Normies tend to buy cars and keep them stock. They might chuck on a few bumper stickers or a phone holder, but that’s about it. Car enthusiasts, though? We believe we can improve on cars designed by highly-trained engineers. We like to modify our vehicles to suit our personality, our tastes, and our grand idea of what they were supposed to be. So I ask you—what modification are you dying to do to your car?
For me, the answer is easy. I’ve always wanted to install a turbo on a car that was never supposed to have one. I want to take an old Mazda 121, or maybe a nice Peugeot 306, and give that thing some boost.
Of course, there’s one thing holding me back. It’s not so easy!
I actually came close to pulling this off a long time ago. Once upon a time, I owned a 1992 Mazda MX-5. It was my race car, and I’d already done a bunch to it. I gave it coilovers and a fatter set of sway bars to drop the ride height and tighten up the handling. I fitted a set of headers for a little more grunt, and I even built a depowered steering rack for faster turn-in than the original manual one could provide. By the time I was done with it, it was pointy as all hell, with more grip than a good epoxy. I once took it out in the hills with a set of semi-slicks on and I’m pretty sure I met God.
It was lacking just one thing. Back when I lived in Adelaide, Mallala Motorsport Park was my local race circuit. It’s a horsepower track, and the Mazda would simply run out of puff. It made passing other cars hard, even when I was much faster in the corners. I’d get level by corner exit, but they’d simply walk away down the straight.
A turbo would have been a perfect solution. I was gifted an old T25 turbo off a Nissan 180SX, and I even secured a second-hand manifold for the Mazda’s B6 engine. But there was so much more to do to make it a reality. The manifold required some repairs and a new flange to suit my turbo, and I’d need a whole exhaust to go behind it, too. Ideally, I’d sort out an intercooler setup as well. Also daunting was the prospect of having to fit a standalone ECU to run the engine. The Mazda’s stock unit can’t readily be tuned at all, let alone to handle forced induction.
The path for throwing a turbo on an MX-5 is well-worn. Tons of great resources exist. Even still, budget and time constraints prevented me from doing so. Eventually, that car left me and I put my plans on ice.
I still yearn to turbo something today. But now, I want to make it even harder on myself by doing it to a more pedestrian car that rarely sees such attention. I’ll need a welder, plenty of space, and the time to do it, but it’s on my list. Forget handling mods, forget wheels and tires. My next project car is getting a turbo.
I’ll be honest with you: Having never modified an engine for more power output, I don’t really feel like a car guy. I feel like I haven’t earned my stripes. I’m judging myself here, not anyone else. We all have our own paths. But this is something I need to do. Call it unfinished business.
Your passion may lie elsewhere. You might want to get your Panda riding higher to handle winter slush. Perhaps you want to put 33s on your Ford Maverick to make it as badass as your friend’s old Ranger. Or you want to install a urinal in your car for road trips. Whatever it is, I wanna hear about it, so sound off below!
Image credits: Lewin Day
I’m well on the way to turning my E39 into the 530iT BMW should have brought to America in the first place; I already have the 530i donor car. The 2.5-liter six is just too overworked in the heavy wagon, so it barely gets better fuel economy than the 540iT I used to have, with what feels like half the power. The 3.0 is an easy swap because the engine computer, wiring, and all of the engine accessories (except for the air filter and exhaust) are exactly the same as on the smaller six, but with a useful bump in power and likely a small improvement in highway MPGs as well.
Not bad! There cant be many vehicles that are easy to engine swap these days.
Finish my ’72 Travelall on an ’02 Tahoe (the Tallhoe) chassis build.
Full air bag suspension on my DD 92x.
STI/WRX sedan flared fender conversion on my 92x.
Fuel injection and mazda millenia supercharger upgrade on my 2.2L swapped Datsun 510.
Narrowed Miata suspension stuffed under my ’69 Datsun Roadster. (I bought a whole miata for less than the cost of one stock Roadster replacement brake caliper)
Someday, some kind of EV build. Stuff batteries and motors up in to a ’52 Pontiac Silver Streak or something.
Travelall project, you say? I’m listening.
I’m currently pulling parts off a crusty 1967 to transplant into my 1963. The first thing on the list is upgraded brakes (from a tiny single cylinder setup to a full-sized booster).
