some progress on the blue Spirit R/T

[TurboSedan]

well for the first time since i bought my Spirit R/T over two months ago, i finally did something to it! up until now the only things i have done is remove those riced out graphic stickers that were on it and put it on a trailer to haul it down to my new place.

the turbo was completely trashed; i've never felt so much shaft play. it was just flopping around inside. after i removed it i found oil all over inside. there is no way this thing can be rebuilt since it looks like the compressor wheel had obviously come into contact with the housing. i also removed a few other things in preparation for removing the cylinder head. the bottom of the intercooler is filled with oil, along with oil all over the throttle body and intercooler hoses. even the downpipe has oil all over in it. i pulled the cam covers off and it appears to be extremely clean inside. from what i can tell so far all of the cam lobes look perfectly smooth. only one lifter was missing that plastic retainer piece, other than that minor detail the valvetrain looked absolutely great. i haven't cleaned the valley area yet, but i looked very closely with a bright flashlight and i cannot see any signs of cracks. it still has the original steel core plugs, but so far it looks fine. the spark plugs looked really bad - looked like they had milkshake oil on the threads but fwiw i found them to be VERY loose....like just barely more than handtight so maybe that had something to do with it? the previous owner told me he thought the head gasket was blown because it was smoking so bad but i think it was obviously the turbo. the coolant in the radiator is bright green and does not appear to be contaminated, and the motor oil is clean and full as well. i do plan on having the head pressure checked, valve job with new guides, resurfaced (?) along with new FWDP lifters and titanium retainers and cometic HG. i'm probably just going to locate a stock turbo for now although i would love to get a .63 stg-II 50-trim later. i just need to get this thing running first and fix all of the issues leftover from the previous owner.

i also removed the front bumper and cover. the previous owner said he hit a pole while drunk. thankfully no damage at all besides the bumper cover and the bumper itself needs to be replaced. i have already located a replacement ES bumper cover in a local salvage yard.

it was dark out, snowing and 21*F, all inside of a tiny garage that has no electricity. i made due with my maglight :D i also don't have a jack so it was kind of ----- cramming myself under the car to unbolt the downpipe hah. feels good finally making some progress though! anyway, here are some progress pics:

yeah, the previous owner decided to paint the cam covers orange. yuk.
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03635.JPG

oil in the downpipe:
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03636.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03638.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03637.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03629.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03630.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03631.JPG

the lower lip appears to be good, so i guess i'll keep that:
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03633.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03642.JPG

-----------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge Spirit R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[Lotashelbys]

Well thats good news to hear about the valvetrain. i would rather spend that money on the goodies you listed off for the head anyway. Its really heartbreaking that the little baby stock turbo is dead,time for the 50 trim:D
Good luck with her;)

[TurboSedan]

i think my brother is coming down this Monday and hopefully we can remove the cylinder head then (no way am i lifting that thing off by myself). i know this engine has been rebuilt twice; hopefully whoever did the rebuild didn't do anything too stupid like stick TII pistons in there. kinda wish i had a borescope but i'd rather clean the hell out of everything and use a Cometic anyway.

hopefully with new headgasket and turbo/lines, some cleaning and other misc. fixes i can get this thing running and driving. Jeremy has a good stock TIII turbo that we might use temporarily. then i'll at least know whether or not i have to completely tear into it and fix something like a spun rod bearing.

even if it did come to that i guess i'd still wouldn't regret buying it. $800 for a completely rust free, very clean interior, clean title, 115,xxx mile Spirit R/T aint bad ecpsecially when i didn't even have to go anywhere to get it :D but of course, unlike a SOHC it is going to be $$$$ to fix/modify. i don't think my supercharged Regal is going to get any more mods anytime soon.

--------------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge Spirit R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[iTurbo]

Awesome! If the weather is good on Monday I may just stop in Douglas on my way down and grab that bumper cover for ya. I'd like to test fit that NPR intercooler on your R/T while the front end is off too.

[mark]

the nice things about tIII motors is to swap the turbo, you dont have to pull the friggin head.

good find on that car! my stocker turbo died... and i went with a stageII 50 trim with just the 48 housing. i got the 63, I just havent followed through or decided on sticking with internal or an external wastegate.

+++++59045984 for the 50 trim!!!!!

[TurboSedan]

how is the spoolup with that .48 housing? i'm thinking maybe i should do that. living at 7200ft elevation = lots of lag. just going down to 4500ft makes a big difference. the last thing i want is to have the car be a dog below 3500 RPM. i used to own a '91 Cutlass with a 3.1L Turbo V6 that used a small T25. no lag at all, just step on the go pedal and take off! i think i got used to it :p i'd probably only be going to the dragstrip once or twice a year at most, so maybe a .63 stg-II turbine would be too much for what i want. i just want it to be a fun street driven car. hell if Pat has gone 12.44 at 110 on a stock turbo'd Spirit R/T maybe the stock turbo is the way to go.

it'll be quite awhile before i buy an upgraded turbo though, so i have lots of time to decide.

