Lebaron GTS TII conversion (& more)

[moe44688]

Ok i've been wanting to start a build thread for 85 gts for a while. I bought the car from a member on this forum, had just over 130k miles when I got it, the usual northern rust, but not that bad. Lots of paint fade, was very chalky, and still is. Interior is black leather and clean. Front seats are worn but I will eventually put in black enthusiast seats. When I test drove the car, I remember hearing a slight grinding noise. I pushed it aside and fiured it was maybe something small... turned out turbo was going bad. So the project began......





I removed the top end. Head is kept safe and dry. I plan on doing nothing to the head or valve train (pt lifters in the future for reliability). First thing I started doing is polishing my VC:



I never finished, I started porting my 16v parts lol. But today, I decided to port the one piece intake. In each runner, there were two ain restricions, which I tried to make as small as possible with out removing them completely (Can I remove them completely??). I then continued to port from the two small bumps (the main restriction in each port) to the end of the runner. I didn't spend too long since the car still has a TI bottom end and an unmodified auto trans. Here are some pics, tomorrow I will even out the runners use some micrometers (I think thats what they're called lol):











I decided not t open the TB area in order to help MPG. I heard even upgrading to a larger TB can decrease MPG since the velocity decreases in low end.

Now If you look in the pics above, the car has ninja rims on the front and pizza rims on the back. I polished one the rims to see how they would look. IMO, they came out VERY nice. The tire has great tread too, as you will see, and has amazing grip in its present condition:



I plan on making lots of low end-mid power with the car. So I'm still using .48. I'm putting the .48 from a Garrett TII onto a Garrett TIII. Before I do put it, I want to port it. I also want to port the compressor housing on the TIII turbo. I have already ported the 8v exhaust mani. I took out factory restrictions ("bump's" in a couple of the runners) and ported #2 the most since its the most restrictive. I also opened up the turbo flange and did some work where the three runners meet. Some more pics:









Here's a list of things I still have to do: Port stock TII exh housing(match to intake, then make it just slightly larger so I don't lose velocity), Port TIII comp housing, install a stock TB, Stock TII I/C, Either 3 in SV or a 2.5 (whichever I will use I will have to port it out a bit for faster spool, the more flow the better), I will use a 3in DP no matter what size SV I use, I also have an adjustable cam gear. I am waiting on a TII stock cal and a MP TII cal.

Hopefully I can have the car done by before the end of this month. Should be a fun drive if the tranny holds up lol

[turbovanman²]

Lots of work but it will pay off. What are your goals?

[moe44688]

I want a little over 200 HP. 225~230 HP would be ideal.

When I started this, i wanted to spool the garrett as fast as possible without a custom mani. The reason for this was I wanted a nice street car and a car that will beat my buddys stock TII (somehow, my dodge 600 TI caught up with his TII 5spd, he slowly pulled away in the top end. Both stock). But I have decided to sell my 3in SV due to money shortage and will prob have to port a 2.5'' SV and use a 3in DP.

[stargazer7467]

nice job on teh wheel polishin

[turbomini]

nice build thread i have a 87 lebaron gts factory 5 speed, i love the cars! but a question, you going to notch your exhaust mani to clear your intake? it looks to be a older log style exhaust mani,

[moe44688]

Yes, I plan on doing that today lol hopefully I'll get around to it.

---------- Post added at 02:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:57 PM ----------

I wish mine was a 5spd, would have saved me the trouble of the TII conversion lol.

Thanks, stargazer. I still have three to polish lol. I honestly think a pair of of polished pizza rims look better than most aftermarkets would on these cars. Centariuns I or II would be nice too lol

[moe44688]

So, I tried using a bench grinder to make that notch in the mani...... didn't work out.... any suggestions as to how to make the notch on the mani and exh housing?

I also tried to clean up all the parts I ported. I wanted to get all the metal shavings out, I tried to use my buddys air compressor and then i ran my finger accross the ports and there was some fine metal on my finger. Any suggestions as to how i can clean that up?

I didn't get much done on this project since I was trying to balance my TIII at the same time. After attempting to do the above, and failing, I cleaned up my fuel rail real quick to make it look nice, about the only productive thing I did on the 8v project:



Hopefully i can have the head together tomorrow.

[turbovanman²]

So, I tried using a bench grinder to make that notch in the mani...... didn't work out.... any suggestions as to how to make the notch on the mani and exh housing?

I also tried to clean up all the parts I ported. I wanted to get all the metal shavings out, I tried to use my buddys air compressor and then i ran my finger accross the ports and there was some fine metal on my finger. Any suggestions as to how i can clean that up?
.

Cutting torch for the notch's.

For cleaning, use brake/carb cleaner, rag and compressed air.

