83 Plymouh Scamp GT w/ 2.2 Shelby Turbo

[Scamp_GT]

Hey whats up guys,
Im kinda new to this site and figured I could learn more about MOPAR's from yall...
Im going to start rebuilding my recently bought Scamp which is going to have a 85 shelby turbo engine(and mostly all engine parts and the door panel). I got a question though, I want to get better horsepower and torque out of the engine and was wondering what all could I do to make ehh 180-200hp?

This is my first project and I would really appreciate the help.

[Vigo]

The 85 turbo motor can easily make ~165 hp on stock parts, but past that the intake manifold becomes a restriction. People have gone plenty fast with the stock 85 intake (log intake) but for most people the easiest route to 200+hp is to upgrade to the newer-style intake system.

The biggest single change you should probably do to an 85 turbo engine (which we could call an early t1 with a log intake) to reach 200hp would be to change out the intake manifold to the one we call the 1 piece intake (or 1pc).

It comes on 88-93 turbo motors and looks like this:


The intake bolts right up to the head on the 85 motor (which is probably a 445 or 287 casting, what we call a G-head). You will have to use the fuel rail and throttle body that go with the 1pc manifold. The knock sensor and intake air temperature sensor on the 85 motor will swap over, as will the injectors and the injector wiring harness. Make sure to grab the throttle cable bracket that bolts to the tb (throttle body), and get a throttle cable from the donor car, or any car that has that 1pc manifold. You will have to swap TPS connectors if you are using an 85 harness, and you will lose idle control motor functionality unless you swap to an 86 or 87 't2' computer (logic module / LM). GET THE BOLTS that go with the 1pc! The log intake bolts are too short and will pull threads out of your head before they reach proper torque.

You may have to grind a notch into your exhaust manifold to clear that intake. You can also just grab the exhaust manifold off whatever car the 1pc came off of. They are identical other than the notch.


You will have to "re-clock" (rotate) the compressor housing so that the outlet faces more towards the front of the car as opposed to straight up. This just requires removing the 6 bolts around the outside of the compressor cover and rotating the cover about 60*. You can tell if you have it right because the wastegate actuator bracket should bolt right back up.

You will have to buy or make an adapter for the turbo inlet. You can also buy and install a 't2' compressor cover for the turbo to accomplish the same thing.


Once you have the manifolds and the turbo situated, it's just a matter of picking your intake and intercooler plumbing and clamping it all on.


Now, this manifold conversion (usually called t2 conversion but it's a vague term) isnt completely NECESSARY to reach 180-200hp, but doing it with the intake manifold that comes on the 85 motor will probably require you to cut and re-weld the inlet on the intake manifold, and possibly re-clock the turbo to some degree anyway. The 1pc intake setup is common and cheap (nearly free in some cases) and will make it easier to make more power later.


For general self-education there is a lot of good info on thedodgegarage.com in the Turbo Database.

[Scamp_GT]

Thanks man! I'll look into finding a newer intake and checking out everything else.