-----------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge Spirit R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

i pulled the intake off tonight. under intake port #2 i found a round thing stuck on the head with black RTV, about 3/4" diameter. it says "gaurantee void if removed" so it appears this head has possibly been repaired before? it kind of looks like the back of a 12ga shotgun shell:

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03646.JPG

do TIII engines have two knock sensors? as you can see in the pic i have one in the block and another in the head. the one in the head wasn't being used. i didn't find a another conector for the other one.

dam Fram filters, maybe that's why the turbo went! :( i should have the head off tomarrow.
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03645.JPG

-----------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge Spirit R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[Lotashelbys]

Certain machine shops put them on heads and blocks that they rebuild. Alot of big head rebuilders do that as well. It looks like it was bead-blasted once and has some aftermarket cam plug in the back of it. I wouldnt be worried about pulling it off as I doubt you will get it warrantied anywhere:D
Look at the front of the head between where the cams go in and see if it has the letters DUNN cast into it.

As for the two knock sensors,ha,ha,no,someone put that in there. That bolt hole is not used on a TIII.

[2.216VTurbo]

Coolant is green and the smoke was from the turbo. No cracks or seepage in the valley, Why are you pulling the head?

[TurboSedan]

i just looked and i do not see 'DUNN" anywhere. someone scribed in the numbers "3874" but that's it (between cam gears...looks like it was done with one of those vibrating pen things for marking tools). i also looked for STAR imprint like my brother's TIII head had but didn't see that anywhere either. the cam plugs do look new.

i didn't think the TIII had two knock sensors, but then my Buick does so thought i would make sure. i'll just remove it.

thanks

---------------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge Spirit R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

Coolant is green and the smoke was from the turbo. No cracks or seepage in the valley, Why are you pulling the head?

mostly want to make sure everything is alright. i'm going by what the owner told me and that the spark plug threads looked pretty bad. i'm still not really sure why the spark plug threads had milkshake-like oil on them, even if they were loose. the plug tips didn't (just really blackened/oil fouled).

maybe i shouldn't bother? so far it does not appear to be blown, and i see no signs of an external leak. kinda wanted to run a cometic but i suppose that could wait until next spring/summer when i have more money for the other stuff i have planned.

-----------------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge Spirit R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[2.216VTurbo]

Well, If I had plenty of $$ to throw at it, I'd pull the head, port/polish, three angle valve job-you know all the goodies. But if I were on a tight budget, head is not cracked or oozing coolant, seems like you have diagnosed the smoking problem. Cant see why you would pull it at this point. Find a decent stock turbo, cut out the Cat (if it has one) and run it for a while while you stock up on the parts and $$ to upgrade when the head does need to come off.:)

[TurboSedan]

i know i really should do that, but i guess my curiousity is the real thing. kinda need something to do and have fun wrenching anyway and head gasket/bolts don't cost much. i really want to see how the pistons & combustion chambers look. i never have heard this thing run and i know the previous owner was probably hard on it. the engine was rebuilt about a year ago (my brother and i know the owner of the place that did the work to the car) BUT another shop out of town actually did the rebuild. the shop in town here just did the R&R. fwiw i am pretty sure the engine was rebuilt once before that. when i seen this car for sale back in 2005, the For Sale sign in the window claimed the engine had just been rebuilt.

this is probably a stupid question, but can a TIII be rebuilt with TII pistons? i'm almost scared that is what i'm going to find, because alot of shops/mechanics have no idea what a TIII is and might think all 2.2 Turbo engines are the same. if it has been rebuilt twice now, there is a chance it may have needed an overbore at some point...

---------------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge Spirit R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[86Shelby]

TII pistons will not work in a TIII engine. Compression would likely be too low.

[TurboSedan]

well the car now has a good front bumper again. Jeremy and i got it for $35 including the black grill. we installed it today but it still needs to be adjusted a little. the lower lip piece is a little tweaked so i might end up using the old one. the fog light brackets were a little different between the two bumpers so i still need to swap those out.

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03648.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03649.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03650.JPG

Jeremy looked at the lifter that i thought was missing the plastic retainer, and it is actually a new FWDP lifter. besides some cleaning, i can't really do much to it until a new turbo line kit gets here. i've decided to leave the head on.

