1986 Omni GLH T2 conversion at age 18!

[BoostedDrummer]

Well I'm 19 now but I started tearing the GLH up back in early summer before it got up to 100+ degrees every damn day.

Anyways, got the car about a year ago and it had already been torn down and didn't run like it was supposed to. Previous owner, well owner before the previous one, had torn it up and tried to do something weird with it. Long story short, it needed to run right again and since I always wanted a T2 Omni, I started collecting the parts.


Fast forward about 5 months.
Finally got most of the parts needed to do the conversion, so the car was put in the backyard onto some jackstands where it sat for awhile while my Charger became my main focus to get it onto the road.

::Early Summer 2009::
Lets get down to it. Started with setting up a nice tent thing around the engine bay to get some relief from this Texas heat. Afterwards, a good friend down the street (schenkr88 on here) came down and helped with the teardown. First to go was the log manifold. Unbolted it and found out that the exhaust manifold had to be taken off in order to get the log off or something.

Well the turbo jumps up on the list of things to get removed. Stripped the throttle body and everything off and started to disconnect all the feed lines going to the turbo. Halfway through I start saying that it'd be best to take the exhaust manifold off in order to get the turbo out easier...so I sit down with the Haynes book and read up on how to get the exhaust manifold off. While I'm doing that, Ryan(schenkr88) manages to Houdini the damn thing out from the back of the log somehow.

::Mid Summer 2009::
The heat is way too intense outside to get anything done. I managed to get ahold of a TII compressor housing on TurboDodge from David Tobias(detobias on TD; great guy to deal with) so I can have somewhat of a TII turbo...plus I didn't feel up to making an adapter for the TI compressor. My dad and I figured out how much to grind off the exhaust manifold and turbo flange to clear the #3 runner on the new intake. Everything since then had been sitting in my room or in bags out in the Omni.

::October 19, 2009::
Decided that since everything is cooling off now, it would be a great chance to put everything on the Omni to see how it looks. I got the brand new gasket and took all the tools out to start wrenching. First up was the exhaust manifold. Put it back on there and now the engine doesn't look soo...naked. Decided to go upstairs and grab the turbo and bolt it up to see how it looked in there.

FYI, the turbo isn't finished yet. Still need a gasket and then the 4 bolts that hold the wastegate housing/downpipe thinger plus I need to attach the wastegate.

After the turbo was secured, on went the intake, which basically just rested against the firewall and the top of the turbo. Its close to being complete, standing back and looking at it, I can imagine the good times to be had when it's all done. Can't wait to see a few "WTF just happened" faces in the rear view mirror.

Anyways, here's a few pics of todays progress.

[raccoon]

wow nice GLH, keep it original! or at least undo-able!

[WickedShelby88]

That is cool! So you pulled the intake and exhaust manifolds without pulling the head? Sounds that way. Very cool indeed. Saves a lot of grief that way, but seems tedious.

[BoostedDrummer]

wow nice GLH, keep it original! or at least undo-able!

I would've if all the original stuff was there and if I didn't already have to replace the turbo(smoked like a chimney when we first got it). Idk if it will ever be a T1 log again but thats why I'm keeping all the parts that were on there.

[BoostedDrummer]

That is cool! So you pulled the intake and exhaust manifolds without pulling the head? Sounds that way. Very cool indeed. Saves a lot of grief that way, but seems tedious.

Yep, never even touched the head...it wasn't as grueling as one would think, although there were some shared profanities thrown around due to some restrictive space, some hard to get to bolts, and of course sweating out bullets from the heat. lol

[raccoon]

oh do whatever you want under the hood, what im saying is dont fool with the body,

[Clay]

wow! pulled all that crap with out pulling the head! Do your friends call you Gumby????

[BoostedDrummer]

oh do whatever you want under the hood, what im saying is dont fool with the body,

Oh no, I'm not doing anything to the body save for some new paint that it needs and then fixing the small rust spot under the drivers side seat compartmant typical on L bodies lol

wow! pulled all that crap with out pulling the head! Do your friends call you Gumby????

. I thought it was pretty normal to get all the stuff off without pulling the head lol

[WickedShelby88]

I'm skinny but that still is quite a feat.

[GLHNSLHT2]

wait till it all has to be bolted down tight. You might be able to bolt the intake up with the exhaust manny on there, you might not. I've gotten lucky on one but 99% of them the intake needs to go on 1st, then the exhaust.

[Vigo]

Cant wait to see it

Body looks better than what i was expecting.. but thats Texas!

Most people on here really dont understand about the heat... Its hard to explain it to someone without actually physically hurting them as an instructional aid

[2.216VTurbo]

Nice write up, good start Hope to see more on your project. Ryan must be pretty good if he did it that way. I've never attempted it but then I like to play inside the cylinder head with some porting tools

[BoostedDrummer]

Cant wait to see it

Body looks better than what i was expecting.. but thats Texas!

Most people on here really dont understand about the heat... Its hard to explain it to someone without actually physically hurting them as an instructional aid

Good comparison would be to go into the bathroom, turn the shower on HOT, close the door, let it get all steamed up in there all while wearing blue jeans and a heavy t shirt and taking a blow drier and turn it on to replicate the wind down here during the summer.

lol

[GLHNSLHT2]

yep my dad's family lives just east of Houston. I was down there when it was 60 in the fall for the high. I didn't want to leave the house. Walk outside and in 2 minutes it felt like I needed a shower.

[BoostedDrummer]

yep my dad's family lives just east of Houston. I was down there when it was 60 in the fall for the high. I didn't want to leave the house. Walk outside and in 2 minutes it felt like I needed a shower.

Hahaha 60 in the fall sounds great to me lol

[jamesmonty]

Nice start. I lived in Houston for 4 years, no need to describe the heat. I was just back down there 3 weeks ago and I can say I didn't miss not being able to breath if you went outside.

Just a side note, are you missing an exhaust stud? And the next thing to upgrade is the shift linkage! Those plastic ends won't last long (neither will the 525)! Read this--> http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...hlight=linkage . It's not really that hard to do.

[BoostedDrummer]

Nice start. I lived in Houston for 4 years, no need to describe the heat. I was just back down there 3 weeks ago and I can say I didn't miss not being able to breath if you went outside.

Just a side note, are you missing an exhaust stud? And the next thing to upgrade is the shift linkage! Those plastic ends won't last long (neither will the 525)! Read this--> http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...hlight=linkage . It's not really that hard to do.

Oh I know the 525 isn't gonna last very long, for some reason its already missing 5th gear lol. I don't know where to get an A555 or the A568 from nor do I have the funds to get one here. As for the connectors, my dad has got a plan to drill a hole straight through the top of the metal stud thing and putting some kind of bolt through it with a large washer to keep it from backing out. Dunno if it'll work but it's worth a shot lol

[Vigo]

Ill help you get a better tranny local. They're in junkyards down here and its also possible to pick them up from people who are into these cars if you ask around. You can defnitely find what you need in the local area if you know where to look.

[schenkr88]

Yep, never even touched the head...it wasn't as grueling as one would think, although there were some shared profanities thrown around due to some restrictive space, some hard to get to bolts, and of course sweating out bullets from the heat. lol

i do beleive that i was the one to take the turbo out on my own in like 3 min while u were reading some manual

[BoostedDrummer]

i do beleive that i was the one to take the turbo out on my own in like 3 min while u were reading some manual

I know this gypsy lol. They were talking about the intake and exhaust manifolds not the turbo