mustangmatt98's '87 black turbo build thread

mustangmatt98

New Member
Nov 11, 2013
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georgia
I posted this in the 7M-GTE tech then realized there was an actual build thread section so here it is:

Before I start the actual build I thought I would share a little about me. I'm 22, I work for the local county here in Georgia on the fleet vehicles(sheriff's dept. cars, vehicles for the maintenance/roads and bridges/tax commissioners) I'm the tire and lube tech currently but I'm learning and working my way up I started as the parts runner when I was 19. since I was young I've been interested in cars in high school I took automotive for 3 years. I am pretty confident in my abilities I'm just a new mechanic starting out and I take every opportunity to learn. I didn't want to go to college after high school I believe in this field there is no replacement for on the job experience.

my very first car ever my parents bought for me right before I went into high school, it was a 87 n/a Supra. I worked on that car everyday put a new radiator in it, new brakes, new radio, new tires all on my own working as a dish washer. My dad's company had an opportunity for him to move from New Jersey down here to Georgia and there was a very good chance he would be promoted within a year which worked out in our favor. Unfortunately the Supra had a blown head gasket and couldn't come with us. He sold the car for a loss and kept the money for it. I've held that over his head for years, I really liked that car and wanted to keep it badly.



Now my first love is mustangs, since I was able to understand what a mustang was I wanted one. My dad told me when we got to Georgia he would get me a mustang to replace the Supra. It took a few years but he held his promise and bought me a 1970 Mustang for graduation. The car came with a motor, but it looked like it had been sitting in a field for a few years. I built a 302 V-8 myself(the bottom end was good so all I really did was re-gasket it, new cam lifters and had the heads completely gone through). Got the car running only to find out the transmission wouldn't hold park. So got a transmission from the junkyard and re-built it with the help of my girlfriends father. Now the car runs and drives and it seems like it puts me back in the seat more than the brand new Chargers I service at work. I'm estimating 300 hp at the crank.

I don't quite remember but I think this is before the motor when in.



nothing too special about my 1998 Mustang, just that I bought it one month almost to the day after I got the 1970. Just has a short throw shifter, off road x-pipe and mufflers. I drive this daily.



My truck is a 2001 F-250 diesel, I traded my 03 Sport Trac in for it and never looked back. If I didn't have this truck I wouldn't have the Supra. at one point or another my truck has pulled all 3 of my cars.

towing home the Supra, I disconnected the drive shaft after I drove it up on there. It was a 2 hour ride home in the dark, word of advice don't tow a black car at night...can't see it.

towing home my '98 from work, broke a tie rod end. there's some of the cars I service in the background.

my personal truck and the truck I use at work, the dually is v10 2wd and my truck gets better gas mileage.

last but not least after some fun in a mud hole.
 

mustangmatt98

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Nov 11, 2013
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georgia
Now my original intent was to tear into the car after the holidays ended but, my plans got canceled. So I started tonight and worked on her for about an hour or so. All I accomplished was the removal everything on the turbo beside the oil lines. I'm hoping to get the head off this weekend and get it out to the engine builder for a magnaflux and decking. After I get the head back my friend from work is going to port and polish the head, intake, and exhaust. While I'm into it this far I'm going to add a new down pipe.


What I'm starting with, its a nasty mess of grime and just neglect over the years. Many things to polish. Good thing I don't need this car back on the road quick.


This is inside the '3000' pipe. It's the same story in all the intercooler piping. Is that normal?





some evidence of the BHG


I'm new to forced induction. Are the fins supposed to look like that? Is that chipped fin going to be an issue?
 
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supraguy@aol

Well-Known Member
Dec 30, 2005
4,235
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Atlanta
A chip or two of that size isn't too much an issue, though given enough time, the slight imbalance will affect the longevity.
A bit of oil in the charge pipes is normal, but looking at the milkshake, you have bhg. You didn't really outline your plan for this build, but if you hadnt planned to already, i would suggest you pull the entire motor for a full rebuild. At the very least, you want to inspect the bearings.
 

mustangmatt98

New Member
Nov 11, 2013
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georgia
supraguy@aol;1980169 said:
A chip or two of that size isn't too much an issue, though given enough time, the slight imbalance will affect the longevity.
A bit of oil in the charge pipes is normal, but looking at the milkshake, you have bhg. You didn't really outline your plan for this build, but if you hadnt planned to already, i would suggest you pull the entire motor for a full rebuild. At the very least, you want to inspect the bearings.

