I've driven The Beast!

[DARKNES]

On a 2-day business trip to LA on 6/3 and 6/4, I thought it might be a good idea to contact Richard Fong, and see this Turbo SC Beast for myself.

I've been talking with Richard about this project since he first installed the initial design iteration back in 2000 (June, I think?), and have remained very interested.

Richard was nice enough to drive over to my hotel from Pasadena (I was in Santa Monica) after dark, when it's safer to do the kind of test drive we were intending to take. He took me out around the neighborhood, up onto the freeway for prolonged some pedal meets metal action, and then let me drive it for about 10 minutes before we headed back and gave it the visual inspection and gearhead chat session.

My impressions:

- Firstly, this is a DAILY DRIVER car. It's not perfect, with something like 160,000 miles. This is not a car Richard tunes weekly (or even yearly - he said something like 60,000 miles or more since it's last valve adjust), or has recently rebuilt (about 10 to 15% leakdown - tired engine). BUT, this kit has been on this car, and it's been driven fairly regularly (about 10k miles/yr) since 6/00. What I'm trying to say is, not a lot of maintenance has been involved in the car, and it's still quite driveable after 30,000 or so miles of boosted conditions. Still looks good enough to attract the
attention of fun lookin' little brunette chicks too. ;-) "Hey!... is that
YOUR CAR? Wow! It's Niiiiice!"

- The car is very well mannered. It's easily street driveable. Just like an SC in the low-rpm range. Scoots along nicely until you decide it's time to GO, and the GO it does. GREAT care should be taken to acclimate oneself to this new power should one choose to pursue this option, before, say attempting a run up Mulholland Hwy, lest Ye wind up at the bottom of a canyon. The boost comes on strong enough that it could easily make your mild mannered SC much more tail-happy in the corners. Take care or a nice 180 or
360 with the accompanying utter loss of control could come along in short order.

- The turbo comes on strong, even with the weakened engine and, as Richard said, settings which were imperfect for his liking (a few suspected fouled plugs, etc.

- This is an "engineering" solution to get a faster SC. It's a kit. As it sits, it's not particularly beautiful, but it sure seems to work. When you consider the cost/return ratio between this system and, say, SSIs, it's an easy decision. But SSIs look better. I'm not saying Richard's system can't be dolled up - in fact, he's leaving the piping bare in the kit so individuals can powder coat in whatever color they choose - but it comes as GO not SHOW parts.

- This is a KIT. Some assembly is required. This means some of the brackets will have to be modified and welded to fit in each installation. These cars were hand built, they're up to 25 years old, and they're subject to a lot of heat and stress, which means, tolerances may be off a bit. So some brackets (muffler and turbo in particular) will need some massaging *by design*. Not a big deal.

- The boost was set fairly low. Even still, when it came on, it'd push you back and make things in front of you get closer in a hurry. I'd love to try it on a fresher engine with a few more lbs of boost.

- Is this an equal for a 930? Overall, probably not, and I don't think it was intended to be. But in a straight line, it'd hold it's own or walk away from a stock 930, certainly. What it is is a good, well researched and tested DIY kit to improve the performace of your SC for a relatively low cost.

- Will this reduce the longevity of an SC engine? Probably so. Depends on how you drive it. If you're fairly conservative, it may not have a noticeable effect at all. If you bump it to 16psi and floor it every chance you get, I'd say you'll definitely see some premature wear. Just common sense.

Bottom line: Richard's a cool guy. Loves to talk cars, and really has
enjoyed making this kit, and refining, refining, refining it. The car was a TON of fun to drive, and it purrs unassumingly along until you ask it to misbehave. As I drove it, it's not terrifyingly fast, but trust me, it's plenty fast enough to get someone in trouble if you're not careful, teach an occasional lesson, and have an overall better SC driving experience in. If you're the type who wants to keep their SC pristine and stock looking, or the type who is concerned that this kit may cause the death of your engine, I'd stop reading and keep pricing SSIs. But if you're adventuresome, willing to see beauty in function and performace, and can keep the desire for higher boost under control, it's certainly seems like a good solution.

Personally, I'm willing to give it a shot. If I can get clearance from the Household Minister of Finance, that is. Looks like a fun project, and it's one heck of a lot cheaper and easier than attempting to do the same thing myself - research, design, testing, and various redesigns, etc.

Good work Richard! THANKS AGAIN for the test drive, and it was great to finally meet you!

Thomas

[Stanley]

Great write up!! What are the details on the turbo kit? Like what turbo is it running, is it intercooled, approx. hp, how much boost, cost... etc? I'm guessing that this kit has been discussed before so a link will do just fine. Thanks!

[jmohn]

Originally posted by Stanley
Great write up!! What are the details on the turbo kit? Like what turbo is it running, is it intercooled, approx. hp, how much boost, cost... etc? I'm guessing that this kit has been discussed before so a link will do just fine. Thanks!

This may be what you're looking for:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?threadid=9788&highlight=turbo+sc

Good luck,

Jerry M
'78 SC