Building another Buick Century Turbo...
07-28-2009, 11:03 PM
#1
0.0 BAR
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Northport Alabama USA
Posts: 12
Building another Buick Century Turbo...
I'm going to install a used turbo on the 87 Century I just got, with the intention of doing it as simply and cheaply as possible. The HP goal is 240 HP - same as stock series-1 supercharged 3800. This is the third FWD Buick Century I have converted from normal aspiration to turbocharged. No real reason why other than - it was there so I turbo'd it! My first one has a 2.8. It has had a Rajay which was replaced by a Turbonetics turbo when it failed. That car had an estimated 250 to 300 HP at the flywheel at 15 PSI. My last one has a 3.8 SFI engine. It is heavily built and was dyno tested with 326 HP and 380 LbFt at the drive wheels through an automatic transmission. It has a Turbinetics GTK turbo. Have seen up to 21 PSI.
This car shown here has a used Garrett T3 that's probably too small for the engine. It was very cheap on eBay. I rebuilt it with a cheap eBay rebuild kit. Other than that, everything else will be stock at first. I'm going to install wideband system and monitor it. First step will be to see how much boost it will tolerate with 100% stock programming and hardware. Then, I will see what I can get out of it with reprogramming the stock ECM only. Last step will be larger MAF, injectors, or higher pressure fuel regulator, in additon to appropriate reprogramming. It's been ongoing, and here are several posts from when I started the project. The car had a bad timing chain and bent valves when I got it. Fixed that and started on the turbo setup.
-------------
Got the rear manifold and lower part of the downpipe completed. The tedious part of the exhaust fab (making the downpipe line up with the muffler pipe) is done.
Was going to post pictures of the finished product but my camera has lost all but 2 pictures. Will take more as the project goes on.
It looks pretty bad, but the strips of metal are just tack welded on to hold the 2 pieces in position. After that was done, the assembly was removed and a set of bolt-together brackets has been welded on.
I wanted to make it so the manifold and the downpipe can be removed separately. The assembly is too big to remove and install without dropping the subframe or pulling the rear cylinder head!
The outlet fitting on the downpipe was an old EFE valve off a carb 3.8 manifold. It has been "ported out" and the valve shaft and disc have been removed. It connects to the Century's original exhaust system, but has a much larger inner diamater than the original collector. A 2.5" exhaust could be connected there without being restritcted.
Originally I had wanted to have the system connect to an unmodified Century exhaust system but that was not possible. The exhaust system only needed a slight modification, though. I shortened the "gooseneck" part between the catalytic converter and the engine, so it would line up with the downpipe. If I had a shorter radius elbow (the green piece of the pipe with the O2 sensor hole) I could have done it without shortening the pipe. But I want to use what I have and do this as inexpensively as possible so I chose to shorten the muffler pipe.
----------------
Found a few minutes to work on this project today. I got the rest of the turbo exhaust fabrication work done, and was about to assemble the heads..... but the exhaust valves are wrong. And of course the place didn't have any in stock so it will be tomorrow at earliest.
I did manage to do some port work on the heads, though!
The exhaust pipework is all done. The crossover with turbo mount is complete, insulated, and verified to fit. The downpipe is also completed, insulated, and verified to fit both the turbo and the catalytic converter "gooseneck" piece. I also put insulation lagging on that part since I had to remove a piece of heat sheilding over the gooseneck pipe to get clearance with the flange.
This is NOT the engine out of this car. It is just a bare block I used to make a mock-up and ensure everything fits. I haven't removed this car's engine - only the heads and intake.
Since I couldn't assemble the heads, I moved on to rebuilding the turbocharger for this project. All went well until I opened the kit and found out it had the wrong type of oil seal. But the oil seal was still good so I kept the old one and went on with new bearings and all the other pieces.
Then when finally assembling the turbo, the actuator rod is too short to allow the wastegate to work. So tomorrow I'll have to get a new rod-end and coupler nut to extend the rod and make the W/G functional.
Hopefully tomorrow the valves will come in and that will allow me to get that engine re-assembled before I go back to work next week. I hate to see an engine sit, apart, exposed to the elements.
Pretty clean. There is some dirt showing in thie CLOSE UP picture that I didn't catch.
Look in the end of the shaft...