Oops..I was too excited to post the pictures to put what's happening. I bought the car about a month ago and the PO didn't mention it but I think he knew the head gasket was seeping or on it's way to being blown. It had staright water in the coolant. I paid $800 for the car. It had a check engine light on for knock sensors, and the 02 sensor. The rear knock sensor was broken and hanging down the wire going into it broke off with minmal effort. The o2 sensor harness was the same story wires pulled right out of it. the PO also put a lexus AFM housing on it and didnt change the injectors, the AFM itself broke when I was trying to clean it. Once I fixed all this I drove it to work and back twice. It was missing the stock fan so it only had the small fan on the backside and the pusher on the front. Stupid I know but it hadn't overheated perviously. The morning I blew the gasket it ran perfect the first half of my trip to work and then it was all down hill. skipping, bucking, not wanting to idle. lost 1 gal of coolant in a ~18 minute drive.

I'm not going to pull the motor out because the motor ran smooth before I had this problem and water never showed up on the dipstick. The first thing I did when I got the car home after the gasket went out was drain the oil and coolant it currently sits in my garage with the drain plugs out. Long term goals are to restore the car to its former glory and make it a fun daily driver. This is not a racecar....for now. When I'm more finacially stable and I finish my Mustang this will get the works, full rebuild and mild power. I like my cars to look factory but not drive like it.
 

DeMoN2318

New Member
May 24, 2012
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Arizona
Man...two project cars at the same time...one of which is a Supra...and the other a mustang...yikes

Good luck though...I look forward to updates and hope this isnt another build thread that dies without a finished product


I also suggest pulling the engine and checking the bearings...its not that big of a job and its cheap insurance. while you are in the bottom end you can shim the oil pump and do something preventative maintenance
 

supraguy@aol

Well-Known Member
Dec 30, 2005
4,235
37
48
Atlanta
Your oil cap and pcv ports seem to show bhg milkshake. That mean water got in the oil. That means the bearings were exposed to it.
Your call. you might get lucky and not have any bearing issues. But it's a big gamble, labor-wise.
 

IndigoMKII

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May 9, 2011
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Madison, Virginia
If there's milkshake in the PVC, guess what. Water doesn't get in the system through the head normally. Flush both the coolant and oil several times once you rebuild the engine at least if you don't want to pull the oil pan and check the bearings.

The knock sensors can be rewired very easily and for like 20 bucks plus an hour of your time, same with the O2.

I wouldn't re-use that ct26, find one of the forum in better condition for like 100-200 bucks. I might actually have one laying around that I can sell you.
 

mustangmatt98

New Member
Nov 11, 2013
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georgia
DeMoN2318;1980286 said:
Man...two project cars at the same time...one of which is a Supra...and the other a mustang...yikes

Good luck though...I look forward to updates and hope this isnt another build thread that dies without a finished product


I also suggest pulling the engine and checking the bearings...its not that big of a job and its cheap insurance. while you are in the bottom end you can shim the oil pump and do something preventative maintenance

My mustang is at the point where I'm doing body work which I hate so I'm taking it on slowly when I feel I have patience for it. I like the mechanical aspect of restoring cars the most.

I fully intend on keeping this thread updated even after the repairs are complete.

7M4EVR;1980291 said:
man...by the looks of that turbo was the previous owner running an open afm with no filter?

You are correct sir! After I got the car home and off the hauler I drove it into my garage and didn't drive it again until I got some form of filtration on it. I tried the junkyards here and nothing would fit it so I made my own air cleaner out of a 4 inch pvc shower drain and a cone filter, turned out pretty good in my opinion but still no substitute for the factory box(which I am in search of)

IndigoMKII;1980370 said:
If there's milkshake in the PVC, guess what. Water doesn't get in the system through the head normally. Flush both the coolant and oil several times once you rebuild the engine at least if you don't want to pull the oil pan and check the bearings.

The knock sensors can be rewired very easily and for like 20 bucks plus an hour of your time, same with the O2.

I wouldn't re-use that ct26, find one of the forum in better condition for like 100-200 bucks. I might actually have one laying around that I can sell you.

I simply butt connected the broken wire on the o2 sensor and the light went out. the knock sensor is wired to the one good sensor, I'm going to fix it right while I have the motor out.

Can the compressor wheel just be changed on the turbo? I know it can be done on my truck not sure about the ct-26.

Alright everyone I've given into peer pressure and the motor is coming out. I stopped by harbor freight and picked up a 1,000lbs engine stand and I'll be going to get the hoist from my girlfriends father tomorrow morning. While the motor is out I'm going to send the bare block to the engine shop with the head to be decked and I will be using a metal head gasket and ARP head studs. I'm gonna do it right the first time...this build just got a lot more expensive and longer. I worked on her for about 4 hours tonight, got everything disconnected except the cross members, fuel lines, and motor mounts. Shouldn't take long at all to get the motor out.


went ahead and removed the hood for better access.


suppose I need another one of these. are they hard to find and where does the top port run to?


some more of the PO's laziness, didn't even prep the surface before he painted a white part black. I thought it was stress cracks when I first saw the car. It's pretty obvious the car was wrecked at some point.

underside of the same part. didn't even bother to paint it.


