Turbo Help On A Carbureted 89 K1500

[cameronc]

I have a 89 K1500 with a carbureted gm performance 350 H.O. crate motor. I picked up a turbo today and was wondering if you guys could help on the install. I have most of the parts needed but I don't know to much about doing a turbo on a carbed motor. Do I need anything special? It currently has a 600cfm edelbrock. Will i need to go bigger? And how do I know what jets to go with in my carb. Also How much boost would be safe for this application. Its a 9.1 compression everyday driver. I was only planing on around 5psi maybe. Could you guys please help me.

[Nytemare]

8psi max on a 9:1 engine, it would be fine to go higher if you plan on running 94 octane and alky injection, but with pump gas (92-94 octane) I wouldn't exceed 8psi....5 is really safe and is probably your best bet for a DD.

 

600cfm should be fine on 5 psi. The jets for your carb should be written in the carbs spec sheet...if not just get hold of Edelbrock and ask them.

 

you shouldn't need anything special to put the turbo on, its just pushing air into the carb, you would be smart to get a blow off valve to relieve pressure when you take your foot off the throttle, or just in case you start to over-boost the pressure in the line wont push the butterflys open.

 

Do your self a favor though, get a turbo timer. This will allow your engine to continue running after it has been shut off with the key, allowing the turbo to spool down. Turbos spin at up to 150,000 rpm, if you just shut the engine off after playing a bit or coming off the highway after a long trip the oil in the turbo will cook of in less than a second, no oil means no cooling for the turbo and you will wreck the bearings in a matter of a couple of oil changes. The same thing can be done by just letting the vehicle idle in your driveway for a minute or so, but its just set and forget with the timer, just in case you forget to do it your self sometime.

 

Your also going to need to change your oil more often with a turbo in there. 2000 miles is recommended, unless you are running some good synthetic you can keep the 3000 mile intervals.