Time to give the audience what they want, I'm going to rebuild the turbo!
Time to give the audience what they want, I'm going to rebuild the turbo!
Javelin wrote: As a kicker, it's an Iridium, a Platinum, a V-Power, and a standard copper all in NGK so it's like having a straight flush in plug poker I guess.
I LOL'ed 
Turbo rebuild eh? Those chinese turbos are cheap as hell on ebay.
In reply to Harvey:
Which of them use the stock IHI flange?
Looks like there is quite a few options for cheap Chinese eBay turbos, even for the funky IHI flange and 5-bolt downpipe in this car. I have to get the RHB5 VJ20 off first to see how bad it is.
In reply to Javelin:
Cheap Chinese turbo? I wouldn't do that. I'd just throw new seals and bushings in the existing turbo or a used take off from another vehicle.
In reply to Stefan (Not Bruce):
I'm selling it, not keeping it! It only has to last for the test drive. 
Javelin wrote: In reply to Stefan (Not Bruce): I'm selling it, not keeping it! It only has to last for the test drive.
You do know that a rebuild kit is probably all of $100, right?
Also that potential buyers are aware of this thread. Jus' sayin'
The cheap Chinese turbos are not all bad. I think you can find some decent deals as with anything cheap and coming out of China. Not saying he shouldn't rebuild, but it's certainly an option.
Well, that was easy! 
Did someone wrap the compressor side in tin foil? What's going on there? Saw the video and that looks pretty well done... Never rebuilt a turbo so hopefully someone else has input.
Turbo is the sloppies...
Also.. I really want this car. like really, but the kids private school tuition checks have tapped me for some time.
In reply to Fueled by Caffeine:
How old are they? BG chassis make great first cars. Also if you haven't ever owned a BG chassis car, I can't recommend them enough. They really have a playful balance, when you keep the tire width 195 or narrower, that's rarely felt in a fwd platform. Sure other chassis offer more grip or can put down more power without turning their transmissions into an 80 lb paperweight, but very few have a eager sort of balance that engages the driver.
After a little weather delay, I took the turbocharger out of the old girl.
An overall examination confirmed the diagnosis, the magical boost snail was done for. The center bearing was allowing over an 1/8" of thrust play in/out.
A little research led us to two options. Either rebuilding it with a factory kit for about $80, or installing a brand new "upgraded" turbo of questionable lineage from an online purveyor of shiny speed parts manufactured in countries I can't pronounce.
During my waffling about what to do, a fellow GRM'er through a mutual GRM and AX friend of ours contacted me about the motor. He wanted to build a LeMons and Rallycross rocket ship. Low and behold, a truck and trailer showed up!
$800 later and the BPT Protege is off to the new life I hoped it would have.
Sorry to disappoint you dear viewers, but sometimes you have to learn when the right time to kick the can down the road is. Look for the car to be at an Oregon Rallycross next season. As for us, we did okay.
$300 purchase price
$36 battery
$15 air filter
$12 clutch slave cylinder
$37 plugs, wires, and a PCV
$3 hardware
$403 total
Sold of for $800 is a profit of $397 dubloons. Near enough of a doubling to make me happy. In this case all of the proceeds went to Mrs. Javelin, who selected our new dishwasher. (If you remember, the SAAB from Episode 1 netted us a Vitamix, and the Cadillac from Episode 4 turned partially into a freezer. I'm going to glue the correct automotive emblems to all of them one day.) My reward? I got to wash my tools in the old dishwasher before we removed it!
Join us next episode for who knows what.
You'll need to log in to post.
