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View Full Version : '87 LeBaron intercooled 2.5 CB conversion



DrunkenMessiah
09-05-2010, 05:09 AM
Greetings Turbo-Mopar!

I'm DM, I hail from that other site, TurboDodge, and have decided to mosey on over here for access to a different user base and the ability to get a 'second opinion' when I have a question to ask.

I'm already reasonably experienced and balls-deep in the world of turbo-dodges. It has been a long strange trip which has brought me to this point. So before I go diving into the details of where my TD project currently stands I shall delve into a brief history...

It all started with this car:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1986%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/P1040457.jpg?t=1283675575

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1986%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/P1040463.jpg?t=1283675954

A 1986 Chrysler LeBaron Turbo, 2 door. It was a round-about inheritance from my grandfather Theodore who had always been a fan of "sleepers", even before the phrase was coined. Before the LeBaron he owned a Cosworth Vega, so that gives you an idea of his taste in cars. My '86 would become known as "The TedMobile" for this reason.

My little brother drove the 'Baron at first as I already had a car. Unbeknown to him the car suffered from the nearly ubiquitous bad head gasket and was drawing water into the combustion chamber. Eventually it completely let go and the broken car fell into my hands. "just a quick head gasket swap!" I said to myself gleefully as I took it off his hands.

If only I had known.

I decided since I had to take the head off anyway I would take the plunge and convert the car to Turbo II. Things where going swimmingly and the project was nearing completion when I went to set the timing and this happened:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1986%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/P1050534.jpg?t=1283675637

Uh oh. Snapping off the crank bolt made it clear that the engine was seized. Upon further inspection the culprit was found:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1986%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/P1050640.jpg?t=1283675698

This is all that was left of the #3 rod bearing. Do'oh! With this new problem I decided to push the car into my dad's back garage to await the arrival of a replacement short block. 6 hours later, out of a clear blue sky on a windless night, this happened:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1986%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/P1050650.jpg?t=1283675770

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1986%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/P1050653.jpg?t=1283675774

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1986%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/IMG_8701.jpg?t=1283675815

And so, as ashamed as I am to admit it, I gave up on the TedMobile. Its combination of needing a new bottom-end, extensive body damage and less-than-ideal 3 speed automatic tranny turned me away from the project. I began searching for another car to transplant the go-faster Turbo II components I had acquired into. Eventually I found this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1987%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/IMG_8700.jpg?t=1283676090

A 1987 LeBaron Turbo Coupe. It once belonged to a fellow TurboDodge member who had endless electrical problems with it and had moved on to a Spirit R/T. It was in somewhat rough condition, but it had some neat stuff. It was purchased new with the rare sport pack which featured a quick-ratio steering rack and 3.85 final drive on its A520 transaxle. Its also got the digital dash which I have an embarrassing soft-spot for.

The previous owner had gotten it into a peculiar configuration. It had a TII intake manifold but a TI style turbo and no intercooler. It basically needed a full conversion. And so I set to work turning this:

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i41/itsbudda/TurboBaron/101_0979.jpg

Into this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1987%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/IMG_8731.jpg?t=1283676325

A finished Turbo II conversion. The satisfaction was immense.

I was terribly pleased with myself when I went for my first drive. The car sounded great and despite sloppy ignition timing responded surprisingly well at low RPMs. The A520 was tight and a joy to operate. On the third lap around my test course all seemed well. I came up to the 1/4 mile straight, grinned to myself, and went for 50% throttle in second gear. The tach came up, the turbo spooled, "3000 RPM, here comes the boost!"

"pup-POP"

"WTF!?"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1987%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/IMG_8730.jpg?t=1283676747

Crap. I seem to have thrown a rod. Stupid '87 659 gram lightweights. Ahh well, let's pull the head and see what happened:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1987%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/IMG_8741.jpg?t=1283676920
Oh dear.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1987%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/IMG_8756.jpg?t=1283676883
Wh-What!?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1987%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/IMG_8737.jpg?t=1283676966
OH THE HUMANITY!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1987%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/IMG_8753.jpg?t=1283677003
WHY GOD, WHHHYYYYYYYYYY!??!?