NICE! My dad has a ’67 truck with a utility bed that his father bought brand new. The dash those 67’s of IH is my favorite classic truck dash. I’m using the Tahoe firewall/floorpan, interior etc, but I really want to get a late 60s IH dash and swap that in place of the more modern garbage. but that is likely phase 2.
I agree. the D series dash was….pretty basic. Like, brutalist basic. With Scout gauges! I’ve never considered swapping one to the other but I wonder how well everything would line up—the centerpoint of the steering column, for example. And you’d have to chop a lot of the front of a C series dash off where it curves around the windshield to the straighter (shallower) D series dash. I’m assuming you’re keeping the Chevy steering column…
The Chevy dash is like 6 inches deeper than the IH dash. I have to add so much to the dash that the difference is shapes won’t be a major issue preventing the swap. But you are right, there are possible issues with width and steering column alignment etc. But I’m confident those can be overcome. Yes keeping Chevy column. I’ve kept all the chevy electronicals intact. Just this week I was working on getting Tahoe taillight wiring to work with Travelall lights. I ended up having to use a trailer wiring adapter to go from separate turn/stop to combined turn/stop lights to make it all work.
Yeah, melding the Chevy dash into the IH dash would be a huge project, but something I’d definitely be interested in seeing. I guess you’d have to go to round digital gauges and do a lot of jiggery-pokery to get them to talk to the Chevy electronics.
I’m currently without any dash wiring, as the previous owner of mine cut the entire fuse panel out of the dash without leaving me the sections of wire with ID numbers (instead of simply disconnecting the spade clips). I’ve got The Scout Connection setting me up a new under-dash wiring harness as I write this; we’ll see how that goes. Actually that will probably come before the brake swap, now that I mention it.
That taillight situation sounds like a nightmare.
My plan for the gauges would be multi part. I would add sensors to the LS for things like water temp and oil pressure, to speak directly to the original gauges. Speedometer can be resolved by using a digital to analog processor that changes the ECU signal in to a speed for a cable to spin the old time speedo. I love those stock gauges and will go out of my way to make them all functional. The one thing it doesn’t have it is a tachometer. I would have to get something custom made to look like those factory gauges, cuz I love having a tach.
Scout Connection has a good reputation from I’ve seen, so I hope that setup from them is great for you.
i’ve contemplated a supercharger build instead myself. the idea of less pipework is compelling.
There’s a never-ending list of modifications and repairs happening to my 500k+ kilometer Mercedes 300SDL, but the true upgrades I desire are an upgraded injection pump, bigger turbo (and intercooler), and a ZF8HP to fire all that diesel torque out the back.
I just wanna load 3 or 4 of my friends in my 80s land yacht and do smoky burnouts for no particular reason. The 8 gears and lock-up converter may see fuel economy in the high 6 to low 7L/100km range while cruising. Which is great for enjoying the car more while diesel prices forever climb.
that’d be really cool. love the idea of getting more out of an old donk.
I wouldn’t say donk. I “upgraded” to 17×9 wheels for the sake of aesthetics, otherwise it’s just a lowered old German sled.
I just love the idea of getting maximum efficiency along with better driving characteristics.
Changing the wheels on that poor, poor Miata was a good deed on the niveau of anything Mother Theresa ever accomplished.
I wanted to have someone swap the 3S-FE engine in my Caldina for a 3S-GTE until I saw my friend try to do it in his RAV4 – four years and about $10K later it remains non-operational.
ahahah, thank you. my friend Andrew complimented my wheels every time he saw me. I think he wanted to make sure the message bedded in that the 17s were a crime against design.
This year I’ll be putting a new exhaust, solid subframe mounts, and upgraded ball joints on my classic mini. Those shimmable ball joints are such a pain in the butt to get right, I’ll happily pay a couple hundred bucks to get the maintenance-free ones.
I’ve never had the tools or the tenacity to tackle balljoints myself. Godspeed!
They’re not that bad on anything I’ve worked on, just normal suspension rustiness. The folks buying $400 loaded control arms instead of replacing an $18 ball joints grossly overstate the difficulty.
Oh, boy.
On my 911SC I’ve been dying to put SSIs (Porsche-speak for pre-1975 style heat exchangers) and a matching 2-in-1-out muffler on it. It gives you a significant bump in power and sounds great, but the Porsche tax is real and I’ve never wanted to pay the multiple thousands (heat exchangers, muffler, new oil lines, hardware) that it costs. Moving the 7″ Fuchs to the front and putting 8″ wheels on the back also (or some Group 4 Campy-style wheels, mostly for looks, but again cost.
I also want to play with some graphics on the car, but that’s doable and may be my fun exploration project for the year.
I’d love a set of Ronal Turbos on the Saab, but since I decided I’m selling that car this year, it isn’t getting any unnecessary money put into it.
I want an Alpina airdam on the E12 (rep is fine) and there’s a local guy selling a replica, so once I figure out an economical way to paint it to match I’ll do that. It’s also getting a nicer steering wheel and a period Blaupunkt Frankfurt in place of the ugly CD deck that doesn’t fit. Otherwise that car’s fine, really.
The cats on my JSW TDI were stolen for the *second* time – 6 days after getting it back from the first repair! – and insurance will pay for it again but I confess a tune and delete is tempting.
As someone who has deleted and tuned my JSW TDI, I can’t recommend it enough. It not like you’re going to get a load more gas mileage or horsepower (unless you upgrade the turbo and tune), but it’s the longevity of the engine not feeding itself additional exhaust gases and killing its efficiency. The engine feels better, the whole thing sounds better. Not to mention paying some now to avoid the insane cost of the DPF cracking a little later is wonderful peace of mind. As long as you live in a state that doesn’t test for emmisions on Inspection, it’s completely worth it.
I wanna do a DOD/AFM delete so badly but I don’t have the skill to dive in myself let alone the insane amount of money it takes for someone else to do it
If your engine is running fine, just have it tuned out of the ECU. if you aren’t planning a hot cam or anything, there is nothing wrong with just shutting the system down. I’ve done both full mechanical deletes and electronic only deletes. No real difference. As long as the lifters can’t collapse, they can’t cause the failures.
As far as I know it’s running fine so I think I’m just gonna start putting $ aside for an HP tuner and a credit or two
I would love to buy HP tuners eventually, but I remain far too cheap. This is the tuner I used, and I have recommended him to other friends, as well as he is pretty well known around the LS world in general. Just a thought, if you don’t want to go full out and buy your own HP tuner setup.
https://www.lt1swap.com/programming.htm
This looks like one of those send-in services where you mail them your computer, right? The cheaper price for that service is tempting, but I’m not in a position where I can brick the truck for a week while I wait for it to be sent back so it looks like an OBD tuner dongle is the way to go for me
Yes, it is one of those. I get that. I currently have an OBD dongle in a Suburban. Good enough for the short term. That will be awesome once you can get yourself the tuning setup.
Do I have to keep the dongle in for it to work and risk battery drain or can I take it out after programming my settings?
The OBD ones I am familiar with only work when plugged in. I haven’t seen drain issues that I’ve noticed, but this is the first vehicle I’ve actually used one myself.
Update: I contacted HP Tuner customer service and they tell me that I don’t need to leave the dongle in for changes to stay programmed.
All 8 cylinders should stay active if the dongle is removed.
Fantastic! My past research with these obd plug-ins led me to believe otherwise
Hmm. Having to keep that thing in and worry about battery health if I forget to unplug it seems like a hassle too. Maybe I should just rent a spare car while the ECU is ripped out. Thanks for the insight!
My current project is my 85 Chevy C10 and I’m in the process of wrapping up an ls swap, currently at the tuners and fingers crossed figuring out why the trans is in limp mode.
Going forward I have big plans for this truck that would make it a bit of a pro touring build, coilovers, 4 link rear, big brakes, big tires, manual swap, but for now will settle for the extra power. Something about a big vehicle like a truck being able to demolish an autocross or track day that appeals to me on a deep level. Just need my pocketbook to be able to keep up.
big job! sounds like it’ll be a mighty rig with that donk under the hood.
I have an E70 diesel that i’ve done all of the engine and reliability modifications to already (DPF, SCR, EGR deletes, tune, fluid filled harmonic and clutched alternator pulley, regular achilles heels serviced) but its just *missing* something
I’ve narrowed it down to a complete interior refresh with more supportive seats, an LSD from an E71 X6M, a 2wd ZF8 to replace the ZF6, and airbag suspension.