---------------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge Spirit R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[iTurbo]

And now I can finally fix my own bumper cover! That turned out to be easier than I thought to replace. We still need to align the black bumper a little better but that should be easy. You can see in the pics that the bumper hangs a little too low creating a gap between the bumper and grill.

I'm amazed at how good the engine itself looks though...you got lucky! Blue R/T should be running in January sometime.

[mcsvt]

Nice finding on the bumper.

Sounds like a good plan to leave her sealed up until your ready to upgrade :thumb:

[turbovanman²]

As said, that disc/tag is what machine shops use to identify there heads for warranty. If that tag isn't there, it means the engine was overheated so no warranty as the glue melts at a certain temp. That would also explain why the head is so clean inside.

I agee with Alan, if money is tight, just put a new turbo on and put it back together, the engine looks like its in great shape. :amen:

I have so much work to do to mine, will have to wait until next year. :(

[TurboSedan]

one of the freeze plugs on the front of the block has a round tag as well. it doesn't say "gaurantee void if removed" on it but it's obviously the same thing.

can't wait to drive this thing. my Regal is so boring, i miss having a manual transmission.

--------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge Spirit R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[With Kids]

The tag your talking about are called heat tabs. If the engine is overheated the small center will melt out at about 280'. They are usually put on freeze plugs and with a metal based glue. The one on your head looks like it was put on with silicone which acts as an insulator.

[TurboSedan]

woohoo my blue R/T should be running very soon. i ordered the parts needed from FWDP, an NTK O2 sensor and NGK plugs from sparkplugs.com. HUGE thanks to my brother Jerm for letting me use his good turbo (stock TIII) and TU line set. i am 90% sure i'm going to pull the head off just because i'm being anal i guess. i really want see those pistons and be absolutely sure the HG isn't bad. other than that i just need to cut out the cat because i'm sure it's plugged up due to all of the oil the turbo leaked out. the downpipe itself is covered in oil so i'm going to have to clean that up.

i can't wait to drive it! my Regal GS is soooo boring to drive. i like the GS alot, it's fairly quick for what it is but i really hate automatic transmissions (not to mention the car payments lol). i want to replace it with something smaller/more nimble. if i can sell it i'm going to get another 5-speed SOHC TD to replace it. i really want my old T2 '89 Lebaron GTS back :(

so anyway, i changed the oil the other day and Jerm and i fixed the fubar'd O2 sensor wiring. as soon as the FWDP order gets here we are going to finish it up then i just need to go get tags and add it to my insurance policy. we'll have to post some pics of the red white and blue Spirit R/Ts soon.

we're going to MN this Sunday to pick up Jerm's red Spirit R/T. wish we could stop by Jackson's house but due to weather and gas prices we probably can't :( i can't wait for summer to get here.

------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[iTurbo]

Oh and now you want to replace the headgasket. And then you'll really want some nice PC valve covers, and maybe some poly motor mounts while you're at it. and shifter bushings, gotta have some decent shifter bushings. The snowball is in effect:D

[turbovanman²]

The snowball is in effect:D

Oh yeah, and once it starts, :mecry: :eyebrows:

[Lotashelbys]

And then you'll really want some nice PC valve covers,
Remember,I have wrinkle blue powdercoat........

[Turbo224]

Remember,I have wrinkle blue powdercoat........

And it looks awesome on your valve covers!

[iTurbo]

You know you want 'em:eyebrows:

http://www.pbase.com/rmscott/image/66099276

[turbovanman²]

You know you want 'em:eyebrows:

http://k41.pbase.com/o4/24/16624/1/66099276.3KywSGJR.daytonablue078800x600.jpg


None of your pics are working, :(

[TurboSedan]

those blue covers do look NICE but it's just that i'm dead set on getting this car repainted white eventually. more than likely i'll be going with red powdercoated intake, valve covers and valley cover. i just want it to look as stock as possible later on....well ok with the exception of some FMIC pipes

on a side note i'm really hoping my friend i sold my '89 Turbo-II Lebaron GTS to last year will make a deal with me on it. he's an L67 nut and owns a modded '00 Grand Prix GTP. i'm hoping he'll decide to buy my L67 Regal GS for my loan payoff and give me the GTS back as part of the deal. i guess he just blew the headgasket earlier tonight not to mention the A555 is grinding into 3rd and 4th. i really miss that car. would be fun to build up a stout 2.5 and convert it to A568 with OBX. maybe even buy my brother's extra Shelby Lancer gfx and install them. i'm an H-body nut what can i say :) even though the TIII bug has hit me i still love the SOHC!

