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#1 02-23-2007, 04:58 PM

1959Ford
Member How To: Turbocharging A Carbureted Engine 401

Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 958

I thought it about time to write an article on an advanced topic for you experienced rodders out there. Please note that I have adopted the following number standards to indicate the technical level of the article: 101 for Beginners or for General Information, 201 for Novice, 301 for Intermediate, and 401 for Advanced. As the technical levels advance, the terminology and concepts will assume an increased level of understanding. So you want to get more power out of your early to mid model engine? Unfortunately, many of these types of engines do not produce much horsepower or torque. Equally unfortunate is that there are not many performance parts available for these engines to increase power, which brings me to the purpose of this article. Believe it or not, you can actually turbo charge a normally aspirated, carbureted engine. It is not the easiest thing to do, but it will allow you to get significantly more power out of your vintage engine. Important disclaimer: Anytime you increase the pressure of the air provided to your engine above ambient pressure, you run the risk of damage to the engine assembly.

Part I: Turbocharger Definition: Simply stated, turbochargers are passive compressor devices that consist of a radial-flow compressor and turbine mounted on a common shaft, and use the energy in an engines exhaust to provide pressurized air to the cylinders. Understanding The Turbocharger Design: Figure 1: Typical turbocharger schematic (click on thumbnails for larger image)

In Figure 1 above, ambient air is drawn through the air filter before entering the compressor (1). The air is then compressed, which raises the airs density (mass / unit volume) (2). Many turbocharged engines have a charge air cooler (aka intercooler) (3) that cools the compressed air to further increase its density and to increase resistance to detonation. After passing through the carburetor and intake manifold plenum runners (4), the air enters the engines cylinders, which contain a fixed volume. Since the air is at elevated density, each cylinder can draw in an increased mass flow rate of air. Higher air mass flow rate allows a higher fuel flow rate (with similar air/fuel ratio). Combusting more fuel results in more power being produced for a given displacement. After the fuel is burned in the cylinder it is exhausted during the cylinders exhaust stroke in to the exhaust manifold (5). The high temperature gas then continues on to the turbine (6). The turbine creates backpressure on the engine which means engine exhaust pressure is higher than atmospheric pressure. A pressure and temperature drop occurs (expansion) across the turbine (7), which harnesses the exhaust gas energy to provide the power necessary to drive the compressor Understanding The Turbocharger Components: Now that we understand the typical turbocharger schematic, we need to understand the basic components of the turbocharger itself. As noted in the definition, a turbocharger consists of a radial-flow compressor and turbine mounted on a common shaft. The turbine housing is physically connected between an engines exhaust manifold and exhaust system. The turbine uses the energy in the exhaust gas to drive a compressor wheel mounted in the compressor housing. As the exhaust gas drives the compressor wheel, it draws in outside air, compresses it, and forces the compressed air through the carburetor and intake manifold plenum runners to the cylinders at a pressure above ambient atmospheric pressure. This increase in pressure above ambient atmospheric pressure is referred to as boost, and is described in psi. Figure 2: Cutaway of a typical turbocharger

Figure 3: Compressor and turbine wheels on common shaft

Figure 4: Compressor housing showing 64mm compressor inducer and fresh air inlet

Figure 5: Turbine housing showing 65mm turbine exducer and exhaust outlet

Figure 6: Compressor housing compressed air outlet

Figure 7: Exhaust manifold flange on turbine housing

Blow-Off Valve (BOV): Pressure relief device on the intake tract to prevent the turbos compressor wheel from going into surge. The BOV is located between the compressor discharge and the carburetor, preferably downstream of the charge air cooler (if equipped). When the throttle is closed rapidly, the airflow is quickly reduced, causing flow instability and pressure fluctuations. These rapidly cycling pressure fluctuations are the audible evidence of surge. Surge can eventually lead to thrust bearing failure due to the high loads associated with it. Blow-Off valves use a combination of manifold pressure signal and spring force to detect when the throttle is closed. When the throttle is closed rapidly, the BOV vents boost in the intake tract to the external atmosphere to relieve the pressure, helping to eliminate the phenomenon of surge.

Wastegate: On the exhaust side, a wastegate provides a means to control the boost pressure of the engine. Some commercial diesel applications do not use a wastegate. This type of system is called a free-floating turbocharger. However, the vast majority of gasoline performance applications require a Wastegates. There are two primary types of wastegate configurations: Internal Wastegates and External Wastegates. Both internal and external wastegates provide a means to bypass the exhaust flow from the turbine wheel. Bypassing this energy reduces the power driving the turbine wheel to match the power required for a given boost level. Similar to the BOV, the Wastegates uses boost pressure and spring force to regulate the flow bypassing the turbine. Note: When turbocharging a carbureted engine, a maximum boost pressure of 15psi should never be exceeded. In most cases, boost pressures should be limited to 10psi. Be sure to adjust the wastegate spring to appropriately limit boost pressure. Carbureted Turbocharging Designs: Technically, there are two methods for turbocharging a carbureted engine: Draw-Through and Blow-Through. As the names imply, the draw-through design uses a post-carburetor turbo to draw air through the carburetor, while the blow-through design uses a pre-carburetor turbo to force air through the carburetor. Please note that this article will only address the blow-through design. Blow-Through Design: In a blow-through arrangement, the turbo forces pressurized air through the carburetor. This presents two problems. First, a carburetor does not understand pressure. Remember, a carburetor supplies fuel by creating a pressure drop across the venturi. The outcome is an inversely proportional disparity between the air and fuel mixture ratios. For example, if the carburetor sees a 2psi pressure drop across the venturi, only the corresponding level of fuel will be supplied, regardless of the turbo boost pressure. The practical result is the engine running very rich at no/low boost psi, and running very lean at maximum boost psi. The second problem you will encounter is that when you force pressurized air into the carburetor, it will cause the atomized fuel to flow in ways that it is not supposed to. The increased air pressure will try to crush the fuel float, as well as attempt to blow the air/fuel mixture out the throttle shaft, or back into the fuel line.
Last edited by 1959Ford; 02-23-2007 at 05:03 PM.

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#2 02-23-2007, 04:59 PM

1959Ford
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Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 958

Part II: Turbocharging A Carbureted Engine:

Carburetor Type And Size: Typically, the same size carburetor can be used for a turbo installation. This is often true since the maximum turbo boost pressures are limited to a relatively low level (e.g. <15psi), and the fuel mixtures can be adequately modified with different jetting. Sealing The Carburetor: Carburetors are not designed to handle air pressure above ambient atmospheric pressure. As such, the entire carburetor must be sealed so it does not leak the pressurized air-fuel mix. The most likely areas to leak are the throttle shaft, carburetor body plug(s), and inspection window(s). If possible, the throttle cable bearing should be replaced with a sealed bearing. Carburetor body plugs and inspection windows can be sealed with epoxy. Fuel floats should be filled with foam so they don't crush under the increased pressure. Some manufacturers sell floats designed to withstand the increased pressure. The specific steps to sealing a carburetor depend entirely on the type and model of the carburetor being utilized. Please note that leaking pressurized air/fuel mixture in the engine compartment can be extremely hazardous. Turbo boost should initially be limited to very low psi to verify proper sealing and carburetor integrity. The book Turbocharging by Hugh MacInnes covers many of the carburetor modifications you can implement to have a successful blow-through turbo setup. Fuel Pressure: The existing fuel delivery system will need to be modified in order to cope with the increased air pressure provide by the turbo. Every pound of boost that the turbo provides is another pound of boost that the fuel pump must overcome to deliver fuel into the carburetor. Mechanical fuel pumps will need to be removed, and the opening in the engine block covered with a fuel block-off plate. A high volume electric fuel pump (see Figure 8), high flow fuel filter, and an adjustable or boost sensing fuel pressure regulator will need to be installed (see Figure 9). The boost sensing fuel pressure regulator will allow for increases in fuel pressure as the boost pressure increases. Figure 8: Holley Black electric fuel pump

Figure 9: Holley adjustable fuel pressure regulator

Fuel Enrichment: This is critical. A carburetor does not recognize or take into account boost pressure when it supplies fuel, which results in mixture problems as discussed in the Blow-through design section. Because of this, certain modifications must be made so the carburetor supplies the correct amount of fuel to correspond with changing boost pressures. One option is to install the maximum size fuel jet in the carburetor, so that at maximum boost pressure the carburetor supplies enough fuel. The problem with this method is that the engine will run extremely rich at boost pressures below the maximum. A second and better option is to use a carburetor with a power valve, and reference the valve to the boost pressure. An example of this is to use a 4bbl carburetor with vacuum actuated secondaries. In this case the, secondaries are jetted and plumbed so that they open during boost. A separate alternative is to use an external controller that can overcome the inability of the carburetor to understand boost pressure. A controller is an advanced electronics box that has the capability to meter the fuel flow based on how much boost the turbo is providing. The controller is then able to adjust the fuel curve to more closely match the air requirements. This allows the carburetor to be jetted as it would under normally aspirated conditions. Several manufacturers offer air/fuel controllers. There you have it. Now go throw a hairdryer on something and go fast! Cheers. 1959Ford
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#3 02-24-2007, 12:51 AM

twolane
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Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: SoCal Posts: 180

I've got a quick question... what is your opinion on putting a single turbo on only one side of the block on a v motor? ie. just placing a single turbo on one header? To me this would be a bad idea just beause of the difference in exhaust pressure on one side of the block... twolane
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#4 02-24-2007, 02:52 AM

greazy
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Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Perryville Mo Posts: 3,731

Quote:

Originally Posted by twolane I've got a quick question... what is your opinion on putting a single turbo on only one side of the block on a v motor? ie. just placing a single turbo on one header? To me this would be a bad idea just beause of the difference in exhaust pressure on one side of the block... That's how the factory Buick V-6's were equipped. And look how those puppies ran! __________________

PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!!!!

