M030
M030 HalfDork
8/22/10 9:37 p.m.

After reading this month's Car Craft article about cheap eBay twin turbo systems, I think the 302 in my 1990 Ford Bronco tow rig needs some boOOST!

The article was a little disappointing in that it didn't really tell me much about how to select a turbo system. Does anyone here have any experience with eBay turbo and/or twin turbo V8 kits?

Would this be a good kit for my 302?

ebay item #190406590474

If I can add a whole bunch of hp for not much money, I can't really see a reason why not to...

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim GRM+ Memberand Dork
8/22/10 11:06 p.m.

I assume that the Bronco has EFI? I can't see this kit work with a carb and you'll probably still have to do some fabrication just to get it to work with EFI.

Plus, it seems to rely on an AFPR or similar for fuel control so IMHO you should be budgeting for a Megasquirt or similar for decent fuel control.

digdug18
digdug18 HalfDork
8/23/10 1:25 a.m.

If your just looking for towing boost, why not a 50 shot? Its not a long term fix, but if you need to get up a hill it would help you out when towing. Add to that its alot easier then the turbo's.

I'd stay away from a twin turbo system as well. A single turbo is the way to for reliability. What seems to happen, is that at some point in time one of the 2 turbo's goes, and that puts undo pressure on the crank, killing the motor.

M030
M030 HalfDork
8/23/10 7:48 a.m.

The Bronco does have EFI and I am after more towing grunt, but I don't want to spend a fortune. I like the 50hp nitrous shot idea, but..

Maybe the smartest thing to do would be to just sell the Bronco and buy a turbo diesel pickup to tow with?

BoxheadTim
BoxheadTim GRM+ Memberand Dork
8/23/10 8:07 a.m.

The Bronco I looked at yesterday had an overbored 460 in it, that thing would most likely tow just about anything you'd want to tow. Up a telephone pole .

Schmidlap
Schmidlap Reader
8/23/10 8:54 a.m.

If you go with the 50 shot, make sure nitrous is legal in your state and where ever you plan to drive with it (or make sure you have it well hidden). To combat street racing, a lot of states have made it illegal to drive around with nitrous hooked up with penalties ranging from a ticket to impounding your car.

Bob

ReverendDexter
ReverendDexter Dork
8/23/10 8:59 a.m.

Being the OP's talking about a homebrew turbo system, I'd hazard they're not in California, where I know it's illegal to even be on a public road with nitrous hooked up, much less actually use it.

93gsxturbo
93gsxturbo Reader
8/23/10 12:13 p.m.

Better bet: Swap in a 5.0 Mustang motor from a 87+Mustang or 88+LSC. They are dirt cheap, free to $500 for a good running longblock, and make significantly more power than a stock 5.0 truck motor. Better heads, better cam, better intake, better shorty headers. Get the ECU and wiring too and do a mass air swap at the same time. Unless you have one of the few 94-96 F150s and Broncos with the MAF equipped EFI, all the turbo in the world wont do anything for your engine as the ECU has no way of knowing you added boost. Your stock truck motor has crappy E6 heads, crappy cast pistons, crappy intake design, crappy non-roller cam, etc.

Best bet: Drive it till it dies as-is, or sell it and buy a better tow rig. I forsee this project ending with a cumulative result of you being poorer and still not having a proper running and driving turbo Bronco.

Cotton
Cotton HalfDork
8/23/10 4:10 p.m.

I've also wondered about this. I'd love to add a single turbo to the carbed 350 in my truck. Nitrous wouldn't work for me....I'd get tired of the need to fill the bottle. I'd much rather spend a little more time and money up front that will pay off later.

I've seen several blow through carb turbo setups on SBCs recently, so it gives me hope. I already have a great tow rig, so this is strictly for fun in my situation.

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