---------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

we pulled the head off today and i'm glad i did. all the head bolts felt too loose; more like 60 ft/lbs not 90. they were also all completely covered in oil and it looks like coolant was seeping into cylinders #1 and #4. on the bright side, the pistons appear to aftermarket. my brother said they look alot more like his new TIII Venolia pistons than his stock TIII pistons. not sure of overbore yet but they have a deeper looking dish than stock pistons and are very very shiny like brand new.

found a few other problems as well, mostly little stuff like whoever installed the oil pan and waterpump used RTV everywhere :mad: and apparantly they lost alot of the stock fasteners because some were missing or replaced with hardware store variety.

one interesting thing was the waterpump deflector. it's a copy of the original but it's made out of stainless and it's about 1/8" thick. a very good copy of the original deflector too. i'll try to get a pic of it next to a stock deflector.

-------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03716.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03717.JPG

it's almost twice as thick as the stock piece but there was a washer of the same thickness to go along with it.
---------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[Turbo224]

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03716.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03717.JPG

it's almost twice as thick as the stock piece but there was a washer of the same thickness to go along with it.
---------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

Well, as long as the washer is the same thickness as the deflector, you should be fine. Would be cool if it had venolias in it. Nothing like free parts!

[iTurbo]

Yeah we may pull the oil pan and look at the bottom of the pistons to be sure what they are. They do look brand new; even the cylinder head deck is super shiny and looks like it was just resurfaced. The dish on the pistons are definately bigger than a stock TIII piston, but not as big as the dish on my 2.5L TIII Venolia pistons. I'm thinking the compression ratio must be lower than stock now. They DO have four valve reliefs on each piston though.

[Lotashelbys]

Post a pic of the tops of the pistons....

[turbovanman²]

we pulled the head off today and i'm glad i did. all the head bolts felt too loose; more like 60 ft/lbs not 90. they were also all completely covered in oil and it looks like coolant was seeping into cylinders #1 and #4. on the bright side, the pistons appear to aftermarket. my brother said they look alot more like his new TIII Venolia pistons than his stock TIII pistons. not sure of overbore yet but they have a deeper looking dish than stock pistons and are very very shiny like brand new.


one interesting thing was the waterpump deflector. it's a copy of the original but it's made out of stainless and it's about 1/8" thick. a very good copy of the original deflector too. i'll try to get a pic of it next to a stock deflector.

-------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

Measure the bore, if its overbored, there not stock, ;)

Nice job on the deflector, looks almost factory.

[TurboSedan]

oh i didn't make the deflector. i'm not sure who did.

i can't wait to drive this and park my Buack. i'm just waiting for the HG and headbolts to get here then it's time to wrench.

------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[turbovanman²]

oh i didn't make the deflector. i'm not sure who did.



I know, whom ever did it did a nice job.

[TurboSedan]

Post a pic of the tops of the pistons....

i'm going to post some pics tomarrow. #2 & #3 are black with some carbon but #1 & #4 are VERY shiny near the middle of the piston tops (presumably from the coolant leaking in and "steam cleaning" them?). i would measure the bore but i don't have anything to measure them with. anyway, the car should be running this week. Mopar headgasket, Mopar head bolts, new fuel injector o-rings, magnetic oil drain plug and 52mm throttle body gasket was ordered today and that's all i need now besides new cam seals and some coolant.

Jerm and i pulled the rocker shafts today then pulled the cams out. Jerm told me it was the nicest TIII head he has seen. the cams look PERFECT, i mean brand new. he thinks they might be regrinds but who knows. stock retainers. i did find one problem though; the #1 intake rocker shaft bolt hole had cracked across and someone already welded it up. i'll post a pic of that too but oh well it's fixed regardless. i cleaned the valley with Brakleen and even looking closely with bright light i see no signs of cracks even though it still has steel core plugs. the cam bores were also very smooth :) all of the rockers looked great, same with the lifters. it looks like the head was resurfaced recently.

so anyways, as soon as my order comes in from FWDP Jerm and i should have this blue R/T running within a day or two. i already got all of the misc parts cleaned at the car wash and cleaned the hell out of the intercooler so everything is ready to go back together. i can't wait. anyways, i'll post some pics tomarrow and hopefully a start-up vid soon.

-----------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

so do these look like stock TIII pistons? i have't really tried cleaning them off yet. i remember looking at my brother's stock TIII pistons (which were clean) and they weren't shiny like these ones are (they were more like dullish grey) and the dish just looks a little deeper to me.

top of piston #4 -

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03759.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03760.JPG

top of piston #3 (#2 looks the same) -

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03753.JPG

top of piston #1 -

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03761.JPG

quite a bit of wrenching to do yet...

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03756.JPG

--------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[turbovanman²]

Not stockers, they look like JE's. :nod:


Did someone put the knock sensor down around the oil filter area?

[iTurbo]

Yes, it has two knock sensors. Best we can tell is that the guy that put it together last gave up on reaching the stock knock sensor location so he put another one in the block that was more accessible.