No dried up "coked" oil in there:
Before assembling the turbo, I did some heavy duty cleaning on it. It was old, cruddy and rusty. I used acid to de-rust the turbine housing and swing-valve housings, and used degreaser on the aluminum parts. The exhaust fabrication pictures have the same turbo housing and swing-valve housing BEFORE cleaning!
-------------
Well just got home from an extra long work hitch, following a week with house guests (and no project time) I finally got to do some work on this car!
Just before I left, I got the heads re-installed on the engine, after replacing the bent valves and doing a porting job. Yesterday and today I got the rest of the engine together, and started it up.
At first I thought something had froze up or rusted while the car sat, because it had low compression and was backfiring out the intake. After I gently warmed it up, the lifters were able to adjust to the newly lengthened valve stems, allowing the valves to work properly. The engine smoothed out nicely!
To facilitate running the engine without the oil and coolant lines to the turbo; I made a blank cover to put over the turbo exhaust housing. It was a piece cut from the side of an old file cabinet drawer... (That's what I think of paperwork anyway!)
The exhaust crossover and downpipe bolted up just fine; and the catalytic converter and muffler pipe fit the downpipe like I had planned. Yay!! I put the safety wire on the exchaust insulation before it went in the car, too.
With the exhaust hooked up and the turbo blanked off, I tested it out. No exhaust leaks!
Once happy with the engine repairs, I set off to install the coolant and oil lines. Got the coolant lines (green tubing marked in red) done before my generator ran out of fuel and there was no more light. Oil supply line will come tomorrow.
I didn't pay too much attention to how the engine ran before I repaired the valves because it had bad compression. Now that the engine is healthy, I see there may be something going on with the ECM system. The Check Engine light is not working (bulb bad or removed?) and the idle is very high. Will have to connect the computer to the car and see what sort of codes it has. Other than that, it runs and sounds good.
To complete the turbo system install, there are a few more major steps. The first one will be the oil return. There are only a couple places this can successfully be done on this engine; and none of them can be accessed without major parts removal.
I will have to remove the front exhaust header, starting motor, and possibly the radiator, to gain access to the front of the engine where the oil return will be. Furthermore, the oil pan has to come off to ensure there are no chips left in there to damage the oilpump. After the oil return is completed, that will be all the tubelines.
Then will be the intercooler and air charge pipework. In the interest of doing this as cheaply and simply as possible - I'm going to use marine exhaust hose for as much as possible of the air charge pipework (instead of welding together mandrel-bent steel tubing). I've got a $50 eBay intercooler for this car.
The battery will need to move to the right-side corner of the car, because the current battery placement is too close to the turbo (heat) as well as that spot is needed for the airbox to mount. Still have to sort out the location for the charcoal canister and A/C drier bottle.
-----------------------
Well here's today's progress update! Got all the tubelines done except the oil return. Got the hole drilled and threaded in the block for the oil return. Here are the coolant and oil supply lines, all painted to match the engine's existing lines. The dip-down area directly above the exhaust is to give a path for the charge air pipe to go toward the throttle body.
The points where they originate. Oil pressure comes from the oil pressure switch port. I used Parker hydraulic mechaincal fittings for the oil line at each end, and for the coolant lines at the turbo. The other end of the coolant lines use a short piece of high temp hose to complete the connection. The other coolant line connects to the other end of the manifold below the throttle body.
Also got the A/C Freon lines figured out. Will relocate the drier behind the bumper below the header panel. It was mounted right near where the turbo sits now! The battery will move to the right side corner (there is a spare battery location over there alredy) to make room for the air filter box.
With the bumper, header, condenser and radiator removed, there was much better access to the front of the engine!
Was going to remove the oilpan to keep the drilling chips from falling in the pan but used a trick learned at work. I pressurized the block to make sure the chips would be expelled as the cutting tools cut the iron. Worked like a charm, and I was very glad I used safety glasses!!!
The hose is not "sealed" in the crankcase vent tube to make sure it didn't build up a large amount of pressure. Hose circled in red.
First I marked and drilled a hole in a non-structural area of the block skirt. How did I know where to drill? This is my second model LG3 Buick engine to turbocharge, and I took notes the first time!
Now a pass with the 3/8 NPT tap....
And here is a precisely placed, threaded hole to accept a turbo oil return fitting!
This pipe isn't the actual piece that will be used, but it will keep the mud wasps out of the engine until I get back over there tomorrow! That's also the reason for the blue paper towels in every other open port! Clears the starting motor and air conditioner freon lines just fine!
