Turbo 1600 Super Beetle

[Jamesl]

I've been lurking awhile on this forum and decided to post something. I picked up a '74 Super Beetle last year and have been slowly restoring it. I initially thought I would keep it stock, but couldn't resist the urge to add fuel injection and a turbo. I've done a few turbo projects over the years and was an early adopter for MegaSquirt, completing my first project in 2005. This will be my first air-cooled project.
I stripped and painted the car and have it mostly back together. The engine received a stock rebuild with new jugs and refurbished heads. I had it completely assembled and ready to go into the car, when I decided to dump the carb and go EFI using the Speeduino system.
Right now my focus is on building the exhaust system so I can mount the GT15 ebay special under the tin for an outwardly stock appearance. Here are some photos:

I painted the car in my garage with single stage enamel. Only my second paint job ever, but came out okay. It's back on the pan and a roller now.



I stitched together the exhaust system using 1.5" exhaust tubing and way too many pie cuts. This is my first attempt at pie cut bends. Seemed like a good idea but I'm going to get up close and personal with the welder for the new few days...



The little GT15 is small enough I should have no problem fitting inside the rear apron.



I've got a little side-mount intercooler from a 1.8t I'm hoping will fit above the alternator with a small fan drawing air thru the engine lid vents. At this point I'm not 100 percent certain there's room. Fingers crossed...

[panel]

How is your crank sensor going to attach ? Seems like you might have a hard time picking up the teeth for a reading.

And how will you take the header off the heater boxes ?

[Jamesl]

Both excellent questions. My plan is to attach the crank position sensor to the engine tin facing the trigger wheel instead of along the edge like most installations. Unlike a normal, flat trigger, the teeth on this one stick out at a 90 degree angle. I'm hoping/guessing the sensor will be able to differentiate between the teeth and the flat surface of the pulley. This wheel is off a Ford truck and I simply drilled out the center hole to match the pulley bolt and bolted it on. At $15 for the wheel, I figure it's a cheap experiment.



For the heater boxes, right now the header pipe just slips on the boxes. I initially thought I could clamp them in place but I'm considering adding flanges to the boxes so I can easily bolt on/bolt off.

[madmike]

I was going to suggest flanges also, slip joints leak

[Clonebug]

Slip joints will hold to 22 plus lbs.......

[Jamesl]

I've used slip joints on turbo projects in the past, but never stopped to consider how boost pressure on the cold side would affect exhaust pressures and leakage on the hot side. I've never boosted above 14 psi and that would be my upper limit for this project.

[Jamesl]

Well, since I had a new set of donut gaskets to mount a muffler to the heater boxes, I decided to go that route. It gave me a chance to use my high-tech flaring tool and will be fine for now. I can always come back and install flanges at a later date. Still a lot of welding, grinding and fiddling to make everything fit....

[Clonebug]

You should probably build a bracket on the top that bolts to the fuel pump mount or two alt stand bolts. I'm thinking you will have too much flex and vibration if you mount to the engine tin. You need to keep your gap in a pretty tight tolerance.

[madmike]

22lbs,, on a Mouse motor

[John S.]

Thanks for the trailer ball idea, or as they say nowadays “hack”. Lol.

[Jamesl]

I've been very slowly assembling the turbo package for my Super Beetle. I'm finally close to putting the engine in the car. I'm happy with the way things are going together, but I'm still a long way from driving. Here are a few pics.



I'm hoping to get the whole package in the car and under the hood without body modification. Next step is to do a test fit to see if any mods are needed. The exhaust is just slip fit right now and will be adjusted as needed.



GM LS2 Coil packs. These are known as "coil near plug." I cut up the fuel rail from a Jeep 4.0L and welded & brazed together my fuel rail. I used epoxy to bond ebay injector bungs to the stock intake runners.



I'm a little concerned about how close the heater duct comes to the header. May have to rethink that. Note that I got rid of the donut connector to the heater box and installed flanges.



I built an intake plenum significantly larger than the carb setup. Hope this make the car breath better.



Extremely tight fit to get the plenum past the alternator. Took some hammer mods to make it fit...



Intercooler stands off the alternator. I'm hoping it fits under the hood without further modification



Found a headlight socket that is a perfect fit for the alternator plug.



I'm a little concerned about the drain, but think it will work okay. The turbo sets higher that it looks in this picture, but I may add a bracket to hold the hose and give a smoother flow into the oil pan.

[buguy]

As long as the drain doesn't run uphill at all you should be fine.

[Jamesl]

I'm still slowly working away at my turbo project. Wiring was a real challenge but I finally got the engine in the car and getting close to starting it up. I redid the oil drain, installing a hard line that slopes down to the oil sump. It's tight, but everything fits under the hood for a sleeper look!



Both the blow off valve and the crank case vent are connected to the intake tube below the filter and before the turbo.



I still have to seal around the back of the engine tin and around the intake and heater ducts, trying to keep as much hot air out of the engine compartment as possible.


Lots of wires: ignition modules, injectors, intake air, head temp, fuel pressure, & O2 sensor.



The oil outlet from the turbo is about an inch above the highest level of oil when full and engine off. I'm assuming the oil level in the pan drops when the engine is running and oil is circulating through the engine.

[buguy]

Well done. I like to see things people build. That drain is smart!

[madmike]

Hope you have a one-way-valve on the crankcase vent to the intake?