And the head on this car is just beautiful. Nicest TIII head I have ever seen. We pulled the cams out and inspected it. The cams look new (regrinds?), all the rockers look excellent, and the cam bores are nice too. I don't think it's an orignal production casting, but we can't find "DUNN" anywhere on it. There is more casting flash and roughness in various locations on the outside than other TIII heads I have seen. The pistons have a deeper dish than stock TIII pistons for sure. Not as deep as the 2.5L TIII Venolias I bought recently though.

[turbovanman²]

Isn't that a 005 gasket also?

[iTurbo]

Nope, it had the correct gasket; 5013602AA.

We also found the stock BOV was sealed shut with a amalgamation of hot glue and electrical tape. The air intake hose was sucking in unfiltered air thru the BOV recirc port. That might explain why the stock freshly rebuilt turbo died. It may have injested some of it, not to mention the surge.

[TurboSedan]

And the head on this car is just beautiful. Nicest TIII head I have ever seen. We pulled the cams out and inspected it. The cams look new (regrinds?), all the rockers look excellent, and the cam bores are nice too. I don't think it's an orignal production casting, but we can't find "DUNN" anywhere on it. There is more casting flash and roughness in various locations on the outside than other TIII heads I have seen.

i cleaned up the cylinder head today and took some pics. still waiting on parts to get here. you can see where one of the rocker shaft bolt holes had cracked and someone welded it up. that's the only flaw i can find.

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03762.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03763.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03764.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03765.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03766.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03770.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03771.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03772.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03773.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03774.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03775.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03776.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03777.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03778.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03779.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03780.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03782.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03783.JPG
http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03784.JPG

------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[iTurbo]

Dang man once that headgasket gets here that car will be running in a couple days. Then we can do it all over again on the white R/T. Then we can start up all three of the R/Ts simulaneously and the dissonant harmony of the idling TIII motors will calm nerves, provide temporary relief of tinnitus, and should dislodge any earwax buildup amassed over the years of working under grimey turbo mopars. I can't wait. Who knew working on these cars could be so therapeutic.

[Turbo224]

Dang man once that headgasket gets here that car will be running in a couple days. Then we can do it all over again on the white R/T. Then we can start up all three of the R/Ts simulaneously and the dissonant harmony of the idling TIII motors will calm nerves, provide temporary relief of tinnitus, and should dislodge any earwax buildup amassed over the years of working under grimey turbo mopars. I can't wait. Who knew working on these cars could be so therapeutic.

Haha! I like the way you think. If I had three R/T's and even had the thought of them all running at the same time one of them would errupt into flames immediatly. Thats just my luck though. You guys might be right on the edge of loosing favor with the car gods. Be careful! :D

[turbovanman²]

Nice, I have to finish the racebike, then finish the van then finish the wifes R/T, :nod:

[TurboSedan]

well i had a slight delay because i had to make a trip to the j/y to get some fasteners. when i bought the car it was already partially taken apart, but also because some of the bolts & nuts were generic hardware store stuff and i didn't want to use them....

anyway, i put the cams back in with moly lube and installed new cam seals, bolted up the waterbox and then bolted up the exhaust manifold and turbocharger - so the head is all ready to be bolted on. i also replaced all of the fuel injector o-rings. now that i have all of the fasteners i need i was able to reinstall the starter and waterpump. i found the car was also missing a brace that bolts to the block and bellhousing (under the starter) so i replaced that. i also cut out the cat. i was expecting to find a bunch of oil in there but it looked dry. however, when i shake it i can hear a large chunk of something rattling around in there. i'm just going to run a test pipe until i go 3".

i should have some pics posted later on today. i'm just waiting for my brother to get off work so he can help me lift that cylinder head into place :) it WILL be ready to start up within a few days.

here is a list of parts that i replaced....mostly the car just needed a head gasket and new turbo but lots of small stuff:

- Mopar head gasket
- Mopar head bolts
- stock/used turbocharger
- TU turbo oil/coolant line set
- FWDP oil drain hose
- Mopar throttle body gasket
- fuel injector o-rings
- fuel injection hose clamps @ rail & filter
- Mopar water box gasket
- Mopar thermostat gasket
- Mopar exhaust manifold gasket
- Mopar intake manifold gaskets
- NGK V-power spark plugs
- NTK O2 sensor
- FWDP intake manifold bolt kit
- FWDP exhaust manifold stud/nut kit
- NAPA Gold oil filter
- 5 quarts Mobil-1 10w30
- FWDP magnetic oil drain plug
- NAPA Gold fuel filter
- cam seals
- Stant 195* thermostat (they didn't have a 180* in stock)
- new downpipe bolts/springs

we also had to fix/lengthen the melted O2 sensor wires and fix/lengthen the KS wire and install new battery terminals.

i'm getting excited!

