Not a B body. But something to keep me busy

[biomedtechguy]

@Mr. Cranky, if you are telling that story because of my "unusual" car (Conquest) story, I'll say this and keep it short (I could write a novella) since the turbo is the only remotely "on topic" thing.
It's my best friend and Mopar brother Harry that introduced me to the Conquest, more of a "reintroduction" because when they were new, especially the wide bodies, in the 80s, late 80s for the wide bodies, I took notice of them, 2 things in particular other than what I think is a VERY cool looking body for that "genre".
Fiji Blue is a stunning metallic blue, especially when clean on a sunny day. We called it "that blue" back then, not knowing the official name Mitsu gave. The interior, especially the seats are another. Anyway, Harry really got (and still is) pretty deeply connected to all things StarQuest, and went through a few, the first one I took an interest in had a 16c turbo, auto trans, and would "giddy up". I hadn't had a "fun car" for years and years, and I was making good coin with my own Audio/Video Home Theater business post Katrina, so when the Fiji Blue car I bought became available, Harry called me and told me from his knowledgeable perspective it was one of those really good deals. So I had a pretty good idea about what I was getting, and a really good knowledge base for help with anything, between Harry and the club members, and a forum too! I had so much fun with that car, and really came to appreciate what turbos can do for performance.
Wrapping up the story, Harry had one that he made SO NICE it won multiple awards and trophies, beautiful to look at, clean, NOT "Tuner Blasted" paint 34 stickers and every neon color you can imagine. The 1969 high compression MOPAR 318 small block V-8 fit really nicely, and ran well, and the sound of a V-8 coming from a car that looked like his was quite a package.
He's waiting seems like forever to get a really good dyno session tune programmed into his current Conquest...the 2JZ single turbo inline 6 should put out a reliable, easy to live with and yet still KICK *** 5XX horsepower.
Apologies for the off topic post.
TURBO ARE AWESOME!

 

[LemonWedge]

First time I’ve gone through this thread in a while. I am so impressed with your immagination and attention to detail, Doug. Craftsmanship is evident in everything you do, from battery location to pea-gravel, out-sink sumps.
Great to read that you’re still feeling spry at 68. I hope to be as busy and creative as you are in retirement.

 

[dvw]

So here's what we have going on. Removed the factory tach and lens. Replaced it with the AFR/boost control/ shift light. Had to make a block off plate and a ring to take up the gauge diameter difference . The wiring bulkhead has been welded up in the firewall. All wiring will be hidden as well as posible. The light, horn, and alternator wiring will go under the left inner fender. The wiper harness will come out behind the wiper motor. The engine harness just below the wiper motor. What does that all mean. You have to chop off the bulkhead. Separate everything and reroute. As seen it looks alittle daunting. But it's now really that bad.
Doug

 

[khryslerkid]

So here's what we have going on. Removed the factory tach and lens. Replaced it with the AFR/boost control/ shift light. Had to make a block off plate and a ring to take up the gauge diameter difference . The wiring bulkhead has been welded up in the firewall. All wiring will be hidden as well as posible. The light, horn, and alternator wiring will go under the left inner fender. The wiper harness will come out behind the wiper motor. The engine harness just below the wiper motor. What does that all mean. You have to chop off the bulkhead. Separate everything and reroute. As seen it looks alittle daunting. But it's now really that bad.
Doug

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So what package did they call that one with the tach and 150 speedometer? Rally?

 

[dvw]

So what package did they call that one with the tach and 150 speedometer? Rally?

Yes.

 

[malex]

As for "old 727s" I run a 65 model in my racecar. Seems to handle 8 second ET's OK. The Duster has a mid 70's 727
This is "the turbo 360" The duster will be a lot lighter.

—-
That Savoy has got to be the coolest Mopar going.

