Re: TOY: Turbo?

[Jeff Moskovitz <jeff_moskovitz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

As Brian said, it really depends on how far gone the turbo motor is. 
Rebuilding a stock CT20 can be so expensive that it's hardly worth it -- 
cheaper (and more rewarding) to swap in a T3 or T3/T4. I have info about 
such a swap on my web site, including plans for the manifold adapter.

Turbo motors can make decent low end power, but the stock RTE is pretty 
weak in that department: in stock form, the turbo doesn't really spool up 
until 2800 rpm or so, so the engineers had to patch together a few 
mechanical fixes to help the turbo trucks off the line. These include a 
25 lb flywheel and a very low 4.31:1 first gear. Of course, the 25 lb 
flywheel also limits how fast the turbo motor can spin up, so this "fix" 
is something that really limits the high end speed and acceleration of 
the motor, although it does help the torque at the low end.

As for water and mud damage, yes, turbos are somewhat delicate, but as 
long as you have a really, really good filtration system you should be 
OK. Remember, the turbo can spin at 40,000 rpm or more, so anything that 
interferes with that action is TROUBLE!

Things to look for: cracks in the exhaust manifold, especially between 
the 2 and 3 cylinders. Turbo shaft runout greater than the smallest 
fraction of an inch. Oil seepage into the intake tract (although this is 
somewhat common, and hard to avoid on a CT20). Basically, the CT20 turbo 
is an expensive accident waiting to happen, so ditching that in favor of 
a T3 or T3/T4 is a smart move, IMO.

My web site has a lot of material about the upside potential of these 
motors -- I think they're very capable power plants, and I've got a lot 
of time and money tied up in mine. But they are not cheap, and they are 
sort of delicate unless you build them to be better-than-stock. But you 
can *double* or even *triple* their stock power output with the right 
combination of parts and tuning if you are patient and have deep pockets. 
For most people, there are easier/cheaper ways to make similar power that 
involve swapping in a domestic engine, but there are also a few crazies 
like myself who find the turbo motors an appealing alternative to the 
more common domestic engine swap.

I guess I would look at the $500 motor and see a motor that could easily 
cost $2500 or more to rebuild as a suitable race motor, and that's the 
real cost of what you should be looking at.

My .02 cents,

Jeff
Jeff's 22R-TE page:
http://www.well.com/user/mosk

On 12/4/00 10:08 AM, Eli Madden said:

>I have a line on a rebuildable Turbo motor with ECU and wiring harness for
>$500.
>
>Can these be tweaked for acceptable low-end? I do a lot of mud, so the rev
>power would be nice, I'm just a little worried about losing low-end.
>
>Are turbos more susceptible to water and mud damage?
>
>Does anybody have an advice about what to look for? Any misc. comments on
>turbos would be appreciated.
>
>Please reply directly to me as well as the list(s). I don't always have
>time to read every single one.