TaterSalad

Ok, I have a 1981 1/2 Chevy Caprice Classic. Originally a 350 diesel, my buddy's dad swapped in a 455 (bored .030 over) from a 76 Toronado. It was built for my buddy's grandma, she passed away and 15 years later I bought it for $400. There was a quart of oil in it when I bought it, and it had been sitting for at least 7 years. After awhile it started ticking, long story short it burns and leaks 5 quarts a day. I have not driven it in months in order to save the engine. I'm plnning to build it soon. Looking for opinions, not jerk comments. Engine was bored .030 over, heads were milled and ported, forged internals, 9.5:1

-Complete Regasket kit
-New piston rings
-New lifter
-New pushrods
-Blowthrough carb (Suggestions?)
-Turbo (Cummins turbo my coworker has, not sure on specs yet)

It's mated to a th400 from an old Pontiac, peg leg rear, gonna swap in the posi gears from my 86 iroc.

2blu442

It sounds like your on the right track. I'd pull things apart to see what's causing the oil leak/usage. You may be able to do a budget rebuild or you may need to replace some parts. When you get the engine tore down let us know what you find and what your goals are for the car/engine. Then members can give you some good feedback.


John

don71

Sounds like a cool project to me, but I'm the guy that all most put a Cadillac engine in his olds. Heck, might still.

Don't know the last thing about blowing an Olds. But I'd sure follow along to see how you do.

oldcutlass

Welcome to the site, sounds like a great project.

joe_padavano

Welcome. The interweb is full of stories about people who cobble together junkyard turbo setups and run five second quarter miles. Can you get a frankenturbo setup to work? Yeah, probably. Unfortunately there's no guarantee that the turbo is anywhere close to being matched to the application. You'll put in just a much work getting the wrong setup to work as the right one, so you might want to spend a little time understanding the compressor map and how it fits with your engine and setup.

The blow-through carb will obviously require an air box. You'll need a boost referenced fuel pressure regulator. You'll need an aftermarket cable-actuated modulator to replace the vacuum modulator in the TH400. You'll need to convert the power brakes to a hydroboost. You'll need to find a different vacuum reference point for the distributor. If the car has A/C, you'll need to do the same for the HVAC controls. And obviously all this effort to make more HP is wasted if the rear end can't put the power down.

TaterSalad

Thanks for all the responses, I'll be sure to post pics showing my progress. I should be getting started when I get my tax return. Hopefully getting the turbo next week so I can check out the part number and read up about it. The car already has hydroboost brakes, I think. I know it's not vacuum, I couldn't find anywhere to hook my vacuum secondaries to on my holley. I think I have some older pics of the car and engine I can post too.

TaterSalad

oldcutlass

Your pictures did not show up, The vacuum secondaries are plumbed through the carb, no external hookup required.

TaterSalad

Ok, the turbo I got is Garrett GT38R 88mm off a 7.3 powerstroke. Lookin at running round 10 psi.
Questions:
What would be a good boost controller for my set up? Fuel pressure regulator? Blow off valve? Should I run an intercooler? Should I run it off both banks? Will it spool too much? How do I support the turbo? (Damn thing weighs like 50 pounds) Anything else I might need regarding the turbo set up?