*ahem*

The motor had gone hydraulic. The full autopsy revealed a long crack running down the length of the #1 cylinder bore which faced into the water jacket. The previous owner had put water in the cooling system and apparently allowed it to freeze. I should have known the moment I went to drain the cooling system and rusty water came out, but my optimism got the best of me. First time I went for some throttle it sucked a crapload of water in and, well, you know the rest.

So! After a long series of setbacks my luck is finally turning around. Its been a month since my '87 blew up and I've gathered up funding once more to take one last stab at this whole TurboDodge thing. This time I'm not holding back.

I've acquired a '91 Daytona 2.5. It is tired, with many many miles on the odo. The engine will be fully stripped and rebuilt with all new rings and bearings. The TII-configured head off my original '86 project will be laid on top. The new engine and *glee* A568 transmission will be swapped into my LeBaron along with a new performance clutch, T3 pressure plate, 3 bar MAP and polybushing mounts all around. I'm leaving boost control up to my LM which comes courtesy of BoostButton. I'm going for a factory-style overboost system set, at first anyway, for 13 pounds normally and 16 pounds of overboost. The 10 second "countdown" function will be eliminated. Turbo is a late TII unit with 2.5" swingvalve running into full 2.5" exhaust. Head and manifolds remain stock (unported) for the moment and I'm sticking with the basic shelby-style vertical intercooler. Will be stealing the big 4 wheel disks and whatever other superior parts will bolt on to the '87 J body.

I'm feeling good, its gonna be a fun ride. Perhaps best of all the original project TedMobile gets a happy ending. Turbo-Mopar user bradp is purchasing it and plans to put the old girl back on the street! He's enamored with its factory-fresh interior and low-rust body condition, not to mention the unheard-of 50,000 miles on the clock!

Stay tuned! I've got a few more things to sell to achieve maximum funding and then the fun begins. Its gonna be one mean LeBaron and I look forward to extracting all the pent-up additional potential from that big 2.5 common block once I've got it running reliably. Wanted to show up at the Turbo-Mopar scene with a bang, hope you liked the show! :D

bradp
09-05-2010, 01:02 PM
Glad you made it over here.

DrunkenMessiah
09-05-2010, 03:28 PM
Glad you made it over here.

Wey-hey! Its Brad! I hope you keep us updated on what becomes of my beloved TedMobile. I hadn't dared to hope that whoever bought it would actually put it back on the road. See ya this week buddy! :D

Just for fun, here's a couple more pics of the '87 in-progress during the previous build.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1987%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/IMG_8716.jpg?t=1283715098
The operating table...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1987%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/IMG_8725.jpg?t=1283715159
Here's why the previous owner had so many problems with the car. This plug is supposed to go to a black wire that connects to the negative battery terminal. I believe it is integral to the ignition system. It wasn't hooked up to anything when I got the car! :yuck:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/DrunkenMessiah/1987%20LeBaron%20Turbo%20Coupe/IMG_8723.jpg?t=1283715158

All fixed, car started and ran just fine after I did this. :confused:

DrunkenMessiah
09-16-2010, 02:36 AM
Well, off went the '86 today!

I realized too late that I didn't get a picture of it up on the trailer leaving home for good. Oh well. If Brad is half as cool as he seems to be I'm sure it wasn't the last time I'll see that car; and next time it might be running!

Finished '87 seems further away than ever even though I got a good bit closer today. Its all full of parts and spares, gotta find a better home for that crap. Some of Brad's cash went towards finishing up the job of pulling the motor from my old '87 Mercedes 300D. They fetch decent money on eBay so hopefully that will give my project a much-needed cash infusion soon.