Turbo charged F head-serious consideration!

I've read a few thread's here and seen atleast 1 success at Turbo charging the F head. Aside from the Redneck cool factor.. Is there a mpg gain? also easier to maintain highway speed? Also is this done with a carb or do I need TBI?
I'm seriously considering doing this:twisted:

 

Probably not much of any MPG gain since you are shuving more air into the motor and thus have to put more fuel in to burn with that air. A webber sidedraft would work or a... man I can't remember the name of the carb. But a most any sidedraft carb thats the right size could be adapted. I am guessing if you regear down some it would be easier to run highway speeds. The problem with the F-head is the fact with 5.38 gears you are near redline at 60MPH and a turbo does not increase your redline( no matter what the fast and the furious kids think)

I say do it. If for no other reason then coolness factor.

 

I'm not thinking for increasing the red line but more "UUMMPH!!" at around 2500 rpm I've seen some ppl say 3200 to 3500 rpm is safe but I'd like to err on the side of caution.. if not for the simple reason that listening to the engine...it's screaming at 3000 rpm maybe once she gets to 50,000 miles on the engine then I might loosen up on that, but I'm just comming up on 30,000 original miles and I'm hoping to make this motor last... no matter how many times I consider stuffing my 318 in it I know it will prolly never happen due to $$$$$
BUT!! a turbo is within my redneck budget!!!

 

Well give it a shot and see what happens. do some research and see what turbo out there will give you power coming on at around 2.5K put it on a see what happens. You deffinitly will see more power.

 

Well I think this winter will be the R&D phase then come spring I'll get to work.

 

I have a few thoughts on this. Firstly, I'm skeptical that you can make the turbo work well for a lot less than swapping in a more powerful engine. If you can fab the manifolds and plumbing you need for TCing, I expect you can fab the adapter needed for a 2000 or 2300 Ford (can even be had with factory TC). There is a specific bellhousing for the Ford that is shallower than the F134 bell, which leaves room for a simple plate adapter. I think the 144, 170 and 200 cid Ford inline 6s can also use that bell, but you'd have to move the firewall back for an inline 6. Then there are the Studebaker 6s, which I understand came in front of a T-90. This was a popular and easy swap in its day, but finding an engine might require some searching.

If you are interested, read and look closely at the pictures on the Novak site: http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/pinto.htm It's pretty much a rule that you're always better off to pick an engine that fits the vehicle, rather than trying to fit the vehicle to the engine you have.

<edit> Another inexpensive option is to buy a used GM-to-T-90 adapter. They come up on eBay or WillysTech pretty often, and are usually inexpensive. The GM adapter works with just about every GM engine, including I4s, I6s, V6s and V8s.

If you want to hop up the F134, you have several things going for you. First, you can overcome the restrictive intake tract with boost. The old-school design of the F134 means you have a steel crank and rods, and a heavy block that can withstand the added pressure of the boosted mixture. If you make more power, you need to reduce your final drive ratio, because as said above, you're rev-limited with the 5.38 gears. I would say you should lower your redline to accomodate the TCing, which would lower your top speed without regearing (or an overdrive).

Dick Datson had a series of books covering home-brew turbos, and specifically covered the 226 and 134: http://www.studebakerclubs.com/21stCenturyTurbo/default.htm

hth!