Will a factory 6.5 turbo system work on an 80's 6.2?

[More Power]

Will a 6.5 turbo system work on an 80's 6.2?

The bolt patterns and port sizes are all the same. So yes, it will bolt right up to any 6.2. The exhaust flow and other dynamic processes are very similar between the 6.2 and 6.5, which means the performance would also be similar.

However, there are three problems with using a 6.5 factory turbocharger on a 6.2 in a 1980's truck.

1- The turbo sits very near the A/C housing and will require some modification to the housing to gain the necessary clearance. Non-A/C trucks will be unaffected.

2- The injector angles and length of the 6.2 injectors on a 6.2 head puts the injector fuel line fittings uncomfortably close to the turbo side exhaust manifold, and may even touch in at least one spot.

3- A special downpipe needs to be made to clear the frame rail. The stock 6.5 downpipe won't work without modifications.

I know of at least two people who are running a 6.5 turbocharger on a 6.2 engine in an 80's style truck. One installed 6.2 van injectors, which are shorter in length, along with the addition of the stock 6.5 heat shield. This gave him enough clearance to satisfy him.

Another member from Australia made a 1/4" exhaust manifold spacer used between the exhaust manifold and the head. This works well for him. Of course installing a set of 6.5 heads would simplify the installation.

Jim

[Nelsoncat]

I have aquired most of the parts necessary to do this. Where does the oil drain go on a 6.5? What is the best area to pull oil pressure off of? I think I am going to make the exhaust manifold spacer plate for injector line clearance. This motor is going into a 79 F150 with a 3/4 ton drivetrain so I'm sure I'll have other issues.
Craig

[JeepSJ]

Oil drain goes to the place where the mechanical fuel pump would mount - down low on the passenger side of the block.

[BigGun J]

Why not run a 6.9 or 7.3 in the Ford with a Banks turbo? Just curious?
I am planning to put the 6.2 in my Toyota FJ60 because the Toyota diesels are to dam expensive with no parts support.

Jim

[Nelsoncat]

I bypassed the 6.9 7.3 for kind of the same reasons. They are hard to find around here and usually have the back cylinder cavitated through. I have a 7.3 that I was going to put in an 89 f350 but it needs the resleeving and the Navistar costs way more that the 6.2 to overhaul. The 6.2 is physically the same size as a 460 maybe a little less and the overdrive trans are a lot more plentiful and less expensive. I also have 3 6.2's that were given to me free!!!
I originally was going to put one in my 48 Willys pickup but didn't think I could cool it properly so the next project in the barn was the 79.
Craig

[Robyn]

Unless you already have the stock GM turbo setup you might want to think about the Banks setup that is designed for the early 6.2. This puts the turbo way forward on the right side. The downpipe is an easy fab job to get it wherever you need it to go

If you are going to run a stock mechanical fuel pump you can braze a fitting into the pan and run the oil drain back there instead.

That is what Banks did on their early units.

Lots of options and good ways of doing it.

If I were doing this conversion I would get the engine in the truck and then take stock of what sort of room I had to work with and go from there.

The swap you are talking will most likely take a few interesting twists and turns along the way.

Back in the mid 80's I had a neighbor who had a lovely little 76 SW 4x4 without an engine or tranny. (FORD)

The neighbor across his fence had a 73 Olds 98 wagon with a 455 in it.
(His wife got the back half intimate with the UPRR)
We used the 455 along with the 400 and replaced the output shaft on the 400 and coupled that up to the NP203 Tcase.

Small amount of fabricating and a trip to the local exhaust shop for some nice duals and it was a sweet ride. We had to get some custom AC hoses made up locally to fit the AC system from Olds to Ford :eek:

Now that was a real kewl liitle truck, it had tall gears and big tires so the big olds felt right at home as they are used to 2.86 gears or so.
The Max RPM on those is fairly low 3500 or so, sort of like the 6.2

What you are wanting is an easy trip with a little mix and match, shake well, paint the right color and good to go.


Lots of luck and keep us posted

Robyn

[Nelsoncat]

I aquired an almost complete turbo setup off a 93 6.5. After bidding on many banks setups that went for more that I really wanted to spend, I came across this setup for a lot less. I had already determined that the older style banks setup would put the turbo where I wouldn't want it in the 79 f 150 so had kind of planned on a late style setup if I bought a new Banks kit. ( I had thought about buying new at one time) I have had this truck since it was new and always hated ford 400's. I get blasted every time I say that on ford truck forums. You can imagine the responce I got when I mentioned 6.2 on their sites. I have always thought these were the perfect engines for light trucks to pull snowmobiles or a 20' boat. Anything that weighs more, thats what I have semi's for! I have spent a lot of time planning this and now have accumulated almost everything I need so I just need to find the time between irrigating and cultivating.
I hope to run this on biodiesel when it is done. We have 100 acres of sunflowers planted and our press should be delivered next week. I built the transesterfication unit already. Time will tell
Thanks for the interest
Craig

[Chevrolet4x4s]

79 ford with a chevy diesel:D
Shane

[john8662]

Dang, at the risk of not really adding to the post about the turbo thingy, I must agree, Ford 400 sucky bad. That's not really cause I'm a GM guy either. ;)

