Know Your Turbos? Quiz and History

[copbait73]

OK boost junkies brush out those cobwebs left in you brain from last night's drinking.

Know Your Turbos??

Pop quiz:

1) What was the production year of the first air-cooled, turbocharged pass car motor running .8 bar boost?

2) What was the production year of the first turbocharged 3.6L pass car motor with charge air cooling and wastage controlled boost pressure?

Answer and history to follow.

[Ylonewolf]

I'm new here maybe just a guess

1 1975
2 1993
Porsche of course

[JohnJL]

I'm pretty sure the Buick Regal GN had a 3.6 turbo in 1984.

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by JohnJL

I'm pretty sure the Buick Regal GN had a 3.6 turbo in 1984.

The GN was a 3.8sfi turbo.

1. 1965
2. 1993/94?

[pkracer21j]

If we're talking Porsche, then I'm going with 1975 and 1994....If we're talking cars in general, then i have no clue. I've hit my head a lot, so my memory isn't what it used to be, and it wasn't great to start!

[JohnJL]

Sorry, it was a 3.8.

[RarlyL8]

#1 - Corvair Monza, 1965
#2 - probably something in the 1940's like a Packard.

[copbait73]

All wrong so far, keep trying.

No Googling allowed.

I'll be on line this evening for the answers.

[boosted 89]

1. 1978
2. 1996

Chris

[RarlyL8]

OK maybe '62 or '63 for the Corvair. You'll have to define "production" if the Corvair is not the answer you're looking for.

[copbait73]

Ok, these two clues will surely give it away.

Question #1, this motor also introduced a novel distributor having centrifugal advance AND boost retard feature.

Question #2, this high performance motor had an aluminum block.

[jonesb930]

I have to agree with Brian on the 1962 Corvair. I am unsure of question #2 though. I have a feeling there is a twist....

[WinRice]

#2 sounds like the 1962 Olds Jetfire with the 215ci aluminum V8. It used a wastgate and water/methanol, but it was only 3.5L

[copbait73]

Before many of the members here were born General Motors was considered a technical powerhouse. In 1962 they produced two Turbo- Supercharged performance engines for what was then a new market segment, economy cars.

Question #1 was the turbocharged Chevrolet Corvair. Today considered an uninspired design here was a 2.4l turbocharged, air-cooled, 6 cylinder boxer engine with horizontal fan (for even cooling) making 150HP. In comparison the standard engine for the 1962 Porsche 356 was still a 1.6L with 4 cylinders making roughly 1/3rd less power. 15-16 years later Porsche would (re)introduce the same technology on the 911 and claim it as a technical milestone.

The turbocharger used on the Corvair engine was produced by Thompson, later produced as Rayjay, much later acquired by Garrett. Brian was close with his answer and he will relate to the method of boost control the Corvair used. Brian engineers and sells mufflers to reduce backpressure for increased performance. In opposite fashion GM engineers tailored their muffler for backpressure. The backpressure stopped boost rise at 11PSI (.8Bar) and 4400RPM.

Question #2 was the Oldsmobile F-85. This was a truly advanced passenger car engine. Tiny for its day at only 215cubic inches (3.6L), it had an exotic aluminum block. The Garrett turbocharger selected pioneered pass car wastegating; it’s controlled 6PSI was all in at 2,000RPM. Because of the F-85s high static compression ratio (desired for good response) this engine also pioneered charge air cooling by way of water methanol injection. If all these general terms sound familiar that is because Porsche (re)introduced the same basic formula 29 years later on it's third generation Turbo engine.

[RarlyL8]

I forgot they turbocharged the Buick (Oldmobile) 215, good memory Win! That was the engine for V8 conversions into tiny cars back in the day. I recall a few Vegas and Sunbeams with that swap.

[WinRice]

Originally Posted by RarlyL8

I forgot they turbocharged the Buick (Oldmobile) 215, good memory Win! That was the engine for V8 conversions into tiny cars back in the day. I recall a few Vegas and Sunbeams with that swap.

I've had a few old Range Rovers with that little aluminum V8, 3.9L, 4.2L and currrently have a 1993 with a modified 4.6L version of it. And, a friends dad has a low mile 1963 F-85 with the original turbo engine. So I'm pretty familiar with the history behind them.

It's so light two people can carry around a full engine pretty easily.

Only thing, 215ci = 3.52L

[JFairman]

I remember reading a story in Road&Track magazine around 35 years ago where someone took an early Lotus Espirit and removed the 2.4 liter 4 cylinder motor and put in one of those lightweight aluminum 3.5 liter Oldsmobile V8's sourced from a salvage yard.

They said it was one of the best engine transplants they had ever seen in the mid engine Espirit.

[WinRice]

A pretty common swap is one of these in a late model MGB.

Could you imagine a 280hp EFI 4.6L in a MGB? It would be lighter than a Sunbeam Tiger.

Too many projects, and not enough time.........LOL

[krasuskyp]

A buddy of mine a few towns over has got one of those B's (chrome bumper) w/ the 3.5L - he found a repugnant Rover hatchback thingy in Alabammy and drove down / trailered it home and did the swap. It's pretty awesome.

On the Esprit, a totally gnarly swap someone recently did on Motorgeek was an Audi 4.2L. Reallyreallyreally nice.

This quiz had been kicked around here a couple years ago - I sorta remembered the answers.

[copbait73]

OK, next TURBO Quiz:

In 2006 Porsche marketing proclaimed to the automotive community it will install a pass car industry first turbocharger technology on their next generation 911 TURBO, the 997 TURBO. This “new technology” was Variable Nozzle Turbine (VNT). After this initial media blitz there was a strange silence while they were informed they were not the first by a long shot. Who was the first? When? (Brian you need to sit this one out).