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whats it take to turbocharge my flathead

I am not looking to get big HP or blow up my engine

I am mainly looking for an under hood touch plus a few extra hp

am I nuts ?

The ability to fab intake and exhaust manifolds and some parts and money.

has any one done this before would love to see pics

a google search should turn up a few results for people who have installed turbo's on flathead six engines with amazing results. the one i was looking at, he was getting around 230 HP from a civilian 230CI flathead.

i'm building an intake manifold and exhaust header from scratch right now...when it's done i might sketch up another that would incorporate a turbo. i don't know what carburetor changes, if any, would be in order.

the old flathead is a perfect candidate for a turbo since the compression ratio is so low

Travis,

I'm going to disagree with Isaac on this one, for a host of reasons. I don't have time to go into it now, but before you start cutting metal read up on the pros and cons of adding a turbo to the 230. In a nutshell, any time you add boost you shorten an engine's life. People can argue it up and down, but more power output equals more stress on engine internals......which shortens bearing lives. The 230 is not designed to rev, so you'll need a small turbo to build boost at lower revs. Any attempt to increase the max RPM of the engine without doing oiling system mods will be pointless. Adding a turbo increases the temperature of the exhaust valves, as a turbo is an obstruction in the exhaust stream. On the 230 the exhaust valves are in the block, not the head, so overstressing and overheating the valves and block is not going to end well. The stock pistons won't like boost.....both from a materials standpoint as well as from a ring sealing standpoint. And the list goes on and on.

Can you add a turbo to the 230? Sure you can. When all is said and done will it be worth it? Probably not. The engine will survive for a time with a few lbs of boost. Will a few pounds of boost make you happy........probably not. You'll want more. Things will start to break. It'll start getting expensive. If you want a turbo...........install an engine designed for a turbo.......like a Cummins diesel.

Sorry to rain on your parade.......but there's a practical side to everything that sometimes gets overlooked. But the flip side is anything can be fixed with money......lots of money!

regards,
bob

it was just an idea I had

and speaking of lots of money that's something I'm lacking at the moment
because I just ordered all of my engine rebuild parts

and note to self next m37 gets a cummins turbo diesel

not saying it's a "good" idea, but some people have had good luck turbo-charging old flathead six engines.

Here's a good write-up on a guy that tubo'd a Studebaker to 233 HP, from a stock HP of 87.

Found another article on a guy that put a small turbo on a 49 Plymouth. Only running a small boost, but it gives a good increase in low end power and overall economy.

With higher power output though, you would certainly expect some decrease in reliability, without doing some work towards increased oiling and balance. My thoughts with the turbo are that you could increase the available torque at lower RPM, without having to increase either the peak torque or peak RPM. Essentially broaden the torque curve and pick up a bit of fuel economy. Again i cannot speak from my own experience but these are articles i've looked at a few times, with the thoughts of eventually putting a turbo on one of my 3 flatheads.

Hi Isaac,

You're right, some have had good luck.........no doubt about it. I wasn't slamming your suggestion in any way, just kind of stating the obvious. Just like the Stude, you could probably get that kind of power out of the 230 flathead as well. At least for a few minutes or so. As for the Plymouth, when you say "low end power" you really mean torque. The problem with more torque is the rest of the drivetrain having to deal with it. The trans, xfer case, driveshafts, and differentials are all torque rated. And that means "torque applied over time" rated, which is another way of saying "duty cycle". Once you change the duty cycle of driveline components all bets are off in regards to the life of those components. All I'm really saying is there is no free lunch, and there's really no way to get around that.

All that gobble-de-gook aside.......turbocharging the 230 is certainly do-able. I'd suggest the engine be professionally rebuilt before the turbo is added, as adding it to a well worn engine is just going to accelerate its demise. Finding the right turbo would be interesting. Turbo technology has greatly advanced in the past few years, so you'd want something newer rather than older..........and finding compressor maps for the newer turbos should be much easier than for the older ones. It would need to be a pretty small turbo to work in the RPM range suggested and have little lag......otherwise when you hit the accelerator the truck would be at redline before the darn turbo even spooled up. You won't notice a pound or two of boost, but you probably don't want more than half an atmosphere total or you're going to be breaking stuff. Throw in a mechanical wastegate.............although I don't know if they even make those any more, with all the new stuff being electronically controlled. Oh.....and make sure the turbo whistles. Nothing cooler than a whistling turbo coming down the road.

regards,
bob

w30bob wrote:Hi Isaac,

Oh.....and make sure the turbo whistles. Nothing cooler than a whistling turbo coming down the road.

regards,
bob

that's why I asked

What I've read says there's a few things u can do to address the oiling. Enlarge the oil ring slots in each journal bearing, cross drill the crank to increase oil to rid 5 and 6 (iirc), plus the weep holes in the rods since with the enlarged oiling slots there will be plenty of oil splashing the cylinders. Then balance the crank.

The turbo whistle will make the work worth it

hmm
i have a CTD six speed manual in my driveway....

Billy,

That's terrible..........stick it in an M37 or something.........don't leave it just sitting there in your driveway!!! At the very least throw a tarp over it, for Pete's sake!



bob

I agree with bob

w30bob wrote:Billy,

That's terrible..........stick it in an M37 or something.........don't leave it just sitting there in your driveway!!! At the very least throw a tarp over it, for Pete's sake!



bob

bob I was thinking an m715 with twin turbos and huge stacks

what about a blower?

You'll also need a wrecker to bring back the back half of the truck when the front half rips itself free.
Not putting down the poor 715........but an M37 it's not!



regards,
bob