SO now - that leaves the charge air pipework, and the intercooler. After that, it's tuning time! I have a $50 flea-Bay Chinese intercooler for this car. Will dig that out tomorrow and take it to the farm where this project lives.
This car shown here has a used Garrett T3 that's probably too small for the engine. It was very cheap on eBay. I rebuilt it with a cheap eBay rebuild kit. Other than that, everything else will be stock at first. I'm going to install wideband system and monitor it. First step will be to see how much boost it will tolerate with 100% stock programming and hardware. Then, I will see what I can get out of it with reprogramming the stock ECM only. Last step will be larger MAF, injectors, or higher pressure fuel regulator, in additon to appropriate reprogramming. It's been ongoing, and here are several posts from when I started the project. The car had a bad timing chain and bent valves when I got it. Fixed that and started on the turbo setup.
-------------
Got the rear manifold and lower part of the downpipe completed. The tedious part of the exhaust fab (making the downpipe line up with the muffler pipe) is done.
Was going to post pictures of the finished product but my camera has lost all but 2 pictures. Will take more as the project goes on.
It looks pretty bad, but the strips of metal are just tack welded on to hold the 2 pieces in position. After that was done, the assembly was removed and a set of bolt-together brackets has been welded on.
I wanted to make it so the manifold and the downpipe can be removed separately. The assembly is too big to remove and install without dropping the subframe or pulling the rear cylinder head!
The outlet fitting on the downpipe was an old EFE valve off a carb 3.8 manifold. It has been "ported out" and the valve shaft and disc have been removed. It connects to the Century's original exhaust system, but has a much larger inner diamater than the original collector. A 2.5" exhaust could be connected there without being restritcted.
Originally I had wanted to have the system connect to an unmodified Century exhaust system but that was not possible. The exhaust system only needed a slight modification, though. I shortened the "gooseneck" part between the catalytic converter and the engine, so it would line up with the downpipe. If I had a shorter radius elbow (the green piece of the pipe with the O2 sensor hole) I could have done it without shortening the pipe. But I want to use what I have and do this as inexpensively as possible so I chose to shorten the muffler pipe.
----------------
Found a few minutes to work on this project today. I got the rest of the turbo exhaust fabrication work done, and was about to assemble the heads..... but the exhaust valves are wrong. And of course the place didn't have any in stock so it will be tomorrow at earliest.
I did manage to do some port work on the heads, though!
The exhaust pipework is all done. The crossover with turbo mount is complete, insulated, and verified to fit. The downpipe is also completed, insulated, and verified to fit both the turbo and the catalytic converter "gooseneck" piece. I also put insulation lagging on that part since I had to remove a piece of heat sheilding over the gooseneck pipe to get clearance with the flange.
This is NOT the engine out of this car. It is just a bare block I used to make a mock-up and ensure everything fits. I haven't removed this car's engine - only the heads and intake.
Since I couldn't assemble the heads, I moved on to rebuilding the turbocharger for this project. All went well until I opened the kit and found out it had the wrong type of oil seal. But the oil seal was still good so I kept the old one and went on with new bearings and all the other pieces.
Then when finally assembling the turbo, the actuator rod is too short to allow the wastegate to work. So tomorrow I'll have to get a new rod-end and coupler nut to extend the rod and make the W/G functional.
Hopefully tomorrow the valves will come in and that will allow me to get that engine re-assembled before I go back to work next week. I hate to see an engine sit, apart, exposed to the elements.
Pretty clean. There is some dirt showing in thie CLOSE UP picture that I didn't catch.
Look in the end of the shaft...No dried up "coked" oil in there:
Before assembling the turbo, I did some heavy duty cleaning on it. It was old, cruddy and rusty. I used acid to de-rust the turbine housing and swing-valve housings, and used degreaser on the aluminum parts. The exhaust fabrication pictures have the same turbo housing and swing-valve housing BEFORE cleaning!
-------------
Well just got home from an extra long work hitch, following a week with house guests (and no project time) I finally got to do some work on this car!
Just before I left, I got the heads re-installed on the engine, after replacing the bent valves and doing a porting job. Yesterday and today I got the rest of the engine together, and started it up.
At first I thought something had froze up or rusted while the car sat, because it had low compression and was backfiring out the intake. After I gently warmed it up, the lifters were able to adjust to the newly lengthened valve stems, allowing the valves to work properly. The engine smoothed out nicely!
To facilitate running the engine without the oil and coolant lines to the turbo; I made a blank cover to put over the turbo exhaust housing. It was a piece cut from the side of an old file cabinet drawer... (That's what I think of paperwork anyway!)
The exhaust crossover and downpipe bolted up just fine; and the catalytic converter and muffler pipe fit the downpipe like I had planned. Yay!! I put the safety wire on the exchaust insulation before it went in the car, too.
With the exhaust hooked up and the turbo blanked off, I tested it out. No exhaust leaks!
Once happy with the engine repairs, I set off to install the coolant and oil lines. Got the coolant lines (green tubing marked in red) done before my generator ran out of fuel and there was no more light. Oil supply line will come tomorrow.
I didn't pay too much attention to how the engine ran before I repaired the valves because it had bad compression. Now that the engine is healthy, I see there may be something going on with the ECM system. The Check Engine light is not working (bulb bad or removed?) and the idle is very high. Will have to connect the computer to the car and see what sort of codes it has. Other than that, it runs and sounds good.
To complete the turbo system install, there are a few more major steps. The first one will be the oil return. There are only a couple places this can successfully be done on this engine; and none of them can be accessed without major parts removal.
I will have to remove the front exhaust header, starting motor, and possibly the radiator, to gain access to the front of the engine where the oil return will be. Furthermore, the oil pan has to come off to ensure there are no chips left in there to damage the oilpump. After the oil return is completed, that will be all the tubelines.
Then will be the intercooler and air charge pipework. In the interest of doing this as cheaply and simply as possible - I'm going to use marine exhaust hose for as much as possible of the air charge pipework (instead of welding together mandrel-bent steel tubing). I've got a $50 eBay intercooler for this car.
The battery will need to move to the right-side corner of the car, because the current battery placement is too close to the turbo (heat) as well as that spot is needed for the airbox to mount. Still have to sort out the location for the charcoal canister and A/C drier bottle.
-----------------------
Well here's today's progress update! Got all the tubelines done except the oil return. Got the hole drilled and threaded in the block for the oil return. Here are the coolant and oil supply lines, all painted to match the engine's existing lines. The dip-down area directly above the exhaust is to give a path for the charge air pipe to go toward the throttle body.
The points where they originate. Oil pressure comes from the oil pressure switch port. I used Parker hydraulic mechaincal fittings for the oil line at each end, and for the coolant lines at the turbo. The other end of the coolant lines use a short piece of high temp hose to complete the connection. The other coolant line connects to the other end of the manifold below the throttle body.
Also got the A/C Freon lines figured out. Will relocate the drier behind the bumper below the header panel. It was mounted right near where the turbo sits now! The battery will move to the right side corner (there is a spare battery location over there alredy) to make room for the air filter box.
With the bumper, header, condenser and radiator removed, there was much better access to the front of the engine!
Was going to remove the oilpan to keep the drilling chips from falling in the pan but used a trick learned at work. I pressurized the block to make sure the chips would be expelled as the cutting tools cut the iron. Worked like a charm, and I was very glad I used safety glasses!!!
The hose is not "sealed" in the crankcase vent tube to make sure it didn't build up a large amount of pressure. Hose circled in red.
First I marked and drilled a hole in a non-structural area of the block skirt. How did I know where to drill? This is my second model LG3 Buick engine to turbocharge, and I took notes the first time!
Now a pass with the 3/8 NPT tap....
And here is a precisely placed, threaded hole to accept a turbo oil return fitting!
This pipe isn't the actual piece that will be used, but it will keep the mud wasps out of the engine until I get back over there tomorrow! That's also the reason for the blue paper towels in every other open port! Clears the starting motor and air conditioner freon lines just fine!
SO now - that leaves the charge air pipework, and the intercooler. After that, it's tuning time! I have a $50 flea-Bay Chinese intercooler for this car. Will dig that out tomorrow and take it to the farm where this project lives.
07-29-2009, 09:33 AM
#4
0.0 BAR
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Northport Alabama USA
Posts: 12
Thanks! Will keep posting here as project progresses.
