LPG & TURBO

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I have a TF Cortina Ghia on LPG and was wondering how I would go about turbocharging it. I would like to run 2 stage boost controller with a 10psi low and 20psi high settings.

I wanted a standard suck through set up as came out on the XE (Dick Johnson special - but match porting of manifolds etc.) This would be my cheapest option but I am unsure if I would have problems when boosted at higher PSI. Any help/info guys?
 
Welcome to the forum!

Just follow Colin Townsends 265 VG Valiant, and use Mike Vine, Benson's, Ray Hall or the AIT exhast manifold. There are some full-on tube ones around for TO4's and GT45's, but they are expensive custom numbers.

The split pulse T03 60 most XE turbos in the 80's ran was okay to the 350 hp level, so it would be okay for street duty at 10 psi, and then 20 psi when you want to 'get away from it all'. Normalair Garret Air Research made the turbos in Australia for the AIT Falcon, for the Commodore Turbos, and the earliest Red and Blue engined Garret turbo set-ups for the SL/T Torana, 3300 Turbo and the like.

The stock, unturboed 250, with an Ultraflow intake and 500 Holley can yield 200 hp with few modifications. Use a 270 degree cam with 205 degrees at 50 thou, and, with a 10 psi boost, that would give almost 300 hp, and with 20 psi, it would be right on the 370 hp limit an internal waste gate TO3-60 can give. As long as its not over reved and doesn't run the later XF low tension rings, the 250 can hack it.

Rod bolts,
sump splash,
and rocker stud stripping are the only major worries.

The cam gear needs to be as hard as the origional, so its wise to buy a new cam and cam gear from Crow and ensure from them it is nitrided or hardened like the stock one is. The size of the gear needs to match the cam.

Lifters can suffer under extreme duress, but as long as the car has a bigger sump or stock one overfilled, they are reliable.

The pistons and rods should be upgraded to the 78 thou over XR6 Turbo pistons (they are just 250 size, but have an AU/BA OHC deck height), and 6.06" rod items, which come from the factory with under piston oiling. The stock AU ones can be converted to Turbo spec, they have the same part number as the 2004 Falcon Turbo. That will solve all the durabilty issues.

Seeing as we are talking LPG, the CA 225 is an excellent turbo carb, and it can give 207 hp without a turbo. The CA 425 is even better, rated to 287 hp, without a hint of boost. Colin Townsend got 375 rear wheel hp with 28 pounds of boost, or 480 flywheel hp net on his old Val. He used an E-series converter. If you are using an L-series converter, it will freeze up earlier than the E-series. The L-series is limited to 260 flywheel hp constant (without freezing), while the E-series can deliver 325 flywheel hp without freezing up. At the 20 pound level, converter freeze up will eventually happen, but a dyno run is only a 20 second journey.


Meantime, talk with the Aussies here who have done it themselves. There is now an influx of gung ho Cortina Turbo punters aiming for sub 10 second quarters.
 
Thanks for the advice xtaxi.
Alot of great info there much appreciated.
I will now look into everything and start getting prices.

Just a few more questions though if you can help.

What do you advise I use to avoid rocker stud stripping?

What do you advise for the lifters?

How do I find what convertor I am running on my LPG system? (L series or E series)...

What diff ratio would you suggest for daily driving and casual 1/4 mile?
Does a 3.9 sound about right?

What stall speed would you recomend for the auto with all the above?
Does a 2500 stall convertor sound about right?
 
lpg_250":1uz9kt3f said:
Thanks for the advice xtaxi.
Alot of great info there much appreciated.
I will now look into everything and start getting prices.

Just a few more questions though if you can help.

What do you advise I use to avoid rocker stud stripping?

What do you advise for the lifters?

How do I find what convertor I am running on my LPG system? (L series or E series)...

What diff ratio would you suggest for daily driving and casual 1/4 mile?
Does a 3.9 sound about right?

What stall speed would you recomend for the auto with all the above?
Does a 2500 stall convertor sound about right?



Rocker stud stripping? First option is easy. Limit revs to less than 5400 rpm. More expensivley, posi lock 7/16 studs on the head, and go YT roller rockers. Even more expensive, the latest SVO AVESCO racers fix it by making very trick location spigots where the 7/16 stud would go, and then peg the rocker with two smaller studs each side.

lifters Check Dynoed250's posts. He places flat grove in each lifter to bias the oil flow.

L series or E series Look closely at the converter. The L-series is marked L=series on the converter.

The L-series is Lozenge shaped, has EFI XE/XF Falcon style cross hatching on one side.
The L-series always has an EC-1 port, while the E-series often missed out on it, and has a priming spring.
The E-series has water inlets on opposite sides, while the L-series has water inlets on one side only.
The E-saeries is circluar.
The E-series can be marked EB or B2.
The E-series was made in Aussie under licence for a while.

What diff ratio Diff ratios can be compliacted. Car must be pulling 10% above peak power revs through the traps at a 1/4 mile, and must not run off the converter on the open road.

Generally, get a TE 2.92:1 diff from a 3.3 Cortina 6.

If your car has 370 hp at the flywheel, run a 3.23:1 diff

If your car has 300 hp at the flywheel, run a 3.08:1 Commodore VN diff ratio.

If your car has 200 hp at the flywheel, run a 2.77:1 diff, and take it to the limit in second Optionally, you can run a 3.7:1 TE 4 cyl diff then trailer it to the meet. 3900 rpm at 110 km/h is not going to make your six last.

The non turbo 250 Falcon likes similar 3.23's. Turbo Falcons in the 11's run 3.7's, and seldom see over 6 grand at the traps.

The Cortina needs a taller ratio to alow for smaller tyres. My friends 5 speed EFI TE car runs the 2.92:1 diff, and says he wants a 2.77 or 2.54 diff!

Traction with a well set-up Cortina is better than a Falcon due to weight transfer. Be very carefull! TF's don't run BW 78 diffs, they run the smaller 7" diff found on Oz RWD Toyota Coronas, Sigmas and Bluebirds. It won't take the heat! I like the bulletproff Limited slip SR5 Hilux truck diff, but they only come in 3.9, 4.1, 4.3 or 4.88 ratios. It allows you to get great drum brakes, Falcon 5-stud pattern, and the best axles for dollar you'll ever get. The hassles of welding the upper and lower links, and shock mounts are worth it! With is about 1390 mm, so its narrower than the 1420 mm of the stock diff.


What stall speed

A 2500 stall convertor sound about right. You'll find the engine will make a huge amount of low end torque, especially with two stage boosting. Stock aftermarket C4 converters, such as Kyver, are cheap, and run about 2350 rpm. Must V8 converters sit at 1650 rpm for a stocker, 2350 rpm if its an FMX 351GT. The price goes up and up from there.

At 110 km/h, a Cortina with 600 mm tall tyres and a 2.92:1 diff would give about 2800 rpm, so a 2350 to 2500 rpm converter is just fine. If you lower the diff ratio to 3.9:1, it would be pretty useless. Bob Pinelli, a 302 Cortina racer, found the 3.23 ratio ideal if you have big tyres. I'd just opt for 2.92:1 for a start, and concentrate on getting the basics of the turbo delivery right.

A drag Cortina will eventually rip the a$$ out of the stock floor. Inital issues are the rear window falling out under load, and then spot welds popping. ( Spots were only 80% complete at best in the factory). The four link rear is quite a good thing, but 300+ hp will tax it a little. You'll need compromise on the front springs and dampers to launch well. 90/10 shocks may help drop your ET's, but you'll never want to play cat and mouse around the streets.

Best wishes.

x
 
Hey X are you sure the cortys dont run a 78
Because with my old turbo corty I had a 3.7:1 from a 4cyl that i fitted with a ZL lane lsd hemisphere

I pulled it out of the lane fitted my 3.7 crown wheel and dropped it back into my corty housing

Plus I have played with heaps of slugmas and rustbirds in the past and their diffs are certianly smaller than the corty unit
 
All TF's have smaller, non BW 78 diffs. Ford downgraded them to cut weight and cost, according the Street Machines 1989 article on diffs, and Wheels' 1980/1 article on the TF upgrade.

I'm interested. Aussie TF's are very rare here in New Zealand, and I've not seen a TF diff. TC, TD, TE's, common as chips! Early Oz ones had a Type A or B diff and trans, then BW 78 from 1972 onwards until the 1981 TF.
 
Nah its cool X I just popped my head under the bum of my TE that currently has a TF diff (whilst other diff gets modded) and its definitely smaller and has the rubber plug like the smaller sigma units

Hey waddayaknow ya learn somthin every day :shock:
 
The convertor says:

IMPCO MODEL E
WP. 312 psi
WC. 25 lbs

It is circular & has the priming spring.
 
Well then, you have enough gas for a constant 325 hp barbie, or a 10 second 500 hp one!

You've got the right converter. The rest is just great planning, and thorough work. Check George's (Just for fun!) posts. He has been working on his Corty, and he has a lovely relaxed attitude. Check out GM Destroya's posts too. These guys don't get mind blown by having to do everything perfect. If you just focus on the basics, you will get what you want. I'd look at this site done by an aquintence of Colin Townsend, Rob Ward of Adelaide's R30 Skyline.


http://images.google.co.nz/imgres?i...ages?q=sKYLINE++turbo&start=60&hl=en&lr=&sa=N

http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&A=0068&P=1
 
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