I got anxious and wanted to see what kind of shape the timing belt was in, looks pretty good but the tensioner looks like it needs help. I have a new timing set on order.
 

mcammarn

matt
Feb 24, 2012
668
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0
olympia wa
jdmfreak;1980453 said:
Get a load leveler for taking the engine out!


(speaking from experience) and I always remove the transmission with the engine
Taking the transmission out with the motor makes it flow out a lot smoother.
Also a leveler is nice but not necessary. I took mine out without one.lol
 

jdmfreak

PACNW
Oct 8, 2010
2,232
0
0
north clark co. WA.
With one you can do it yourself easy without..... You have a good chance of denting your core support I have done it without but after doing it with I won't do it without... Made a huge difference :)
 

mustangmatt98

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Nov 11, 2013
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georgia
Will engine is out. took me about another 3 hours with making sure everything was removed and all the lines were disconnected. This was A lot easier to do than I thought. I found a write up called 49 steps to mk3 7mgte removal. Tomorrow I will start taking off the intake and exhaust manifolds and the head. I'm going to plasigauge the mains and rods before it goes to the engine shop.


exhaust out. Is that a factory downpipe?


engine on the stand. It's sturdier than the 302 was on the other stand I borrowed.

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p1980560_3.jpg
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Nasty grimey transmission. I'm trying to talk my girlfriends father into rebuilding it with me. Are there any special tools needed to rebuild it?
 

mustangmatt98

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Nov 11, 2013
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georgia
So I finally found time to strip the motor down, boy am I glad I let you guys talk me into checking the bottom end! There's a lot of sludge build up in the bottom of the pan and the pick up has some large metal flakes on it. I think the head gasket was blown in 3 spots but I can't tell I'm farsighted and working with an old prescription. I'm going to attach pictures, maybe someone can see where the gasket is blown. I suspect 3, 5, and 6 are the problem spots but still unsure. It took me about 2 hours to carefully remove everything up to this point. The bottom end is still completely assembled.

On another note I purchased a ct-26 57 trim turbo from another member here. That should be here before Christmas :naughty:


any reason the manifold looks white like that?


keeping it in order. Please tell me this wasn't a waste of time and cardboard.


sludge and metal shavings on the oil pick-up



now for the good stuff:

1 & 2


3 & 4


5 & 6


head side 5 & 6


head side 3 & 4


head side 1 & 2


block side 1 & 2


block side 3 & 4


block side 5 & 6


5 & 6


3 & 4


1 & 2



I rolled the motor and head over before I took pictures so there is some extra oil and coolant on the mating surfaces.


my ever growing parts pile
 

mustangmatt98

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Nov 11, 2013
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georgia
I finally had some time to dedicate to the block. I got everything taken out, I think it looks pretty good as far as wear goes. I think I can get away with a hone, re-ring, re-bearing, and machine work but I'll let ya'll be the judge of that. Also When I was pulling the main caps I noticed that 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 were stamped with a 20 and 1 and 4 were stamped 25...what is the significance of that? the number 1 cap was facing the wrong way but none of the other ones were. Can the oil pump be re-used? how about the oil squirts?

this looks brand new


I took this picture to be like holy crap guys check this out because I remember reading somwhere that a 6m crank was an upgrade but then I checked it out and its supposed to be in there....


































 

mustangmatt98

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Nov 11, 2013
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georgia
Block is loaded in the truck I will be taking it to the machine shop after work tomorrow, hoping to get away with a clean and deck. Hoping to just re-ring the pistons I have but we'll see what the shop says.
 

mustangmatt98

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Nov 11, 2013
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georgia
bearing ordered, block should be back by the end of the week. I'm going to take the head down next week when I get paid. Still need rings(waiting to be sure the block didn't need a bore first) and a metal head gasket(waiting to see how much was shaved off the block/head). I'm shooting to have the bottom end completely re-assembled so when the head is back I can drop the head on. I'm hoping to have the block back together by mid-February and the transmission rebuild and everything back in the car by the end of March.
 

mustangmatt98

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Nov 11, 2013
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georgia
Block is back. It only needed a cleaning and a surfacing. The bearings all came in this week and the rings are on order. Also ordered a boost gauge with vacuum and an air/fuel ratio gauge.

On a side note we were hit in the recent storm, I had to work over night to put snow chains on the emergency vehicles but I still had time to play: