Pro Stock John

iTrader: (34)

I think the cheap way to go is to get a used TTi street kit and start from there. You might have to swap out one of the manifolds but the kit works pretty good from what I have seen over the years.

Speed

iTrader: (33)

Well my first turbo kit cost me 5k but it came with a MIG, TIG, metal bandsaw, etc, etc.

I think the difference between a 5k kit and a 2k kit isn't as much quality as it is time invested in researching each and every part, talking to a dozen vendors who make that part, and working out the best deal on them. I think the prices some of the main line turbo vendors charge is incredible (general statement, not directed at anyone). Almost all the parts going into those turbos are Garrett or Garrett based pieces they had made. I had a shop build me a T72 using all garrett parts with used housings for 1/2 what Precision wanted. That was 6 years ago and it's still alive today. More turbo builders use used housing than will admit. Not sure why because building a turbo with a used housing is like building an engine with a used block...

Another significant cost savings is replacing the 600 dollars in steel braided hose and fittings with 50 dollars in reenforced rubber hose and brass fittings. Rubber fuel injection line makes a great feed line. Heater hose makes a great return line. I've used this setup on a system for years with no failure. You can buy all the fittings you need for the cost of a single -10 hose end.

16 gauge aluminized mild steel bends are very resilient and stand up to the stress and weight of turbo operation just fine. You can building your induction side from 18 gauge mild steel bends which are weigh little and can be painted to look great.

A 38mm turbonetics deltagate dumped through a turn down to atmosphere controlled the boost on a 550rwhp car just fine. 5 dollar diy boost controller also worked just fine.

I guess the only point I'm trying to make is you can build a very reliable and very capable turbocharger system cost effectively if you are willing to trade the money. It's a pain in the *** to fab up a turbo system from scratch. I justified it the first time with the idea that the money saved would buy the tools I needed. Had I counted the extra time, I lost on the deal. If you only ever build one system (I've built a lot more than one) and never use the tools for anything else (I used my welders almost every weekend now that I have them), buy a prefab kit. Someone else has already done those things for you.

I have found that building turbo kits is more addictive than driving them so if you choose the diy route and the PITA it is to master all the goofy odds and ends surrounding it, you will find yourself feeling very irritated or very rewarded!

Tom@SpeedInc

iTrader: (5)

Here something Jim and Dan whipped up, within mintues, the turbo was donated. Terry Hilrod downpipe.

Pro Stock John

iTrader: (34)

That was a neat car, whatever happened to it.

Zangel

iTrader: (11)

At one point I thought my set up would be "budget"... then 5k turned to 7k and then to 10k and now we can just say I have stopped counting (this doesn't even include labor costs since we installed everything ourselves). To heck with the budget crap... I am starting all over with a new turbo kit. Sure people can build a turbo set up for less than 5k... but will it last?

jRaskell

iTrader: (1)

Can that even be called a 'downpipe'? At no point is it actually going down...

hellbents10

iTrader: (10)

1994 2.2l 5 speed s10

14b turbo JY $150
1ST gen DSM blow off $10
Dodge daytona intercooler $30
Cartek adj. FMU $180
Misc pipe and couplers $50

Under $450. Lots of fun too. Went from a high17 second truck to a low mid 14 second truck just like that. I had to drive it like a 2 step though. No tunning software so it wouldn't go into open loop till 90 percent TPS, so no part throttle boosting for me. Never broke anything but transmissions.

02BlackOnBlackSS

iTrader: (11)

I bought my car and it came build (somewhat) for nitrous. It had a 114 lsa cam, 12 bolt, ram clutch, mcleod master, denny's driveshaft, 918 springs with ti retainers, jet hot longtubes and y, borla exhaust, and I work for Craig Moates so tuning isn't factored into this budget.
I spend around $4k and all I need is a boost controller. Here is my setup:
STS kit with gt67 and tial bov (used)
4" SS Autochrome FMIC
Jake@epp is doing the piping and brackets for me
Silicone hoses from intakehoses
Racetronix PnP harness with FullThrottleSpeed pump
97/98 vette rails with boost ref'ed fpr (used)
Mototron 60s (used)
Cyberdyne gauges and autometer pillar pod (used)
BMR polished rad. shroud and passenger side sfc
2 bar map
boost manifold to clean up all of the t's

Soon I will be taking the longtubes off and selling them and the y-pipe and I should break even with swapping them out for stock ported and wrapped manifolds and an ory. That should be good for phase 1.

Once my budget recovers I'll get some 317 heads and a turbo cam, and that should do it until my bottom end goes out (hope it doesn't).

Tom@SpeedInc

iTrader: (5)

IIRC 302fordgirl bought it?
It was more or less a play on words, refering to terry houston dp from GNs and TTA LC2 stuff.

ericwilloughby

I'm bringing this back. So, what happened with this idea? I'll be building mine in a month and there is little on the V8 sites except, "you get what you pay for" and the ricer sites are doing a great job but I need to know what junk yard turbo's will support an LS.

ninetres

iTrader: (35)

Have AT LEAST 5k ready if you want to turbo your car. Disregard all of the incomplete parts lists in this thread that leave out SEVERAL necessary expenses.

engineermike

I built 2 of them for cheap because I'm a tightwad:

2004 Sea-Doo RXP
Used T3 60 trim turbo off an SVO Mustang: $70
E-bay TurboXS water/air intercooler: $120
-AN fittings and hose: $150
SS piping: $220
Thru-hull exhaust fitting: $115
42# injectors: $150
For a total of $825, I got the thing to go over 77 mph on the GPS. I borrowed a Riva ECU and 55# injectors ($1150 worth, $2000 total), upped the boost, and went 81 mph.