That car was at a junk yard with a bad timing chain and only 75,000 miles on it. I bought it for $400 (clear title) and was going to simply fix the engine and sell the car. Looking over it, I could see recently new alternator, ignition module, cooling fan, A/C compressor, battery, and rebuilt transmission! Someone has spent a load of $ on it to junk it over a timing chain. I ran it after the new chain was in and everything works (even has cold A/C).
Then I kept tripping over that homeless T3 turbo in the parts room and..... ther rest is history!
I've been told (and done my own calculations) that this T3 turbo will run out of steam at about 250 HP. It's a little small for this engine but should give vers fast response and street drivability.
If it is too small, I'll go to a T3-.63/T4 hybrid unit. The good thing about this engine is that it was designed for boost (similar unit used with factory turbo) and is hard to break.
Well - about to go back to work on it some more!
David
That car was at a junk yard with a bad timing chain and only 75,000 miles on it. I bought it for $400 (clear title) and was going to simply fix the engine and sell the car. Looking over it, I could see recently new alternator, ignition module, cooling fan, A/C compressor, battery, and rebuilt transmission! Someone has spent a load of $ on it to junk it over a timing chain. I ran it after the new chain was in and everything works (even has cold A/C).
Then I kept tripping over that homeless T3 turbo in the parts room and..... ther rest is history!
I've been told (and done my own calculations) that this T3 turbo will run out of steam at about 250 HP. It's a little small for this engine but should give vers fast response and street drivability.
If it is too small, I'll go to a T3-.63/T4 hybrid unit. The good thing about this engine is that it was designed for boost (similar unit used with factory turbo) and is hard to break.
Well - about to go back to work on it some more!
David
07-29-2009, 11:40 AM
#5
0.0 BAR
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: New Brighton, PA
Posts: 33
That is a T3 from a Thunderbird. It's a small Ford turbo. It has a decent flow rate. Alot of people look for those turbos. I looked for one for 3 months before I gave up and got a T03 turbo from a old Dodge Daytona. Those turbos have an actual T3 input flange on them so they are alot easier to bolt up to our Honda stainless manifolds.
Good build though! I like the quality look of those coolant and oil supply lines. They look like they belong there. Keep us updated please. I'm subscribed.
Good build though! I like the quality look of those coolant and oil supply lines. They look like they belong there. Keep us updated please. I'm subscribed.
07-29-2009, 11:42 PM
#6
0.0 BAR
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Northport Alabama USA
Posts: 12
Thanks!
Ok interesting about this turbo being from a Thunderbird. That's good to know, because I'm afraid the actuator is bad. That will give me a starting point for a search at the parts stores. Any idea what the base pressure setting of that actuator would be?
Got alot done today!
The oil return is done. The air conditioner lines are done. The cold side of the charge air pipework is done (from intercooler to throttle body).
The wether ran me off again today before I could paint and "tidy up" the charge air pipe. I didn't get pictures of that, or of the oil return with the exhaust mounted over it.
But here are the few pictures I managed to get!
Here is the flange I made for the T3 turbo oil return. It was a piece of an old toolbox base that I cut out and welded a 3/8 pipe nipple into. The fitting is a 3/8 FNPT x 1/2 SAE flare. It's sealed and retailed by high temp Green Loctite sleeve retainer.
By the way - I fabricated ALL the flanges and fittings for the turbo from scrap pieces of metal and old junk laying around.
Then the fittings went into the block for the other end of the line. Once again I used Green Loctite sleeve retainer to lock and seal them. The trick is to avoid the A/C pipes and electrical terminals on the starting motor!
Here it is all connected; with and without the A/C pipes and wiring harness.
The return line is just barely at enough of an angle. I am pretty sure it will be OK. It's hard to see in the picture, because the car is not sitting level. Looking at the near-horizontal section of the line; the engine-end is about 1" lower than the turbo end. Hopefully tomorrow the intercooler will go on and I can get the air filter and mass airflow meter in place.
I did run the engine today, for about 10 minutes to check for leaks at the oil and coolant lines. Nothing leaked, and the turbo was spinning smoothly. It would spool nicely when the engine was revved. Yippee yay!!!!
Later,
David
Ok interesting about this turbo being from a Thunderbird. That's good to know, because I'm afraid the actuator is bad. That will give me a starting point for a search at the parts stores. Any idea what the base pressure setting of that actuator would be?
Got alot done today!
The oil return is done. The air conditioner lines are done. The cold side of the charge air pipework is done (from intercooler to throttle body).