Given unlimited budget, i’d find a full red leather interior from an X5M, black headliner, and an integrated toolbox in the trunk. I transport my tools to the in-laws and occasional work sites with some semblance of frequency, so it’d be nice to have a dedicated spot for a dedicated to-go tool kit. Definitely update the dated iDrive for something with carplay and update the idrive controller with something from a newer BMW. That’s the driver and passengers interior comfort sorted.
There’s a tried and true big-buck BBK that includes F10 M5 6 pot calipers and Porsche Cayenne four pot calipers that would be nice. Big 400mm rotors from an F85 X5 for the front and rears are 385mm.
I’d fit a RWD ZF8 from a RWD F15 X5 with paddle shifty fun, paired with that LSD and make all of the electrics play nice.
Lastly, a complete chassis refresh and full air ride. obviously to completely air it out and try (laughably) to tuck the square 20×11 315/35-20s, but also for comfort’s sake. I envy my wife’s GL350 ride quality and that’s on oem air.
In short- i basically want an amalgam of the e70 and F85 X5M but with the added reliability of the M57 diesel, and the complexity of airride, but i want to build it myself
This sounds like a fun build. If your E70 doesn’t have the sports package, the seats that came with the sports package (which are very similar to the ones in the E60s and E65s with the sports package) are absolutely amazing – the most comfortable and supportive seats I’ve ever experienced.
My current one does not, but my first e70 (used 2013 gasser, totaled 5 months after purchase) did and i’ve been pining for them ever since. definitely an easy way to get into the supportive seat side of things, but the article did say ‘what are you dying to do’ haha
I want something better in the rear of my JKU sport than the factory limited slip. I cannot decide between a truetrac helical gear limited slip (what I have in the front) and a push button locker. The locker is better off road but the truetrac is better in daily driving in snow and rain and other stuff. It is a hard call. I do not want a plain locker like a detroit in my daily driver.
Do you really expect a big enough improvement to care? I don’t have much personal experience with different types of differentials, just that I don’t have issues with the open diffs in my Jeeps or even with my 2wd pickup that I off-road at the very limit of its capability with some frequency.
In the off road parks I got to (at least 4 a year and some multiple times) I could tell I gained a great deal more traction when I put the truetrac in the front. I know either will help off road in the situations that i have tried and want to have better traction on.
An actually useable radio. But I’m afraid of not only what the wiring looks like (thanks to whoever installed the Pioneer I have in it now), but the center bezel that encompasses everything in the center of the dash is already broken at the bottom… and, at my cost, is $300 dollars to replace. On a Compass for crying out loud!
I have more glaring issues at hand then a bezel, and the radio can still play music, 99.9% of the time. But I would like a newer head unit, maybe one with the latest AC/AA compatibility.
While I’m at it, the speakers too. I’m pretty sure the one in my driver’s door is beginning to go out.
yeah, I definitely get that. I want AA in my car too but it’s like $600 and you gotta pull the center console out and ugh, I just can’t be bothered
Putting stainless steel brake lines, ducktail spoiler, semi solid motor mounts and front and rear strut tower braces on my 996 this weekend.
I have a full poly bushing set for the car on its way but that will take a few weekends to get sorted
Getting ready to sell my 2003 gmc sierra 1500hd quadrasteer (cry) but it needs an intake gasket so I’ll be doing that! Along with 02 sensors.
I got new socks sitting in the cruiser right now begging to go in. Soon
Shocks?
No, their feet just get kinda cold while driving
hell yes! nothing like fresh socks!
Smartwool for the win!
Aye, Shocks. Dobinson IMS
That’ll be a fun afternoon.
This will be my 4th time in as many years so I’ve gotten pretty good at it by now
I am a normal person with my z28. I want to keep it as stock as I can due to it’s age value. I bought it off my parents and I didn’t want someone to cut it up for racing or some other thing just because it is immaculate car.
My daily I want to do some updates, mostly adding options it didn’t come with. The motor is not designed for a turbo and I am not throwing that much money at it.
I want to put rally lights on the Mondial but the family won’t let me…yet.
I’m going for a very specific style on my Laurel and aero parts are the next step and also the biggest roadblock. Since Laurels are just long, RB powered S13s, they mostly got drift car-ed from day 1 and all of the body kits made specifically for Laurels is drift car styled which doesn’t fit what I’m going for.