1995 Z28 (converted from a Vortech to a turbo)
T76GTS turbo: $1500
Tial 40 mm wastegate: $350
Used SLP headers: $300
Piping and fittings: $250
Technically, I only spent $2400 converting to a turbo and went 9's at 140+ mph. But, I already had a built shortblock, h/c, intercooler, and good fuel system. You could probably throw in another $1000 for injectors, fuel pump, impedence converter, and Tunercat. Add $150 - $1000 depending on intercooler (I'm confident the $120 TurboXS job would be fine). Then add whatever you want for a built long-block, which I did for about $7000. If you want to get detailed, I did a TH350 swap for $1000 including the converter, and a 9" rear for another $1500.

Mike

ericwilloughby

I know what's going on here. I'm not a noob. If I was willing to spend 5g's I'd have bought a Gen tt or APS kit.

This has been done, this can be done. Cheap, for less than $2,000. Like the OP, I'm really not interested in why it can't be done. I will do this, and soon. I'm looking for suggestions on CHEAP turbo's that can flow 60 PPM. Preferably with an integral wastegate. Like these.

Sideways240sx

iTrader: (22)

I kind of did a budget build... We did all the work ourselves.. before i started i made excel sheets, of prices, what parts, how much, ect. The initial costs including a welder, didn't have one, a band saw ect was about 5k.The car is now running, but not done. Im about to replace springs, and push rods, and get it back on the dyno since i am floating my valves @ 6 psi @ 5,000 rpm's.

From the time i started to right now there is probably 7-8k spent on my car. I bought a new torque arm, i did a custom radiator setup,gauges, new 02's, ceramic coatings ect. i have tons of parts left over aswell.
I could of done it cheaper, but didn't try, and i still think this was a budget build, cause i could have very easily spent alot more.


Could you turbo something for 2k. Maybe with lots of ebay parts, and waiting for those great deals on used parts. But i dont think i would be happy with it.


Chris

WS6HUMMER

iTrader: (19)

I plan on spending about 3500 but I already have a few things that would be needed like comp 918 springs, hardened pushrods, titanium retainers, HP Tuners, an LM1 wide band, a Racetronix fuel system, (donated) 55# injectors, (donated) BOV, and a good friend made me an awesome deal on a 76mm Garette that went 9.37 @ 144 on his car.

gametech

iTrader: (1)

A lot of the cost of a kit isn't just parts, it's also knowledge and skill. You have to know what parts can work, and you have to fabricate everything. If you can't understand a compressor map, you are already half out of the DIY game. If you will notice, the people who home build cheap kits don't seem to have to start "how can I do this" threads, because they already have the skill and know-how. That is why people like me use kits or build with previously proven components. It costs a little more initially, but saves a LOT of headaches.

FootLbs

iTrader: (7)

Wow! you guys have the end in sight??!

Congrats!!


My turbo build started with a 10K limit.

I am at 17K 5 months later and it hasnt moved with out some one pushing it ....

ericwilloughby

I can understand a compressor map just damn fine. I also have plenty of skill, and am a damn fine professional mechanic at UPS. Also the USAF, and have ASE certification and degree from USAF. Ever heard of any of them?

I don't need to prove myself to your smart ***. One thing I haven't seen is a compressor map with "corrected" values. Excuse the hell out of me for not knowing EVERYTHING.

Guys like you really **** me off. You don't know ****. You just have money. There is nothing much in a rear mount turbo kit to fab. Most of it is research and getting parts together . The pipe work will has been quoted to me at $300.

"How can I do this thread" . The question was anyone know of a cheap turbo in the 60 PPM range. ***.

It's a semi free damn country, but I'd much appreciate you staying out of this thread. It seems you have offended me.

prochargedchevyi

iTrader: (9)

I've been in the aftermarket game for most of my life, and in my experience, there are 3 types of auto enthusiasts.

- The first class of people are the ones who do not have the necessary tools or fabrication skills to create their own setups. Rather than butchering their cars and buying incorrect parts, they will use their own earned money to pay retail for a prefabbed kit to be installed. These people are known as "check cutters." They make up about 15% of enthusiasts.

- The second class of people are the guys that are patient and methodical about their buying habits. These are people that will wake up at 2am on a Tuesday to bid on a wastegate on Ebay. They take a lot of pride in their cars, and thus, will work as much as they can on it; then outsource the rest to a shop. They are not affraid to get dirty, but are hesitant about doing complex jobs - such as PCM tuning, or installing a rear differential. This class is called "average joe's" and they make up about 80% of enthusiasts.

- The third class is a special bunch. Most of them have an engineering background of some sort. These people are VERY cheap, and VERY resourceful. Their point-of-view is, "if a business sells a widget for $100, where do they buy their materials from, and how can I build it for $20?" While the majority of this group focuses on functionality rather than aesthetics, they are usually trend setters. This group is usually hated by the "check cutters" and admired by the "average Joe's." I've dubbed these guys "jobbers." These guys constitute the remaining 5%. Names that come to mind are Barney Nevarro, Gale Banks, and Smokey Yunick. 3 guys that barely had a pot to **** in, but usually blew away the competition.

Of course, nobody fits entirely in one of these categories. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Personally, I'm an "average joe." I can build a great motor, but I wouldn't know where to start on a transmission or body work.

john563

iTrader: (17)

$2000 for just the turbo kit is possible..I just bought my kit from Mike Brown(ohio boys) for $2000.. All oil lines, piping ,70mm turbo, waste gates, bov..

I allready have a strong transmission(RPM),and racetronics fuel pump,but gonna upgrade my 42lbers to 60..I'm heads and cam so I already have pushrods etc..
I bought my wideband here from a group buy for $200,and just got it today..Boost gauge is cheap and not worry so much about finding a deal on it..

If you are just talking $2000 for the kit it can be done as I bougt mine here for that..Its all the other things that is costing me.