Turbocharging a ford i6 170

9437 Views 77 Replies 24 Participants Last post by 1stLove, Aug 18, 2021

dmg

Discussion Starter · May 9, 2020

Is it possible to turbocharge one? I have only found one video about turbocharging a 200 and was wondering how would it work and is it feasible. What would I have to change, because I the engine needs to be upgraded to be able to sustain the power and other parts like the rear axle. How would one go about turbocharging a carbureted engine? Is it possible to get a good power gain from it or am I very limited? How would you control the turbo to avoid blowing it up? I just became very curious about this and want to hear more from the community to know how would this work and is it worth a shot.

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BlakeTX

· #26 · May 11, 2020

jdub said:
There's a member on here who turbo'd his 6cyl on a budget, he was like 18-years-old when he did it and had pretty decent results.

This is true. He later did a very mild V8 swap on the same car and said that the V8 was just as fast and way more reliable than the turbo 6. If memory serves, it was cheaper too.

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BlakeTX

· #42 · May 11, 2020

Andrew Dominguez said:
If i could find that dude it would be great to ask him these questions since he has done it before.

I haven’t seen him post in a while, but here’s his screen name: 66sprint6

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BlakeTX

· #44 · May 11, 2020

jdub said:
I would want one of these: Small Six Aluminum Head Package | mysite

They only made one run of those, and are now rare as hen’s teeth.

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BlakeTX

· #46 · May 12, 2020

jdub said:
They're making them in pre-ordered batches.

This is from Fordsix.com:

Well that’s cool. I hadn’t heard any news of that in years. I wonder what the status is now. It still says out of stock.

FWIW, I love the idea of a hot rodded six, it’s just so far from practical, you have to be very driven by the desire to be different to justify it.

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BlakeTX

· #50 · May 12, 2020

jdub said:
If I spent the same money on a turbo 200 or 250 as I did on my N/A 306 I would have made the same amount of power.

Ok, I’ll bite... how?

Knowing that just a decent top end for a six is $2-$3k, plus turbo and the fabbing it takes to install, header, etc.

I’ve got a roller 306 with forged pistons, aluminum heads, TFS cam, fancy roller rockers, headers, Holley etc. and spent less than $3k. I did some horse trading to do so, but it was easy and no amount of batgain hunting is going to land you with one of those exotic six banger heads.

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BlakeTX

· #53 · May 12, 2020

rbohm said:
before he died, mike built a turbo 250 that made 323hp for the street. you should be able to find the article on the mustangs and fords website. i forgot how much was spent on the project though.

I don’t doubt that power potential. It’s the budget that gets me.

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BlakeTX

· #55 · May 12, 2020

rbohm said:
ok here are three articles on turbocharging the ford six;

1963 Ford Falcon Futura - Featured Vehicle - Car Craft Magazine

Check out the modifications made to make this 1963 Ford Falcon Futura run in the 11s. - Car Craft Magazine

www.hotrod.com

HOW TO TURBO YOUR i6 the DIY WAY. with PICS - www.fordmods.com

HOW TO TURBO YOUR i6 the DIY WAY. with PICS - Ford Modifications Website

www.fordmods.com

Turbocharged Six Cylinder Ford Mustang - Mustang & Fords Magazine

McLearran Racing And Classic Inlines Build A Turbocharged, Intercooled, Six-Cylinder Powerhouse - Mustang & Fords Magazine

www.mustangandfords.com

Only one of those mentions pricing and it’s up over $4k on the conservative side without even considering an Aussie or custom head.

jdub said:
I added a little more detail to my post in an edit. I probably could have built a 347 for the same money as my 306, unfortunately. I figure I spent $5000-6000 but I didn't use anything from my old 289, the 306 was a complete separate carb to pan build, like a turnkey crate motor. I didn't spare any expense, except on the crank and rods. Which is the opposite of what I would do if I had to do it over.

I'd have to fab everything myself. I have a chop saw and a pretty weak MIG welder but my friend has a giant SMAW and could go over anything I tack together. Wouldn't be as pretty TIG but it would be strong and work.

That makes sense, considering that it’s easy to spend money on shiny new parts, but it shouldn’t be the budget benchmark. With a little planning, anyone could put together a fresh SBF with some performance mods for less than $4k and have it doing burnouts in a weekend. Even less if you get creative and are happy with some used GT-40P heads.

I don’t think the same can be said about a turbo 200/250.

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BlakeTX

· #56 · May 12, 2020

The Barra idea is really cool, but those things don’t exactly grow on trees around here, and there’s some complexity to it from an engine management standpoint. Couple that with the fact that it’s big and heavy, plus cost, and like a turbo 200/250, you’re in the same position where you have to be in it for the wow factor and budget has to be way down on the list of priorities.

Nothing wrong with that approach, but I feel it should be noted in those terms.

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