-----------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

btw if anyone is bored and wants to see an index of pics that i've taken since i bought the car last September you can see 'em all here:

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/

more will be added later today.

----------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

ok, got the cylinder head bolted on! things are finally looking like they are coming together. we also got the motor mount and alternator brackets bolted up.

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03797.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03799.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03800.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03803.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03804.JPG

i still gotta fix the KS wiring before i bolt the intake manifold on. only a few small things left to do and it's time to start this sucker up :)

-----------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[turbovanman²]

Very nice, :thumb:

I really need to get the van finished.

[TurboSedan]

i'm going to try to make it to a dyno day in Colorado Springs in early June. should i be able to reach 215whp? i've heard of some stock R/Ts putting down 220whp. the only mods will be the overbore and a test pipe in place of the cat. i'll probably have a K&N air filter in the stock airbox by then too. i'll be dynoing with the stock 11psi.

-------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[Turbo3Iroc]

Looking good.

Most stock T3 cars I have seen on the rollers put down 205 - 210 hp. Fresh tight engine, you might be able to do better.

[turbovanman²]

i'm going to try to make it to a dyno day in Colorado Springs in early June. should i be able to reach 215whp? i've heard of some stock R/Ts putting down 220whp. the only mods will be the overbore and a test pipe in place of the cat. i'll probably have a K&N air filter in the stock airbox by then too. i'll be dynoing with the stock 11psi.

-------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

Will Martins put down 220 whp with a rebuilt engine, 11 psi, :amen:

[TurboSedan]

well mine was rebuilt in 2006, but it wasn't driven much since then. i'm guessing < 3000 miles since the rebuild. guess we'll see!

-------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[Turbo3Iroc]

Oh, I thought you had just went through all of it. So it's nice and broken in now. :thumb:

[TurboSedan]

heck i would be very happy to pass 200whp. i don't think my supercharged Buick would even pass 200whp right now. anyway, i should be getting alot more done today....

-----------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

almost done!

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03806.JPG

----------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[mcsvt]

It's like a shining star in the middle of the engine bay :thumb: Looking good :nod:

[2.216VTurbo]

Fire that thing up tonight! No sleep till it runs:D

[TurboSedan]

oh believe me i would, but i don't have any electricity in my garage :( kind of hard to work with no lights lol. i should be doing the timing belt tomarrow and then the rocker shafts, then it's just the downpipe and put the radiator/intercooler back in.

-----------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

It's like a shining star in the middle of the engine bay :thumb: Looking good :nod:

it will look alot better later this summer. the previous owner (idiot) painted the engine bay black :confused2: so i need to pull the engine out, clean the hell out of everything, remove a bunch of stuff and repaint. i'm also planing on getting red powdercoated valve covers, intake and valley cover. the valve covers are currently chevy orange and they look hideous.

------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[Clay]

probably a chevy owner....... they LOVE to paint the engine compartment black on every car they have! ;)

[turbovanman²]

probably a chevy owner....... they LOVE to paint the engine compartment black on every car they have! ;)

I am a chevy lover and DON'T do that, :o :D

[TurboSedan]

thankfully it seems to come off pretty easy. i already scratched some of the black paint off with just my fingernail.

-------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

didn't get much done today due to the cold weather. i took the downpipe to the carwash to blast as much of the oil out of it as i could, then bolted it back in. after that Jerm and i installed the TU turbo line set.

tomarrow we are going to be doing the timing belt, rocker shafts and then put the valve covers on so i can fill it with oil. next up is the O2 sensor wiring and then reinstall the radiator/intercooler and fill it with coolant. then reinstall the vacuum harness, hook up a battery and fire it up. with any luck tomarrow will be the day.

--------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

it WILL be finished today. the ONLY things left are rocker shafts and valve covers, intercooler hoses and airbox, fill with coolant, vacuum harness, a clamp for the coolant return line and put a battery in. should take less than a 1/2 hour and then it's time to start it up :) vid and pics to come!

would have had it done today but i uh....had something important to do :D
------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

well dammit. huge snowstorm came through. most snow we've had all winter! sooo...the R/T is going to have to sit for a couple more days :( on the bright side, it's supposed to be in the 50s this weekend.

damn weather. i wish i had a heated garage with electricity.

---------------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[mcsvt]

Ouch, we are having our first day in the 70's today...

Good luck clearing the snow :thumb:

[TurboSedan]

IT RUNS!!!! screw the cold weather, i've owned this car 7 months now and i've waited long enough!

i have a short video of the initial startup hosted on my website (.mpg) but can't figure out how to post it? can anyone tell me how?