[Nelsoncat]

Well, I have made some progress but not a lot. I bought a 3/8" header flange from Stans Headers to space the turbo side exhaust manifold. I got a trick crossover pipe from Heath Diesel with smooth bends and a slip fit to compensate for the 3/8 spacer. I am waiting on the FluidDamper from Summit and for the new radiant floor to be poured in my "hotrod" shop. Finally finished combining corn yesterday so now my winter projects are on the front burner. Only wrinkle will be a month of recoup after carpeltunnel surgery!!!!!!
More as it happens
Craig

[Busted]

Hey,

I'm following this thread with great interest, as I intend to do the same modification in the '82 CC mentioned in my signature. What I'm currently trying to decide is how far to go--6.5 heads as well, IP, etc. Keep posting!!

[alteredspeed]

You mentioned a exhaust spacer. What engine did the flange come from.

[Nelsoncat]

The turbo exhaust manifold is from a 93 6.5turbo, If you use the 6.2 heads which I am because they already have the smaller precups and I am shooting for fuel economy, ther injector lines will rub on the turbo exhaust manifold. Spacing it out from the head with the header flange was an easy way to do it. The Heath cross over pipe is a slip fit which will compensate for the 3/8" the manifold is farther away from the head. I received the Fluiddamper and am attempting to get the block all painted up. I am on light duty after left wrist carpel tunnel surgery and am having the right one done next week. I hope to really dig in to this project by mid January. More as it happens:

Craig

[mrolds88]

I have an 82 that I am doin the same thing to. Will be putting it in a 79 Blazer with a 4 speed. I figured I would use a hummer manifold and cut off the flanges and use gaskets on both sides of it for my spacer. I also had another idea about the downpipe situation. How about running the downpipe first and snaking the crossover in after? I realize that this would be a lot less hassle on a 4 wheel drive than a 2 wheel drive. What do you think?

[suburban-marco]

Hello Guys!
I'm Marco from Berlin, Germany.
I'm reading in this forum since several month and it's great. I found some good info.
At this time I restore my '84 Suburban completely frame off.
I plan to convert from n/a to turbo.
I have a GM8 with manifold and 4911 IP. Lowered compression ratio to 18:1,Mahle pistons and so on.
But my question is to the less clearance between turbo and a/c-box!
the common problems with the 6.5 GM turbos in square-body-trucks are the to long truck-nozzles, so I went to the 1cm shorter van-nozzles.
The problem with routing the downpipe somehow between body and frame I have to solve. Somehow. I will see.
But my most important question is: how much space is between the downpipe/heatshield and the a/c-box??
Or how much is too less??
Because, I relocated my engine 2" forward. Would that be enough to fit in the engine bay with turbo AND a/c-box??
Greetings Marco

[More Power]

Hello Guys!
I'm Marco from Berlin, Germany.
I'm reading in this forum since several month and it's great. I found some good info.
At this time I restore my '84 Suburban completely frame off.
I plan to convert from n/a to turbo.
I have a GM8 with manifold and 4911 IP. Lowered compression ratio to 18:1,Mahle pistons and so on.
But my question is to the less clearance between turbo and a/c-box!
the common problems with the 6.5 GM turbos in square-body-trucks are the to long truck-nozzles, so I went to the 1cm shorter van-nozzles.
The problem with routing the downpipe somehow between body and frame I have to solve. Somehow. I will see.
But my most important question is: how much space is between the downpipe/heatshield and the a/c-box??
Or how much is too less??
Because, I relocated my engine 2" forward. Would that be enough to fit in the engine bay with turbo AND a/c-box??
Greetings Marco

The biggest problem when attempting to use a factory 6.5 turbo system is the turbo's exhaust exit interference with the frame rail. No good fix for that. Secondarily, there's turbo interference with the factory A/C box on the firewall.

It's worth your time, effort and a few dollars to get a Banks 6.2L Sidewinder exhaust manifold. I wouldn't consider anything else. Jim

[phantom309]

Moving the engine ahead the 2 inches as you have said,. would certainly give you quite a bit more room,..
I saw a manifold for sale recently made by a company called CTS??,. it cocked the turbo at an angle especially for adapting a turbo into a boxy style truck to move the down pipe away from the a/c box.

Nick

[phantom309]

Moving the engine ahead the 2 inches as you have said,. would certainly give you quite a bit more room,..
I saw a manifold for sale recently made by a company called CTS??,. it cocked the turbo at an angle especially for adapting a turbo into a boxy style truck to move the down pipe away from the a/c box.

Nick
UPDATE: i searched around and found the manifold ,. they are listed as brand new, and as i said it will offset the turbo so there is no interference with the A/C box,.

You need to PM me for the address, because they are listed on another forum.

Nick

[suburban-marco]

UPDATE: i searched around and found the manifold ,. they are listed as brand new, and as i said it will offset the turbo so there is no interference with the A/C box,.

You need to PM me for the address, because they are listed on another forum.

Nick

Hi Guys,
I just saw, my last answer wasn't posted.
Don't know what went wrong:confused:
And Nick, I didn't found the way to pm you...:confused::confused::confused::confused: