Project Turbo
Turning Up The Horsepower
Story behind the project
-Well, I got my Niva in the spring of 2001, and I got an idea brewing... MORE POWER, that's what i needed. So I started looking around and doing some research. I had always been reading magazines based on 4X4s, but in North America, a lot of these magazines feature Jeeps primarily, and only small Jeeps and things like Suzukis had 4 cylinder engines, everything else was those BIG Chevys and Fords with huge V-8s. In all these magazines, I don't think I ever saw an engine that was not naturally aspirated. So I looked elsewhere, and found that the place to look for ideas on building small 4 cylinder engines was magazines like Sport Compact Car, starring mostly imported compact cars. Bingo, turbos galore. So I did a lot of reading, especially of Sport Compact Car, which had lots of technical articles, and math, on turbos etc. And it was decided, turbo was the way to go for me.
The Turbo
-I then checked the local "remove your own parts" junkyards, and found that most wanted over 375$CDN, for turbos which were iffy at best. I then turned to Ebay, and found a perfect turbo for my application, an IHI turbo from a 1988 Subaru GL-10 Wagon, with the 1.8turbo engine. This turbo was perfect because it was water and oil cooled, as opposed to only oil cooled, like some other turbos, which will mean longer turbo life, and hopefully, less heating of the air passing through thanks to cooler housings. I got it for a cool 320$CDN, everything included, a good price considering i had to import it from the US, and 80$ of that was fees at the border. When I received it, i was ecstatic, the turbo was in much better shape than i had expected, very tight bearings, perfect blades, everything.
The Block
-So I had my turbo, what next? Well, my plan was to convert the 1.7L engine that was already in my Niva, but after studying it and comparing it to the 1.6L, i decided that the 1.6L would definetely be a better choice, since the engine block is the same, but the 1.7 is just a bored out 1.6L, meaning thinner cylinder walls. Also, the 1.6 had lower compression,8.5:1 vs. 9.3:1 on the 1.7, which means more boost can be used before detonation occurs. Since we have 2 older 1600 Nivas lying around, this also meant that i could work on the project engine while still driving my Niva everyday, and will have a spare engine(1.7) once the conversion is complete. Otherwise, I would have had to buy another 1.7, or park my Niva for who knows how long, which would be very boring, especially in winter :)
Intercooler?
-From the beginning, I've wanted to have an intercooled turbo setup, because in my mind, intercooling can give you that extra buffer between a cool intake charge and a hotter one that can lead to engine-killing detonation. I got my hands on a BIG FMIC from a Saab 900O, from eBay, of course. Yeah, it is HUGE. I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to fit this thing in front without too much trimming, and if I use an electric fan instead of the stock mechanically driven one, to save some more space.
BOV?
-To continue with safety features, I've also opted for a blow-off valve. Now I've read that you can get away with systems making up to about 8psi of boost without needing a BOV, but I figured I'd get one, and put it together right the first time, rather than need to buy one later if I get into some big boost. The one I got is again from eBay, and I got a sweet deal on it, It was advertised as being from a turbo RX-7.
Sparks?
-I'm planning to stick with the stock distributor type ignition for now, simply because I want to verify that my engine is going to work before I go and spend some big bucks on electronic ignition. Because a forced induction air charge can be harder to ignite than a regular charge, I've gotten a nice high output coil from Jegs. It is, as far as I can see, just an MSD Blaster II coil, but sold under the Jegs name. It's claimed a good 45 000V output, compared to a stock Niva's 30 000V coil. I can't see needing more than this at this early stage of tune.
Fuel Injection?
-To get the fuel in, I'll be employing the services of a Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system, originally from a 1981 Volvo 240, naturally aspirated. I'll be placing the airflow metering system before the turbo, so I won't have to worry about rising rate fuel injectors which are boost-actuated or anythiung too complicated. This system will basically meter the air flowing into the turbo at atmospheric, and adjusting the pressure of the fuel going to the injectors. These systems are tuneable, like a carb, via allen key bolts on the fuel pressure regulator. I chose this system because it is simple, and tuneable, without resorting to programming and fuel maps etc. This K-Jet has also been used on early model Porsche 930 Turbos, so it has a bit of a track record.
-To use this MPFI, I'll have to make a custom log-type intake manifold. Look for this soon on my page.
-So thats the laundry list of parts, it's my job to throw it all in the cauldron and see what I can mix up. Hehe. Stay tuned.
