these things because well a guy should be able to evaluate and come to a educated conclusion about them,However when i read the forum sections everyone says read the "horror stories" Im sure there out there but i havent found any so if anyone could point me in the right direction that would be great.Ive been thinkn of taking my 88 GTU to turbo and would like to do it as good as possible but well we all know money is tight these days so i would like to do it reasonable as possible as well any insight would be greatly appreciated

 

The easiest way is a full TII swap. Read the FAQ for info.

Not all j-spec engines are crap. If you buy from a reputable dealer, you shouldn't have any issues.

 

and as far as ebay goes for turbos, almost half the things i bought off ebay where somehow different and some never even worked in the first place. and as a full turbo II swap would take thousands. (transmission, throttle body, turbo , intercooler, driveshaft, and so on. i would love to turbo my 86 but the more i think about it i can probally buy a full turbo II car for 2-3 thousand. why waste the money when u can buy something better for the same price.

 

Yep, basically. Unless you get a really good deal on a wrecked TII, it is almost always easier/cheaper to just buy a TII then do a TII swap.

Stay away from eBay turbo kits unless you know what you are doing and can spot a poor quality item.

 

Right on thats the kind of input i was looking for thanks fellas.

 

I have bought a turbo off of ebay, it was used but in decent shape, but those generic turbo kits for the most part are junk.

 

To make a proper turbo car, takes a lot of work. Slapping a turbo on a NA car usually ends up in disaster. Sell the Car, save up some cash and buy a turbo version. If you are dead set in using your chassis, get a full JDM swap and swap everything over. Either way it will not be cheap.

 

like i said cheaper to just buy a t2 and forget the na ( i got my na with a slipping clutch for 1200 dollars) so yea it would cost 3 times what my car is worth to turbo it. also turboing a na engine does usually make lots more matience and repair. just go t2

 

either find a blown or wrecked turbo car to build from, or buy jspec setup to build from. i wouldn't drop in a jspec and try to run it as is, too many horror stories of blown ones. either way, its unlikely you'd find a used turbo engine setup that could last for a reasonably long time as us, so i would plan to build whatever engine i obtained, before trying to use it in a swap.

 

In my opinion, if you have a stable job, doing a TII swap will probably be the best way. you will learn so much about the car and be able to fix it much easier when needed.

 

yea doing my own clutch job taught me so much about the whole car great experience ( wife hates it when i work on my car or even mention it in anyway) so it was nice.