[moe44688]

Thanks turbovanman!!

[garaithon]

Glad to see the old lebaron is in good hands! Should be pretty quick when its done. Looking foward to seeing more updates!

[moe44688]

Hey, garaithon. The car was fun to drive, but the turbo was getting worn out quick and I figured it was a good time to upgrade to a TII.

So today, I cleaned all the ported parts with brake cleaner. Before I did that, I finished porting the exh housing and cleaned the wastegate hole with a dremel and a grinding stone.

I finished cleaning my fuel rail and FPR. I installed the injectors, FPR, the small stock TB, wiring and Fuel rail on the Intake. I cleaned the Head with lots of degreaser and washed it. I bolted the intake onto the head but didn't torque it down. Also changed the rear and front Cam seals. I ordere a top gasket kit from Rock Auto <---good service

I also notched the exhaust mani and exh housing. I didn't even need to take off that much. It looks like its not even half an inch. But we tested the fitment and it seems to work.

I did a little more porting. I hit the exh mani for a couple minutes and said screw it since I know gains from that are gonna be minimal since the design sucks. I heard porting the mani will give you about 10% more flow IF your lucky. So instead, I unbolted the comp housing and started to port the outlet. Idk what the original size was, but I'm guessing 1.25''. Which is pretty small. I didn't think of measuring the outlet when I started but after a little bit of work I thought it would be a good idea to keep track of my progress. When I took my first measurement, I was at 1.380''. When i was done, I was at 1.467. So I took off more than .087''. I was thinking about doing a bit more work and just making the outlet 1.5''. I'm really not sure what kind of gains I'll see from this, but has to be psitive!!

Also leaning towards using the larger TB, can anyone give me a reason not too?

[turbovanman²]

If your putting more airflow thru it, it won't hurt. I picked up 5whp at 29psi on a mild 2.5 setup, TIII turbo on a T1 8 valve engine, no MPG loss. Gasketmaster went 11's with a 46mm and one piece IIRC, so choice is yours, lol. 52mm t/b in all respect will probably gain you nothing except cost if you have to buy one.

Hog out the exhaust manifold as much as possible.

[moe44688]

Thanks, I have one laying around which is why I was asking.
I'll have the holly 52mm sandblasted this week and I'll make up my mind when I get it back.

I also installed my adjustable cam gear. I cleaned it using something just a little less aggressive compared to a scuff pad. I was thinking about installing PT lifters but now that the project is finally coming together, I don't want to rip anything apart anymore or have to wait on more parts lol. It would almost be like going backwards.

I'll post some pics of the work I did, probably won't be any more updates until next weekend. I guess i could port the exh mani a bit more. I spent the most amount of time on #2 since it sucks for flow. I just don't have a way measure how much material is left on the walls, so I don't want to go all crazy.

[moe44688]

Ok so there's a small problem, I turned over the valve cover and realized the the baffle (i think thats what its called) that is supposed ot Jb welded or held on some sort of adhesive is missing. How important is it to have it in there? I did see a sticky by I think Badassperformance about how to put it back on, so i'm assuming its important.... My other VC is getting sandblasted, saves a lot of time. I would hate having to strip it by hand......

---------- Post added at 07:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:06 PM ----------

Will port pics up tonight, of the head with the intake mani/TB and the ill post pics of VC incase you guys don't know what I'm talking about.

[turbovanman²]

Ok so there's a small problem, I turned over the valve cover and realized the the baffle (i think thats what its called) that is supposed ot Jb welded or held on some sort of adhesive is missing. How important is it to have it in there? .

The baffle needs to be RTV'd so it works correctly, letting the air and oil pass thru the maze instead of around the maze like the OE does due to no sealer.

[moe44688]

But I don't have a baffle..............

[moe44688]

Picked up my other VC, just got done having it sandblasted. One of the 2 is a one piece and the other is a 2 piece. I never checked, so I'm hoping the one with the baffle is a one piece cuase thats the gasket I have. Or I can just put the baffle on the VC I polished. Also decided to make the rear end a bit stiffer by welding the rear bar. I also wanted to make a homemade strut tower brace.

[turbovanman²]

Picked up my other VC, just got done having it sandblasted. One of the 2 is a one piece and the other is a 2 piece. I never checked, so I'm hoping the one with the baffle is a one piece cuase thats the gasket I have. Or I can just put the baffle on the VC I polished. Also decided to make the rear end a bit stiffer by welding the rear bar. I also wanted to make a homemade strut tower brace.

You can swap the baffle, its the same for all the cast turbo valve covers.

[moe44688]

Cool Thats what I will be doing, I'll have to find the thread about how to properly seal it.

[moe44688]

some pics





also more recently I started to polish my intercooler





The head is still sitting comfortably in the garage.