It doesn't matter what "period" car you're building, if you don't build it safe, it's still a piece of shit. greazy
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#5

02-24-2007, 12:20 PM

Lotek_Racing
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Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Republic of Western Canada Posts: 1,024

Actually the Buick 231T and Pontiac 301T used both sides. They had a standard manifold on the driver's side and a crossover pipe running to a special manifold on the pass side. The pass side manifold dumped the exhaust from both banks into the turbo. Weber makes a 2bbl carb that is already modified for blow-thru applications, it came stock on a couple Euro sedans but I can't remember which ones right now. Would work well on a 4-popper but you'd need more than one for a V8. If anyone needs draw-thru turbo helps just let me know, I own a car that has this system (Poncho 301T Trans Am) and I have dealt with them for quite a while. Shawn __________________ Everything has to have a label. It's not "rock-n-roll", it's heavy metal, top 40, southern rock, soft rock, hard rock, etc. Same as cars (hot rod, rat rod, kustom, etc.) We cannot just call things what they really are. If we did, you couldn't put a price tag on it and someone get rich off of it. -GreazyLast edited by Lotek_Racing; 02-26-2007 at 06:15 PM.

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#6 02-24-2007, 01:17 PM

1959Ford
Member

Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 958

Quote:

Originally Posted by twolane I've got a quick question... what is your opinion on putting a single turbo on only one side of the block on a v motor? ie. just placing a single turbo on one header? To me this would be a bad idea just beause of the difference in exhaust pressure on one side of the block... Great question! The short answer is that exhaust backpressure is for the most part a non-issue. A single turbo on a V block configuration is quite often misunderstood. This is primarily due to the human tendency towards symmetry. It's only natural to think that in a V block configuration with two separate banks of cylinders, it is necessary to have a turbo for each cylinder bank, either to compensate for disparities in exhaust backpressure, or to compensate for disparities in boost pressure to the individual cylinder banks. This is simply not the case, and here's why: Let's very quickly recap how a turbocharger works. The turbo uses the energy from the exhaust gas to power a turbine wheel which is connected to a compressor wheel via a common shaft. The compressor wheel draws in air, compresses it, and forces the compressed air/fuel mixture to the cylinders at a pressure above atmospheric pressure (boost). The internal friction of the engine

remains largely the same regardless of boost, so the extra power from turbocharging is almost entirely available to power the vehicle. As a result, the boost in the induction system actually helps push the pistons down on the intake stroke, whereas the intake stroke previously created a pumping loss when the engine was normally aspirated. In a properly configured setup, a turbo creates minimal exhaust backpressure. As such, boost pressure will always exceed exhaust system backpressure, making any pressure disparities across the two cylinder banks a non-issue since all the pistons are mechanically linked via the connecting rods and crankshaft. As for the question of a single v. parallel twin turbos on a V block- that is hotly debated. It's a 50/50 camp. The answer depends entirely on the application. Twin turbos are not necessarily better. In fact, when it comes to making large amounts of power, a single turbo is often preferred. The differences between the two designs deal primarily with spool time. Two 57mm parallel twin turbos will spool faster than a single 110mm turbo. A way around this is to run inline twin turbos, where a small, fast spooling turbo feeds a larger turbo (the inline twin design is primarily seen on diesel engines). So to get back to my opinion, I like a single big turbo for strip gas engines, twin parallel turbos for street for gas engines, and a single big turbo for diesel engines, which is what I run in my Cummins 24V diesel. Hope that answers the question. Sorry for being long winded. Cheers.
Last edited by 1959Ford; 02-24-2007 at 01:31 PM.

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#7 02-26-2007, 02:47 PM

1959Ford
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BTT for one last pass before heading to the Tech Archives. 1959Ford
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#8 03-06-2007, 11:55 AM

bet on black
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Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: houston, tx Posts: 105

there are a couple of forums on turbomustangs.com for good tech info in DIY junkyard setups and carbureted turbo setups. it is a mustang site, but they deal with all sorts of cars there, and it seems to be a friendly bunch. there is a tech article about how to modify carbs for blow through, and lists of cars to look for in boneyards for turbos. http://www.turbomustangs.com/smf/

__________________ "And another thing.....when I gun the motor, I want the whole world to think it's coming to an end" bet on black
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