 

[dvw]

This all started by chopping off the firewall bulkhead. The factory rerout was pretty easy. But as you can see we've added MANY additional circuits. Its hard to bundle all this stuff up and be neat when you blend factory and aftermarket into a small space. Its actually pretty orhonized. Got the dash pretty much done. Waiting on the radio and gauges. I'll test all the circuits today with a battery. All the factory wiring that was moved has the harnesses taped back up. The MSD, Inovate A/F, boost control, and gauge wiring is zip tied into bundles. The MSD can be removed with two nuts. Zip ties can be cut. If there is ever an issue it'll come apart for diagnosis. You can see there is I pretty big bundle in the center hanging down. It has map sensor timing control. A/F boost control. Lots of extra stuff.
Doug

 

[dvw]

Been awhile since any updates. Except for the heater control just about everything except the engine is done. We have a mockup block, heads,and trans bolted in. Of course since this set up was in a 62 B body it's not a bolt in. First issue; turbo hits the hood. 1/2" spacers between the K frame and body fix that. Next the LH manifold hits the steering box and the shaft coupler. 1/4" spacer on the LH motor mount fixed that. Turbo plumbing hits the K frame and sway bar as the motor sets further rearward in an A body. Taking the car to my friend Kyle today. He is a master fabricator and header builder. So that will be addressed quickly. The down pipe to the rear will need to be smaller. A slightly squished 3.5" will barely fit between the trans and torsion bar. On a positive note since the engine sets further back it looks like tha radiator won't be an issue.
Doug

 

[LemonWedge]

Great progress, Doug. Tackling fitment issues is quite the challenge. Your K-member spacers have me thinking about my potential hood clearance issues. Do you anticipate any handling trade-offs?

 

[dvw]

The kframe move moves everything except the upper control arms. Hemi A bodys had this mod. There are long upper ball joints available. I dont think we'll need them. Made good progress today. All the hot side piping is fitted and tacked. Finish weld tomorrow. Then we'll tackle the exhaust system.
Doug

 

[dvw]

Kyle knocked it out of the park as always. The 3.5" downpipe fits with a fraction of an inch. Nicely tig welded. We'll try no muffler and see how loud it is. The reason for the cross to the drivers side is there is room for a 3.5" tail pipe between the tank and spring.
Doug

 

[biomedtechguy]

We'll try no muffler and see how loud it is.

It's not that unusual for a Turbo car to go unmuffled, the turbo breaks up the sound into something that isn't as obnoxious as open headers, although I like the sound of a big cam and open headers.
NO advantage to backpressure in a Turbo car!
Looks good so far!

 

[Cranky]

Kyle knocked it out of the park as always. The 3.5" downpipe fits with a fraction of an inch. Nicely tig welded. We'll try no muffler and see how loud it is. The reason for the cross to the drivers side is there is room for a 3.5" tail pipe between the tank and spring.
Doug

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Cool! I was surprised at how loud my Cummins diesel wasn't when I straight piped it over 20 years ago.....and it passes inspection every year. Yup, I still have it.

 

[dvw]

I towed my trailer with my Cummins once with no muffler. That was the Last time. Update it still has the gas carb on on it but Jeff's been taking it out for shakedon runs. Oil temo is higher than we'd like. But everything is the same as it was when installed in my sons 62. However it has only 25 degrees total timing that may be part of it as well. He never had an issue. So we'lll address that. Still just has my eyeball alignment. It's getting nicer weather so we'll swap the carb and get the E85 tune in it.
Doug

 

[Cranky]

I towed my trailer with my Cummins once with no muffler. That was the Last time. Update it still has the gas carb on on it but Jeff's been taking it out for shakedon runs. Oil temo is higher than we'd like. But everything is the same as it was when installed in my sons 62. However it has only 25 degrees total timing that may be part of it as well. He never had an issue. So we'lll address that. Still just has my eyeball alignment. It's getting nicer weather so we'll swap the carb and get the E85 tune in it.
Doug

Did the pipe go all the way to the end like a stock setup? I ran with a short pipe for a couple of days until I was able to get a length of pipe that was long enough to take the place of the cat and muffler and that was kinda loud in the cab....