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03818.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03819.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03820.JPG

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/DSC03821.JPG

runs great, sounds great, oil pressure shows 3/4 up on the gauge :thumb: voltmeter looks great. WOOOOOT!!!!!!!!

i'll be installing the airbox and intercooler hoses tomarrow when it's a little warmer. unfortunately i can't drive it because there is a mountain of snow in front of the garage. it goes into 1st and reverse fine though.

----------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T

[TurboSedan]

well if you want to see the vid of the car running go to:

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt

then go all the way to the bottom of the index and click on the movie link :)

---------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

drove the car for the first time just a few minutes ago around the block. it's running minimum boost (short vacuum line between the wastegate can and nipple on compressor outlet). it runs like a bat out of hell! i'm guessing minimum boost is around 7psi? i can't even imagine what 15psi is going to be like! it shifts PERFECT, clutch feels soooo nice :thumb: my Regal GS is faster right now, but i'm betting the R/T as it is right now would give it a run for its money. at the stock 11psi...my Regal probably wouldn't have a chance.

time to go get this thing registered, put some plates on it and add it to my insurance policy.

------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[shellboy]

good job!

[Turbo224]

Awesome! Take it easy on her for as long as you can.

[iTurbo]

The car seems to be running great. I even got to drive it a bit. No leaks, no apparent bugs. It is running minimum boost right now, with a short 1/4" hose from the compressor discharge nipple to the wastegate nipple. It is pretty loud with an open downpipe but sounds awesome in the upper RPMs. He is already taking it on the first road trip, up to Gillette 250 miles north of here... It is getting the exhaust welded back up Monday and probably won't get a manual boost controller for a few weeks yet.

I sold him the turbo that he replaced on the car which I got from Simon. Simon suggested having it rebuilt, but after getting it, it looked just fine and seems to work great. No smoke, makes boost just fine etc...Thanks Simon!

[TurboSedan]

yep, drove the R/T today up to Gillette. 250 mile trip with no problems at all! trip computer showed 28.5mpg when i got here. the car runs AWESOME!!!! engine sounds soooo nice and smooth, oil pressure is great, suspension is very nice as well as the brakes. only issue is that i think the PS reservoir is leaking. when i got here i had no power steering at all. the return fitting on the PS reservoir has been glued on and i think all the fluid leaked out.

i've been easy on it but i do know that the car has NO problems smoking the tires from a 10mph roll-on in 1st gear :) Jeremy, if you thought the car felt strong in Laramie (7200ft) believe, me, here in Gillette at 4500ft this thing is the cat's meow (well....for a stock R/T anyway).

one big difference between my R/T and my old T2 GTS is that this thing just keeps going and going when the RPMs go up. it just doesn't stop pulling like the T2 did. i don't think i've brought the RPMs up past 5500 yet but damn....

I LOVE THIS CAR!!!!

----------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[Turbo224]

yep, drove the R/T today up to Gillette. 250 mile trip with no problems at all! trip computer showed 28.5mpg when i got here. the car runs AWESOME!!!! engine sounds soooo nice and smooth, oil pressure is great, suspension is very nice as well as the brakes. only issue is that i think the PS reservoir is leaking. when i got here i had no power steering at all. the return fitting on the PS reservoir has been glued on and i think all the fluid leaked out.

i've been easy on it but i do know that the car has NO problems smoking the tires from a 10mph roll-on in 1st gear :) Jeremy, if you thought the car felt strong in Laramie (7200ft) believe, me, here in Gillette at 4500ft this thing is the cat's meow (well....for a stock R/T anyway).

one big difference between my R/T and my old T2 GTS is that this thing just keeps going and going when the RPMs go up. it just doesn't stop pulling like the T2 did. i don't think i've brought the RPMs up past 5500 yet but damn....

I LOVE THIS CAR!!!!

----------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

Haha! Thats one thing the 8 guys who have never driven a 16v will never understand. These motors feel like they will pull clear to 9000 rpms. Thats what frightens me with my car, I can look down and be at 6500 rpms before I even know it and the motor sounds as happy as can be.

[TurboSedan]

well here is an underhood pic now that i've gotten everything done and reinstalled the intercooler hoses and airbox. it will look alot better once i get the valve covers, intake manifold, and valley cover powdercoated red. i haven't even powerwashed the engine bay yet.

sorry the pic is kinda big....

http://www.turbosedan.com/spiritrt/IMG_0578.JPG

well i guess that sums up this thread. thanks for looking!

------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[mcsvt]

:thumb: awesome, glad you got it all together :thumb:

[turbovanman²]

I sold him the turbo that he replaced on the car which I got from Simon. Simon suggested having it rebuilt, but after getting it, it looked just fine and seems to work great. No smoke, makes boost just fine etc...Thanks Simon!

