Just bought a turbocharged 350... prepare to help me fix it!

[Guest Magnum Rockwilder]

I just bought a recently remanufactured 350 4-bolt with a custom single turbo setup... sight unseen! It has a turbo manifold from a 70's Massey tractor, a RF-40 turbo, which I couldn't find anything out about other than they may or may not have come on Mercedes C230's, and a "custom" homemade plenum that's basically an air cleaner with some weatherstripping to seal it to the carb.

 

It has a Quadrajet carb, and I'm pretty sure all Quadrajets are vacuum secondaries. Don't turbo setups need a mechanical secondary carb?

 

The guy says it runs good "down low", but if you try to "mash it it bucks and stuff". I don't know jack schnap about turbo systems, but I'm thinking it's getting too much fuel and loading up and just needs to be tuned with the right carb. He's been driving it for 6 years like this, all around town conservatively.

 

It comes with the whole car. but I'm pulling the motor and installing a 305 in its place and reselling the car to recover the cost... so the engine will cost me anywhere from $1000 to -$1000 depending on how much I sell the car for once I install the 305.

 

Any input?

 

Prepare for a TON of questions as I try to get this thing tuned!

 

[Dan Juday]

What kind of car came with the motor?

[Guest bastaad525]

What kind of car came with the motor?

 

 

was gonna ask the same thing... at first glance it looked like a Z but... really hard to tell.

 

 

Man what a mess you got there with all those hoses and wires...... sweet deal though hope you can sell the car at a nice profit.

[Guest Magnum Rockwilder]

It's a '78 Jaguar XJ6 in good cosmetic shape. It needs the headliner reglued and needs a little minor cleaning, but I should be able to sell it for at least what I paid if not more once I drop in the 305. I bought a whole Monte Carlo with a 305 for $300 and sold the body for $100, so I only have $200 in the 305/TH200 setup. The only problem is it's close to the holidays so I don't know if people will be looking to buy a car unless its for their teenager or something. I could sell it for less than I paid and still walk away happy.

 

The guy bought the turbo setup from his high school shop teacher and fabricated the missing stuff, and the engine is from Advance Auto Parts and has 8000 miles.

 

I want to replace the Quadrajet with a Holley, build a sealed box around the carb, add an intercooler, and possibly replace the turbo with a more appropriate one. The turbo that's on it now may be for low RPM use, and I want something that'll hold boost to about 6krpm.

 

It's a mess and will take some work, but hopefully I'll be able to get it running right. If not, at least I have a low mile 4 bolt 350... turbo or not.

 

I'll post more pictures and ask a gazillion questions when I pick the car up Sunday.