New to the hobby

[turbokid]

Hey yall i am new to the turbo car hobby. I got started with my dad owning an 87' glhs which he still owns today. My dad is into muscle cars and turbo cars. He has an 86' laser 2.2 turbo, 89 shelby, csx, 87 glhs, 2 89 2.5l turbo lebaron convertibles. Now he has offered me one of the 89's and i am wondering what some basic upgrades i could get for the car. It has a brand new 2.5 in it so no major engine work. I am pretty savy about working on them since i did some work to my moms 89. And this car does need some work. So if yall could help me out that would be great. thanks =)

[forcedfedmopar]

-open up the exhaust or go larger with a full 2 1/2 or 3 inch.
-add more boost = g-valve
-I/C of some sorts. easy way is a stock rad/ic set up from a daytona that would bolt right in. or go a little more difficult and put a FMIC on.

a few suggestions

-jeff

[turbokid]

love the fact that u replied so fast but i kinda have a problem. Being 15 and brand new to the hobby i am pretty retarded in this turbo set up unfortunatley. I also have a chance with an 86 laser turbo. 60k original had a bad motor, put a new 2.2 turbo motor in it, and needs timing.

[cordes]

The best mod you can do is to yourself. Start reading up on these cars and it will save you a lot of trouble in the long run.

www.thedodgegarage.com

This is a great place to start. All the very basics haven't changed even though some of the methods have.

IMO I wold get a wideband O2 sensor and get setup for doing cals before I do anything else except for the exhaust. There is a lot to be had for a well running car that does not melt pistons.

[turbokid]

thanks the site helped a bunch. I think i am gonna start w. a tune up (wires plugs etc.) Put some 20% injectors on it with an adjustable fuel regulator, put an intercooler on it, and use a bigger throttle body from 3.3l v6. luckily my dad owns a salvage yard and has a place called (chrysler hell) big corner in the back of the yard that has alot of older chryslers, a couple of turbo newyorkers, coupla daytonas, see what i can steal for parts of off them then head to oreilly's

[GLHS592]

I wouldn't bother with the throttle body unless you are going with a ported intake, head, big turbo, etc. You seem to be heading in the right direction. Keep reading the Dodge Garage site. You will learn more each time you read. Here is another great website: http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/. Good luck.

[2.216VTurbo]

So wait, dad has at least three Whittier cars, a slew of turbo Dodges, AND a boneyard?? Did you need an older brother who knows a little about these cars

[Clay]

Welcome aboard! sounds like your going to be off to a great start! and yay for your pops! turbos and big block, nothing better!

[Turbodave]

Welcome!

[turbokid]

he bought his glhs slightly used in 87' and his first car was a 70 charger r/t. I have a 66 charger. My dads other slew of cars include 69 roadrunner, 70 roadrunner, 70 bird' convertible clone, 69 charger, and a 65 belvedere. i have a lot of catching up to do. Plus i love driving my moms lebaron convertible and my dads glhs.

[turbokid]

And i heard those turbos and no fun to change. Rumor that the turbo bolts get hot and after a while bolts melt a bit and when you try to take them out they break off in the block??? We have a shop and a lift, what kinda labor is included in changing one? I am thinking of going to get a garret turbo for it later when i get more involved.

[Turbodave]

Replacing the turbo is not that bad, the bolts can get rusty, but usually ccan be removed with the help of a little heat from a torch. The biggest pain is getting to the turbo, it's easiest to pull the cylinder head and then pull the turbo off while it's all on the workbench.

[Turbo224]

Replacing the turbo is not that bad, the bolts can get rusty, but usually ccan be removed with the help of a little heat from a torch. The biggest pain is getting to the turbo, it's easiest to pull the cylinder head and then pull the turbo off while it's all on the workbench.

Amen to that one. I would rather pull the entire head off than try to pull a turbo while still on the car.

[turbokid]

i guess ill do that later then cause the car has a brand new reman motor, so i am not likely to pull the head unless something happens to the motor. There is one problem with the car. It jerks really bad driving, they said it was the MAP sensor??? does that sound right???

[Turbodave]

Jerking could be a lot of things. A bad MAP will usually set a code (read www.minimopar.net for info on fault codes), but sometimes not. If it idles fine and only jerks under a load then it could be a MAP or fuel related problem.

If it randomly jerks or stalls it could be a bad hall effect sensor in the distributor, you can swap out the pickup plate inside the dist to troubleshoot that. 86-92 used the same dist, so if you've got some spare turbo cars out back that's a good source of parts for troubleshooting.

[Turbo224]

+1 on what Dave said. You may also want to double check your vacuum lines. I had a similar problem with my GLHT and found that the vacuum source for the map sensor was disconnected. If thats the case, you should get a code for it. 23 i think?? Something like "no signal from map".

[uwilluz]

found that the vacuum source for the map sensor was disconnected. If thats the case, you should get a code for it. 23 i think?? Something like "no signal from map".

And also get a ton of smoke out the back end of your ride At least, that's what happened to me

[Turbodave]

If thats the case, you should get a code for it. 23 i think?? Something like "no signal from map".

Code 13 is the "no change in pressure" signal from the MAP, I've spent way too many hours chasing that code down over the years.

[turbokid]

thanks. When i get back to yard i will check all those things. And we have 2 whole turbo newyorkers with bad something or others in the back that i can rob parts off of. The linkage for the transmission also was not hooked up to the throttle body and so it wasn't shifting into overdrive and slipping when switching gears when getting your foot into it.

[Turbodave]

thanks. When i get back to yard i will check all those things. And we have 2 whole turbo newyorkers with bad something or others in the back that i can rob parts off of. The linkage for the transmission also was not hooked up to the throttle body and so it wasn't shifting into overdrive and slipping when switching gears when getting your foot into it.

That cable to the trans is tells it what your foot is doing and controls pressures so it is important, sounds like you figured that out. The turbo cars never got an overdrive transmission, so it's probably 3rd gear you weren't getting.