Your welcome, I think, :o

[2.216VTurbo]

How are you driving that thing without a Serp Belt Josh? Gonna get hot real quick isn't it?:confused2:

[black86glhs]

How are you driving that thing without a Serp Belt Josh? Gonna get hot real quick isn't it?:confused2:
I just looked at the pic closer. It looks like he has a shorter belt that bypasses the a/c compressor.

[TurboSedan]

it has a shorter non A/C belt on it :) it almost seems like it wants to run too cool. the temp gauge while on the highway is usually around the first mark. the heater blows hot though. i put in a new 195* thermostat and 50/50 mix of coolant. i don't know, maybe it's just the gauge or sending unit. i'm gonna hook up the OTC and see where it's really at.

---------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[TurboSedan]

i just drove back down to Laramie and got better gas mileage this time. i once again filled up before i left and reset the trip computer. when i got to Laramie it showed 30.5 mpg/average. i filled the tank again right when i got into town. however, when i divided the miles i traveled by the amount of gas used i came up with 28.84 mpg, so it seems the trip computer is a bit "optimistic".

anyway, the car ran perfect, no issues at all besides the power steering. i've put almost 600 miles on it in the last two days.

---------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

[turbovanman²]

Haha! Thats one thing the 8 guys who have never driven a 16v will never understand. These motors feel like they will pull clear to 9000 rpms. Thats what frightens me with my car, I can look down and be at 6500 rpms before I even know it and the motor sounds as happy as can be.

Exactly, I love it, it pulls cleanly to 7000 rpm and I could probably go higher but then, heavy engine wear will result, :(

[Turbo3Iroc]

i just drove back down to Laramie and got better gas mileage this time. i once again filled up before i left and reset the trip computer. when i got to Laramie it showed 30.5 mpg/average. i filled the tank again right when i got into town. however, when i divided the miles i traveled by the amount of gas used i came up with 28.84 mpg, so it seems the trip computer is a bit "optimistic".

I've found the trip computer to be pretty accurate. I used to divide out every tank and it was always within a couple tenths. I even used to run some short tires in the summer and it was accurate on that when you correct for the differince in mileage. I thought that was pretty odd.

Good to hear it's running well for you.

[2.216VTurbo]

i just drove back down to Laramie and got better gas mileage this time. i once again filled up before i left and reset the trip computer. when i got to Laramie it showed 30.5 mpg/average. i filled the tank again right when i got into town. however, when i divided the miles i traveled by the amount of gas used i came up with 28.84 mpg, so it seems the trip computer is a bit "optimistic".

anyway, the car ran perfect, no issues at all besides the power steering. i've put almost 600 miles on it in the last two days.

---------------------------
Joshua Mitchell


'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'98 Buick Regal GS

What, driving to Colorado for that CSX were you:thumb:?

[TurboSedan]

haha nope, we actually drove my brother's red Spirit R/T down to Colorado to pick up the CSX :) we probably would have drove the blue car but it has no stereo.

i drove the blue R/T up to Gillette and back this past weekend. driving it up there again this morning....ugh. i'm kinda sick of driving.
----------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS

[glht_omni]

where can you get the non ac belt is it for a different application? i just realized i am going to need a shorter belt since i deleted the ac, it didnt even dawn on me till i read this.

[Turbo3Iroc]

Check the alt parts sticky in the top of this forum. the xxxxx60 belt was too short on my car and I had to goto the 72 length belt.

[TurboSedan]

i've put almost 2000 miles on the car now and it runs GREAT!!!!!! oil is still nice and clean and hasn't burnt any. very fun to drive and pretty quick even with minimum boost. i don't have a boost gauge but it just has a short vacuum line from the fitting on the compressor outlet straight to the wastegate can. maybe ~7psi?

i did get one good (albeit short) race with a nice looking early 90s fox body Mustang convertible. it looked well taken care of but i'm pretty sure it had to have been completely stock. it was a definately a 5-speed. the guy was looking all cool with the top down and was edging forward at the red light so i figured he wanted to go. i out launched him and kept his front bumper right at my rearview mirror. he stayed right there until i got to the top of 2nd gear and then i started slowly walking away from him and he gave up haha. he wouldn't even look at me at the next light we got together. of course, when the light turned green he did a big 'ol burnout while i slowly pulled away. why race again when i already proved my point? :D

--------------------------
Joshua Mitchell
'91 Dodge SPiRiT R/T
'87 Shelby CSX #667
'98 Buick Regal GS

[glht_omni]

i got the belt for non ac, just get any 67" 6 rib belt.