Hey Everyone!
Just thought I'd post up my build in hopes that it may be of use to someone.

A little history.. got this car as a roller traded for two small t-3's and two intercoolers off of turbo coupes. I had another 86 GT at the time and needed a solid body to work with since mine was rotting away. This one had about 80k on it. So I swapped eveything over an got her on the road.. Bad news was it was in an accident and the frame was over pulled and the car would never track straight and had to take it to have it put back to spec. 6 months later my old motor gave up the ghost. Picked up a used long block (supposedly with 60k) put it in and wouldn't you know it.. valve seal were toast and i looked like spy hunter driving down the road lol. Swapped in all the exploder stuff (freshened of course) and all was well.

Now here we are today and this is how the car sits..


86 GT T-top, 5.0 with gt-40p heads, Explorer intake, 70mm t-body / EGR, e cam, t-5z, 4.10s. As far as the build goes here are the parts im using.

- Holset HX52 turbo with a 16cm turbine housing.
-1-5/8" shorties facing forward.
- 2-1/2" crossover using stock ball socket flanges.
- Magnaflow merge 2-1/2" to 3" modified to fit t-4 flange (cut with a dremel and beaten until square lol).
- 4 " down pipe (DIY style).
- Knock off 50mm BOV .
- Knock off 46mm Wastegate 4 bolt flange.
- 3/4" oil drain.
- Walbro 255lph in-tank fuel pump
- Aeromotive FPR

Stuff i still need to get..

- 4an oil feed no restrictor
- Moates Quater Horse
- Switching to a slot style MAF
- 3" cold side piping
- FMIC with 3" in/out
- AEM wideband O2
- 42# or 60's

Shooting for around 500 rwhp, fun toy for the street, and occasional strip outing.

Here's my progress so far.. enjoy!

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Well just a quick update, been waiting on my buddy to lend me his drill press and welder so I can get moving on the rest of it, and he dropped them off to me today at work. I'm so excited! Should be able to get the hot side knocked out in a day... I'm hoping. Now all i have to do is find a day to work on it

 

Just a bit of an update, it has been cold as hell here lately so not much time to work on the old girl.

I did manage to get a bunch of things ordered or in my possession..
Fuel Injectors
Sway bar Frame bushings
Slot style MAF
4-an oil feed line
3/4 oil drain from RPS
Billet Alum oil feed flange
4" v-band... china made (b/c i just needed 1 flange @ the v-band to mate to the turbine housing)
4" v-band from RPS .. still waiting on this. Darrin explained they were waiting on the v-bands from their supplier and i'm cool with that.
FMIC 31X12X3 3"in/out
3.27 gears
75mm throttlebody
3"cold side tubing kit off e-bay
AEM Wide Band

Work wise got my sway bar spacers finished up and painted.Got my starter tubes in place so I can mock up the crossover.
The merge pipe is off at a friends getting TIG welded since I only have a MIG available. I did get the inner fender liner trimmed to clear the turbo and exhaust tubing. Also put a "T" in for my oil feed and installed the oil filter adapter.. almost didn't clear!

Once I get the merge back I can fab up my brackets to support the turbo then finally finish the crossover and start my down pipe.

So much for getting the Hot side mocked up in a day

Pic's to come!

 

RPS 3/4 Drain Flange


Billet aluminum oil feed flange



Chinese V-band assembly



AEM Wide band.. really pleased with the quality and love the face it comes with black and aluminum bezels!



Braided 4 An oil feed line straight on 1 side 90* on the other.

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New sway bar bushings to replace my old busted ones


Couple pics of the oil feed/ oil pressure sensor mount. Since these pics were taken I have to replace the straight
4 an fitting for one with a 90*



Here's a pic of the non- water cooled exploder oil filter adapter mounted.. it's super tight there may have to shave the head of the bolt down a bit!

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Some pic's for reference since there is not a lot out there on the HX52's..



HX52 inlet diameter
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HX52 Compressor outlet

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HX52 Turbine outlet Flange

 

Some goodies that showed up this weekend..

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Since it was a nice weekend for once.. meaning it wasn't below freezing! I managed to get some work done.
Did a quick and dirty port job on my Exploder upper intake to match the 75 mm throttle body, got the injectors installed and some other small things.
did a quick mock up with the turbo with the v band installed to I could ruff in some parts for the 4" downpipe.

Enjoy

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Cool build, can you get some pictures of how tight the 4" DP is by the firewall/engine/bell housing?

Also get an upper radiator hose off of a 94-95 mustang GT.
It bends away from the compressor housing.

 

Watching too. Good luck. I built an HX52 [but on a 350 SBC and mid-mounted and...] and am still sorting it out. I think I used a lot of the same bits.

Note that if the 4" downpipe gives you trouble, a 3 1/2" pipe fits perfectly flush to the inside diameter of the 16 cm2 HX52 exhaust housing. However, you will have to fill the area between the OD of the 3 1/2" pipe and the ID of the V-band flange. I wrapped a 3/16" diameter round bar around the 3 1/2" pipe and welded it to fill the gap.

 

Thanks! It's been alot of fun for me so far.. it's like play time to me!
Sure I'll make sure to snap a few extra in that area for ya and thanks for the tip~!

 

Sounds like you have a fun project going! Do you have your build posted here?

That sounds like a good idea! I'm determined to give this 4" a good honest try though. I can't see any reason it wouldn't fit, but i'm sure i'll be eating my words later!


T

 

I hope you can make the 4" down pipe work even if you have to squash it here and there. Backpressure will be minimized and replacing the 4" mandrel bends would suck.

I have been lurking for a couple of years and only recently started posting a little. I have considered writing an "after the fact" build with updates. Time will tell if I ever do. There are a few photos of my truck at https://www.theturboforums.com/album.php?albumid=105.

I am no expert but have learned maybe one or two things doing my first turbo build. Feel free to ask. I interested to see your HX52 build succeed.

 

Thanks bd~! You should post an after the fact build.. you're truck looks awesome man! I love your non-typical type builds.. for me wagons are where its at (don't ask me why b/c I'm kinda confused / conflicted on that one lol) but I totally dig your truck.

 

Thanks 86GT. It might take a while to post my build. I started the build five kids ago before the internet, digital cameras, mobile phones smaller than a brick, etc... I've distracted your thread enough. Back to your build.

 

Couple updates and some pics. First I had the following goodies waiting for me when I got home #ad
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measurements on this are 31x 12 x 3 3" in and out. Hoping it'll be enough intercooler for the job. Cxracing cold side in a box #ad
looks like i'm gonna need a few lengths of straight tube yet but all my bends are there. Probably 2 or more I won't need. Anyhow pic of my quick an dirty port job on my exploder intake. Looks worse then it really is lol #ad
Roughed it in with a carbide bit then used a sand roll to smooth and blend it. Funny thing though is I noticed there were some spots where the density of the aluminum was a lot tougher then others. Here's a couple pics of my oil drain.. everything is 3/4 ID so gonna need to run a 1" ID drain hose.. starting to think I went overkill on the drain lol #ad
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. Last but certainly not least got my Moates QH ordered and should be here tomorrow, and RPS e-mailed me the other day to let me know my v-band shipped. Now just to get my merge pipe back from my buddy...

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There is no such thing as over kill when it comes to drains, i would run 2" if they would fit my turbos. lol