The wether ran me off again today before I could paint and "tidy up" the charge air pipe. I didn't get pictures of that, or of the oil return with the exhaust mounted over it.
But here are the few pictures I managed to get!
Here is the flange I made for the T3 turbo oil return. It was a piece of an old toolbox base that I cut out and welded a 3/8 pipe nipple into. The fitting is a 3/8 FNPT x 1/2 SAE flare. It's sealed and retailed by high temp Green Loctite sleeve retainer.
By the way - I fabricated ALL the flanges and fittings for the turbo from scrap pieces of metal and old junk laying around.
Then the fittings went into the block for the other end of the line. Once again I used Green Loctite sleeve retainer to lock and seal them. The trick is to avoid the A/C pipes and electrical terminals on the starting motor!
Here it is all connected; with and without the A/C pipes and wiring harness.
The return line is just barely at enough of an angle. I am pretty sure it will be OK. It's hard to see in the picture, because the car is not sitting level. Looking at the near-horizontal section of the line; the engine-end is about 1" lower than the turbo end. Hopefully tomorrow the intercooler will go on and I can get the air filter and mass airflow meter in place.
I did run the engine today, for about 10 minutes to check for leaks at the oil and coolant lines. Nothing leaked, and the turbo was spinning smoothly. It would spool nicely when the engine was revved. Yippee yay!!!!
Later,
David
07-30-2009, 11:47 PM
#10
0.0 BAR
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Northport Alabama USA
Posts: 12
Got the charge air pipes fabricated and installed today! Need to get the A/C condenser coil flushed and installed before the intercooler goes back on, though.
The air temp sensor is mounted between the intercooler and throttle body - so it can pick up the temp of the air going into the engin, not just ambient temp. Both the charge air pipes are supported by a bracket from the front transmission mount.
The cool air pipe is one long weldment! It actually CAN be removed and re-installed in one piece. (not easily though) It is supported in 3 places; bracket near throttle body, bracket at front trans mount, and bracket at A/C compressor.
It's tucked in close to the engine to clear the fan motor (not installed).
The flexible joint from the engine to the body is via this wire-reinforced marine-exhaust hose. The fitting at the end is mounted to the car to hold the stiff marine-exhaust hose, as well as adapt up to the size of the intercooler.
Test fit of the cooler and brackets. Still needs some tweaking! Looks pretty good for a Chinese $50 intercooler. I can tell one thing - it is not as good as a Spearco cooler. This cooler is very light weight, whereas the Spearco core is heavy. (as you know) An intercooler needs to be heavy because its job is to absorb an enormous amount of heat in a very short time (from the turbo air), then dissipate it to the air blowing over the fins. The more massive it is, the longer you can stay on boost at one time before charge temp starts to climb up.
This tiny and beautifully colored lizard was in my workspace when I got here this morning. Looks like he is done up in a "blue and orange flames" paint job! The camera doesn't really do it justice!
What fun building stuff on a farm out in the woods!
David
The air temp sensor is mounted between the intercooler and throttle body - so it can pick up the temp of the air going into the engin, not just ambient temp. Both the charge air pipes are supported by a bracket from the front transmission mount.
The cool air pipe is one long weldment! It actually CAN be removed and re-installed in one piece. (not easily though
) It is supported in 3 places; bracket near throttle body, bracket at front trans mount, and bracket at A/C compressor.It's tucked in close to the engine to clear the fan motor (not installed).
The flexible joint from the engine to the body is via this wire-reinforced marine-exhaust hose. The fitting at the end is mounted to the car to hold the stiff marine-exhaust hose, as well as adapt up to the size of the intercooler.
Test fit of the cooler and brackets. Still needs some tweaking! Looks pretty good for a Chinese $50 intercooler. I can tell one thing - it is not as good as a Spearco cooler. This cooler is very light weight, whereas the Spearco core is heavy. (as you know) An intercooler needs to be heavy because its job is to absorb an enormous amount of heat in a very short time (from the turbo air), then dissipate it to the air blowing over the fins. The more massive it is, the longer you can stay on boost at one time before charge temp starts to climb up.
This tiny and beautifully colored lizard was in my workspace when I got here this morning. Looks like he is done up in a "blue and orange flames" paint job! The camera doesn't really do it justice!
What fun building stuff on a farm out in the woods!
David
