turbocharging a 97 dakota

[dusterbd]

ok, im trying to figure out how to do this with some sort of reasonable budget. reason im looking at turbo is for "passing power, and hill clibing power" (at least thats what i tell my girl....)
anyway, its a 3.9 six. my questions are:
1. can i put the turbo downstream a little ways, like where the Cat is now, and then plumb up into the engine bay from there?
2. if not, what sort of manifolds can i use that would work without too incredibly much hassle?
3. what kind of turbo, and is there a boneyard source for it?
4. i know that a three inch exhaust, ported intake, ported heads, headers, bigger throttle body, etc will all make more power and help eith drivability, but what of these do i need for the initial build, and what can i add later?
5. will i need a stand alone Fuel management system, or can i somehow crutch the factor setup and have it be reliable and daily drivable.
6. Intercooler: how big, what type, and where to source?
7. should i just say the hell with it and figure out how to stuff a 5.9 in there?
anyway, i just got to thinking about this yesterday, so i ahvent started the research with a passion yet, but id like some direction to go in. thanks
mike

[Stus300]

99% of all turbos I have seen on the performance side run of the headers.....
of course it is a modified header (as in you buy it and its all pre-fab, you will have to look to see if they have one for your vehicle, if not , a custom fab will be done, but by then it would be easier maybe to go to a supercharge application) to allow for the turbo to bolt up...
So I have to assume that is the "ideal" location for it. you will need a few other things a long with it so that you can proberly run a turbo application.

as to what kind, turbonetics would be a good place to start, I have heard nothing but good stuff about their turbo systems. you cvan do a full buildup like that and still run a turbo or supercharged application I am sure the g/f will understand LoL


you will need a fuel system managment, and all that junk period to control detonation on these kinda setups...you might also have to upgrade the computer (if it has one) might help save on the downstream depeding on how much it is hooked into, ie. ingition, fuel, etc.

intercooler you need if you want to run maximum boost, or if you cant run enough to make it worth the system, the intercooler will help a lot if you get detonation on the lower boost side, and allowing you to run higherboost because of it cooling and make the air more dense.

stuffing a bigger motor would be the easy way, haha, but then you got a lot of mod work there as well depeding on the variables of motor and your stock application..

anyways, I hope that I have been of some help, I aint the most knowledgable but I have kept my mouth shut and learned a lot from others and from things that I have read.. have Fun!

[NEramv6]

you can mount the turbo any where you whant http://www.ststurbo.com/
these guys put all the way back. but you need pump to help the oil

[flight704]

I would first recomend you think about how much money are you wanting to spend ,,,,,then decide exactly how much power you want to make,,,,,, then design and build you turbo system to match your performance goals,,,,, how much power you want to make is directly proportional to how much money you have to spend lol... me personally i love turbo systems,, best overall performance on the market today,, if you still want it to be a daily driver.. I suggest you go to barnes and noble , walden boooks or amazon.com and buy a book called MAXIMUM BOOST by CORKY BELL. costs about 30 bucks but its worth it.

also i would consider a supercharger system you can buy complete

as for your questions here we go

1) turbo can be placed almost anywhere but it has side affects. the shorter the better!!!!!!! the further away the more time the exhaust gasses have to cool causing more turbo lag/slower spool time=less performance,, also the oil used to cool the turbo and lube the bearing has to piped back to block if you put it up front and near the top gravity does the work for you and easier no pumps reservoirs and so on.. you would think too much oil on bearing couldnt be bad but due to extreme temps of turbo assembly if it stays in there too long the oil breaks down and fries the bearings and turbo,, an expensive problem to have

2) since the factory didnt make a turbo dak or turbo 3.9 your manifold will have to be custom.. couple ways to do it,, start from scratch like i did or buy a header then modify it as stated earlier,, or pay to have one fabbed

3) turbos are like everything else in the performance arena,, how much money do you want to spend.. here are some links to turbo suppliers if you want a new or reman unit you can browse and research
http://www.turbosunleashed.com/
http://www.turboneticsinc.com/
http://64.225.76.178/main.htm
http://www.turbochargers.com/
http://vecco.net/
http://www.airpowersystems.com.au/wr...bo_details.htm
http://www.turboxs.com/
as for sizing or selecting which turbo that decision will be made when you figure out how much power you want to make.. they all have puonds per minute of air flow ratings which correlates to hp
you can buy turbos used but some people arent honest,,if you dont have the knowledge to rebuild it i would buy a reman from a reputable dealer,,not ebay

4) your mods depend on how much power you want to make,,lower boost requires less modification,, big power requires big mods and big money ie forged pistons and so on,, anything you do to let the exhaust flow freely will help alot in a turbo system,, the faster the exhaust flows out the faster the turbo spools and reaches maximum boost

5) I would go aftermarket on the fuel system if you have the cash,,i used aeromotive for my complete system,,, good stuff here is a link
http://216.242.145.16/products/category_browser.phtml

6) inter coolers cool the charge air making it more dense and giving you more power,, better to have one but it will work with out one,, all of those links i posted about turbos also have intercoolers or you can go custom,, spearco probably has the best rep going at the moment

7) as for putting the big motor in there that is an option but with a turbo you can build a 600 hp small block and still get 20 mpg on highway,, hard to do going old school big cubic inches for power route

hope this helps

[Greg55_99]

Check this out!

http://hometown.aol.com/russjerome/turbodakota.html

Greg

[Stus300]

Sts supplies a oil pump in their kit..also I have found that there is a universal kit as well they have so with some custom fabrication you can put this on just about anything..

I am think I might do this with my 64 since it will still have its somewhat og look without moving the battery to the rear.

[flight704]

greg
dude that dakota is cool,,,

I am about 2/3ds the way done on a similar project, He got over on me though using the neon head,, I considered doing that but didnt, The intakes bieng on the other side opened up alot of room for him, his turbo sits up top which is not an option with my set up,, im jealous lol I went with carbs and because of it I had major headaches the turbo wouldnt clear the upper control arm on the passengers side and I had to custom make my own header.to move it out to the front,,, vanity i wanted it out in the open for people to see . here are some pics if you wanna peek