So my only real option is to modify parts intended for other vehicles. I did find one Laurel specific front lip that would work but shipping that from Japan is going to be big money. Side skirts are something I still have absolutely no clue on what I’m going to do about. As for the spoiler, I think I might have a lead on what I was looking for. I really want one of the IMSA style spoilers, most well known from the IMSA FB RX-7s. I just found a marketplace listing for an IMSA style RX-7 spoiler in rough shape for very cheap. It needs fixing but since I’m going to need to cut and modify any spoiler anyway, this could be a good opportunity to learn fiberglass repair which will come in handy when it comes time to figure out my lip/bumper and side skirts.
Pictures anywhere?
I’d love to go stage 3/big turbo with a TTE810 but I probably never will. It’s just too much of an investment and the kinks aren’t ironed out yet.
I guess if I was gonna do anything I’d get some subframe bushing inserts, new motor mounts and sway bars, because engine wise I’m pretty happy with where it’s at.
I’ve got a 2″ lift, new lower control arms, and 10k lb Warn winch waiting to go on to my 4Runner. I’ve been sitting on the part for a while now, waiting for the chance to install them. I’m REALLY not looking forward to dealing with 11 years’ worth of New England corrosion. Occasionally I think of just selling it and all the parts.
Get an induction heater tool. I’ve been replacing the suspension on my 3rd gen that’s been in MN its whole life and haven’t broken a single bolt yet with the heat tool. Absolute game changer.
Thanks for the tip, I’ll look into that.
I’m setting my M Roadster up for an S54 radiator as I’m prepping to pull the motor. I’m deleting the mechanical fan now so I’ll have room for an oil cooler down the road. Ideally, I’ll do the later radiator next year with an eye towards a supercharger kit.
I’m set up to pull the transmission tonight, so hopefully things will start progressing: this has already felt like a long process—and the ‘new’ motor just sits there on the pallet glaring accusingly at me
Got it on the floor in under 2 hours: not bad for my first BMW transmission pulled.
small bites—just keep chewing!
I would love to do some tweaking to the old K24 in my 1st gen TSX – cams, headers, intake, throttle body, and a god tune are getting these to 260hp without a sweat. I have also been very curious about adding a turbo to the 300 inline six in my old Ford ever since I watched a TV episode about it years ago. 300-400+ is very attainable.
I REALLY want to slam my Civic on coilovers and a full compliment of Hardrace arms, roll center adjusters, and bushings, but it’s a daily driver, and I’ve already dailied a car slammed on coilovers on our roads here, it’s not for the faint of heart.
I have a secret desire to lift my Grand Caravan using one of those wheelchair van conversion kits and then put 29-30″ AT tires on it.
Do it! I just did something similar. Beware that it’ll make your car worse in every single way, but you’ll be having too much fun to care.
https://imgur.com/a/vVhu6kd
A Grand Caravan has suspension rather conducive to a cheap and easy mild lift. You could do it, and I’m not sure you would need to find a disability van kit.
So, I’ve got a 2001 Mustang convertible. Nothing real special, a 3.8/auto. Summer was approaching, and I REALLY wanted a convertible before my 50th b-day! I got a good deal, and figured if I enjoyed the car, I’d V-8 swap it. But, now I’m leaning toward building a turbo 2.5 Duratec 4 for it. Might be blasphemous, but I’m liking the idea of cruising economy with turbo power when I want it.
Think of it as a spiritual successor to the original turbo 4 Mustang, the ’80s SVO!
Though the 3.8 isn’t terrible for what it is, was reliable at that point in time, and has a decent sound. Plus lighter weight but with the same brakes as the GT…
I had one of the first 3.8’s, in my “83 Thunderbird. It was good then, but the difference in 20 years of refinement is amazing! I’m planning a 351W for it, which is another reason why I’m thinking 4-banger for the daily!
Honestly, the idea sounds fun, but from an effort and financial standpoint you would likely be better off buying a 2015+ Ecoboost Mustang
I’ve got time, talent, tools and a teenager! What I don’t have is a desire to have a car payment!
Not a major mod, but I’d like to find a nice set of round yellow driving lights to clamp onto the bumper, sort of need to figure out the right size, and if there’s an option that avoids drilling in case I want to get rid of them later.
Hear hear! Let us know what you find!
love those. saw a guy that did signal yellow lights on his miata, looked sick