71 Dodge Colt build

[Blake67GTX]

Hi all,

A while back, my brothers bought this car over at forabodies from a nice fella named Stan. California or Arizona car. Rust free, clean as it gets.

I’ve tasked myself with building a patina drag car out of it. Budget minded if at all possible.

I have a .040 over ‘68 318 block w steel crank. I have a narrowed nine inch that I’ll be using. I intend to go a833 4speed manual.

Stuffing a 318 into this is no easy task. I’ll have to move the engine back a few inches to get some weight off the front. And there’s not much room in front of engine neither.

I’m trying to not cut it up as this is a real nice car. I am only sectioning the bell housing portion of the firewall a few inches to get the engine back. The inner fenders and everything else will remain.

I’m keeping the factory trim and everything that makes it a dodge colt. My plan is keep it clean. Factory lines, trim and emblems.

Getting to the point, I wanna do something different and boost it. I have no turbo or supercharging experience so bare with me. I’m using the 318...Hopefully w a forged dish piston I can keep it 8:1. I want 550-600 hp to the flywheel which I think is very feasible from what I’ve read so far. I can employ a girdle and main studs if needed. Your thoughts?

Keep in mind that I’m entry level to turbos, how much boost should I aim for? I’d like to mimic my build off of some of you who have the blow thru carb, small block Chrysler, single turbo setup...What intake manifold? What size and type of turbo? How much static compression should this thing have? Is pump gas 93 octane an option? Can I get away w factory rods and factory main caps and bolts? Any suggestions for a budget build turbo three eighteen?

a few pics of the colt and a pic of my gtx convertible that you guys have helped me with...

thanks,

Blake

 

[Bb70charger500]

There was a member on here selling turbo piping/stuff for small block I want to say twin turbo . You might want to look for him . Besides that I got nothing turbos are fun but I don't mess with them to much

 

[Dodge33]

I would try looking up a 390 stroker kit for a 318 motor, not real sure how much
power it would put out, but lots of quality information on them, using the internet.
Good luck with whatever you decide. A really cool car to modify! I like them because
they are different!

 

[66Satellite47]

The short wheelbase could give you some REAL entertainment.
Great looking GTX!!

 

[Tintoy35]

That's a nice looking GTX. A friend of mine has a 72Colt GT drag car with a 440 in it. It was interesting to watch until he moved the shock towers back and realigned. Good luck with the build.

 

[Paul Secoy]

I'm doing my first turbo build right now, and I'm getting towards the end. 550-600 I don't think is unreasonable at all, but you are likely looking at 15 Psi to do so, and you will most likely be looking at intercooling at the very least with pump gas. If E85 is available, that is an excellent low cost option, high octane, and excellent charge cooling. Stock manifolds flipped around backwards might fit just fine for you. Turbos make a ton of torque, so a 550 HP turbo build will likely outrun a 550 N/A motor by a bunch.

Richard Holdener on Youtube just did a 7/1 compression motorhome 440 with stock exhaust manifolds and a very small cam, stock heads/rockers/etc. Pump gas, no intercooling, 7.9 pounds of boost, it made 527 HP and 650 ft pounds of torque. 600 foot pounds in the 2,000 rpm range. It gained 190 HP and 210 foot pounds over N/A, and it had long tube headers for the N/A runs, not the log manifolds he used for the turbo.

Good luck, it's gonna be interesting

 

[Blake67GTX]

Thanks guys.

Appreciate the input. Manifolds flipped around is a great fit for this build. Cant wait to use the stock rockers.

 

[BeatersRus]

if you get a chance,swing by the A body forum.
those guys are gurus at this,and theres Tons of info on turboing small blocks over there.
https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/forums/forced-induction-mopar.84/

 

[Blake67GTX]

if you get a chance,swing by the A body forum.
those guys are gurus at this,and theres Tons of info on turboing small blocks over there.
https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/forums/forced-induction-mopar.84/

Nice find. Thank you.

 

[BeatersRus]

btw,you do know ??
those colts were such short wheelbase that they Really are a handfull with a little hp.
even the Pros were wrecking these things.
sounds like you are gonna put it in that category for sure.
i love the car you have too,it reminds me of a grey one i had bitd.

 

[Blake67GTX]

btw,you do know ??
those colts were such short wheelbase that they Really are a handfull with a little hp.
even the Pros were wrecking these things.
sounds like you are gonna put it in that category for sure.
i love the car you have too,it reminds me of a grey one i had bitd.

Foul handling. Hoping a small block set back and sitting low enough will help stability.

 

[WP29440SE]

guys hack the **** out of these cars , run em for awhile and then throw them away. whats REALLY cool is when they are set up for V8's , with only minimal fab work, put back together in basically stock form, and driven on the street. in my opinion that really makes these little rides stand out.

 

[33 IMP]

btw,you do know ??
those colts were such short wheelbase that they Really are a handfull with a little hp.
even the Pros were wrecking these things.
sounds like you are gonna put it in that category for sure.
i love the car you have too,it reminds me of a grey one i had bitd.

Foul handling. Hoping a small block set back and sitting low enough will help stability.

Respectfully gentleman, I have to disagree. The colt wheelbase was right in the middle of the Vegas and pintos that ran at the same time. There are thousands of Vegas and pintos out there that have made countless thousands of passes.
Granted, a bunch of those Colts crashed, and were kinda evil handling, but that was cause the had about 65% of the weight on the front wheels cause of the 900lb iron hemi, that nhra wouldn't let them move back in the chassis. Put way too much power in a badly balanced chassis and anything can be evil handling.
If you are willing to move the engine to where it needs to be, low in the chassis, and about 8" into the firewall, and keep power and engine weight moderate, these little cars can handle fine.
Mine has about 3" more wheelbase than the colt, has the front spark plug behind the strut, has maybe 500hp at the crank, and was out of shape Once, when there was a foreign substance under one tire.

 

[66Satellite47]

I recall a couple of V-8 Colts that were not full on drag cars. Looked like a handful. So were some of the tube Pro Stock like drag cars. I thought the Colts' & Arrows' were a bit shorter wheelbase than the Pintos' & Vegas', but could be wrong. My Arrow tube car was 92" wheelbase with iron 400/452". It drove straighter & easier @ 147 MPH than my '65 Coronet @ 127. But Arrow had Lamb struts & ladder bars, rack & pinion and sat fairly low. Blake, enjoy the project & keep her straight.

 

[Blake67GTX]

I recall a couple of V-8 Colts that were not full on drag cars. Looked like a handful. So were some of the tube Pro Stock like drag cars. I thought the Colts' & Arrows' were a bit shorter wheelbase than the Pintos' & Vegas', but could be wrong. My Arrow tube car was 92" wheelbase with iron 400/452". It drove straighter & easier @ 147 MPH than my '65 Coronet @ 127. But Arrow had Lamb struts & ladder bars, rack & pinion and sat fairly low. Blake, enjoy the project & keep her straight.

1971 Colts are 95.2" wheelbase. Thanks 66Sat. This is exciting. Can't wait to have some progress pics to post. As of yet, the front lower core support area needs pulled out slightly (must have been in a fender bender- very mild hit). My brother will put it on the frame rack to straighten.

And then, we will remove battery tray cleanly without molesting inner fender. Then, begin mocking up engine for location and fitment.

 

[33 IMP]

Pinto was 94, vega was 96, my opel gt is 95, my tina is 98, but the wheelbase sometimes moves a bit with rearend swaps, and rear suspension changes. My tina has factory front discs (in 64!) Jfz in the back, factory struts and rack and pinion, and ladder bars. The more you make it like a real race car, the better it will behave. I agree with 66satellite47.

 

[Curiousyellow71]

That will be a wicked little car. We turbocharged a 318 25 years ago ran a turbo off a diesel. There are some pretty affordable turbo options now. For your goals I think the stock rods with arp bolts would be fine. Cast crank would be fine...finding a oem steel crank would be a nice upgrade. 500hp could run cast pistons yet. Forged pistons would be "much" better. Use cometic head gaskets, they require mirror finishes. Staying with cheap I would run a bigger valve 360 head which flow more and will lower the compression some, which wont hurt much if you want to run pump gas. Probably a low profile single plane is your best bet. Control your boost psi and I think it will be fun.

 

[dvw]

360, 76 mm, blow thru 4160 Holley, home bowl port, Reground stock hyd roller (.490"), truck manifolds, 2.76 gear. 3800lbs, 13psi went 10.99 1st time out, later 10.60's, Eventually a little more boost with a 3.23 it went 9.90. Since then with 21psi, Eddy heads, .560" cam, 3.55 its been 9.55@142. More in it power wise. But it has a stock cast crank and block.
Doug

 

[33 IMP]

Doug, Wallace says your son's car has about 850hp at the crank. I'm not sure I would even want that much power in my car. 2400 lbs, 850 hp? I think I'm a little old for that much sauce.

 

[Blake67GTX]

Excellent info. Thank you gentleman.