TURBO CHARGING THE 1.9L CVH

A little info I gathered.
please note, i didnt write this article.
If you are planning on doing a turbo install on your escort- here is a basic overview. Actually, the setup was quite easy. (compared to full fabrication). What you will need from a donor EXP Turbo is: (these parts can be found in a junkyard, or a scrapped Escort EXP Turbo).
the exhaust manifold,
manifold bolts,
the turbo itself (make sure its a good one- if there is more than 1/16th (or there abouts) play in the main shaft- it is junk),
and the down pipe from the turbo to the cat,
the oil line from the filter at the back to the top of the turbo,
the oil return line from the turbo to the block,
the small brass oil distribution block (the one with the oil pressure sender on it) at the back of the engine block (near the oil filter)
the thermostat housing and radiator hose
the EXP turbo computer (IMPORTANT) and the injectors.
the turbo to vane air sensor hose,
the turbo to intake manifold hose
the air box and fittings.
the electric fan (you will need to adapt the mounting brackets for this)
Optional but suggested: the oil cooler from underneath the oil filter. Installation is mostly bolt on- the exhaust matches up exactly and looks stock- the air box looks factory and fits perfectly but will not fit with the stock GT thermostat housing and radiator hose, so you need to install the EXP turbo one.
And you need the computer. when I put mine together, I used my stock 1990 escort computer, which advanced the timing too much at higher RPM, causing severe engine detonation which cracked all 4 pistons. My cylinder head (which was not a cheap replace- my cylinder head has the roller lifters). when putting it back together, I used the pistons from an 1988-1990 for escort non-HO motor (dished instead of pop-up) to lower the compression. Although these are cast aluminum, they will do better than the hypereutectic (sp?) high compression pistons that the motor came with. When I initially installed the setup, I put it all in at once and it took me a weekend (actually 14 hours), and ran like a bat out of hell (or so it seemed). I took it up to the local drag strip in Southern California, and on a hot day, it ran a 16.5 sec at 86mph. talking to people at the track, everybody was about .6 seconds off their best, so I wasn't too disappointed. This time was not too bad, but could be better- my car ran 18.0 stock, so 1.5 seconds off the quarter mile and a trap speed 11mph higher is not that bad. To install this, a basic list of procedures are:
You will need to remove the air filter assembly, exhaust header, thermostat housing, and I had to shift the alternator bracket to get the turbo manifold back on. you will also need to get behind the motor to plumb in the oil distribution block. When you do this setup, it is easier if you were the person that took the turbo setup off the donor car- that way you know where everything goes, and how it is assembled.
I ran into some problems when I did this. I had to modify my A/C setup because the A/C line went where the turbo manifold went. this was done by pulling forwards on the line, making sure to not kink and burst the line. I also had to remove my cruise control setup, but this might be able to fit. The oil cooler I installed later on. it is basically an oil to water setup, taking water from the heater core feed line. a bit of ingenuity is needed here because the coolant lines are a little different. If you do decide to use the oil cooler, you will need to use the oil filter from an EXP turbo (available at any car parts store). if you do put this in- look at getting a new clutch. I have already fried mine and am planning on putting in a centerforce Dual friction clutch at the end of the month. Other parts of interest from the EXP turbo cars- the shocks. the turbo came with Koni shocks and struts. the rear ones just bolt in, and the front ones need a 3 inch hole cut in the shock tower to fit (if you visit a junkyard you will see why). Now this swap was performed on a 1990 escort GT with a HO motor. the engines were the same for all GT escorts from 1986-1990. if you have a different model or year- you have to figure stuff out yourself.






Other turbo mods
Other things (turbo associated) you could do (pieces that are working on my car right now), a computer from a thunderbird turbo ('87-'88), a set of 35lb injectors from a t-bird turbo coupe (make sure they are from a 87-88, the rest are 30lbs), and I am using the vane air sensor from an 1986 mustang SVO- these are massive compared to stock ones, but you will need a conical air filter for this. I am planning on working with a local turbo shop (they work on 2.3l SVO and other 2.3l fords) to put mass air on the car. also because the electrical components on my car are all mismatched, a little computer programming is in order to sort out the sensors that are slightly different. Actually, I am surprised the computer setup works at all, but when I read the computer codes, the only error I get back is the knock sensor (not even there), so I guess its OK. On the dyno (while running 30lb injectors on the t-bird computer with no intercooler and stock escort air meter), it dyno'd at approx. 130bhp (at the wheels an a K&N dynojet), so should be about 155 at the fly wheel. this was at Palmdale Raceway in Southern California, about 1300 feet above sea level on a hot day)
(The power peaked at about 4700 rpm. this was because I had changed the cam timing to battle detonation) Stuff I plan on doing in the near future (after a clutch)- intercooler. I have looked at a Mitsubishi starion intercooler, and it looks like I might be able to use it (I will need a new fan). this should put horsepower at about 195, and I could also turn up the boost from a stock 6lbs to about 14-15 (OUCH), and I am currently looking at a turbo from a 86-88 turbo coupe. some of these had the Warner ISHI turbo (the same as the escorts), with a bigger intake side- it might fit into the exhaust housing of the escort turbo. that would cause boost to come in a little earlier, and could be increased to about 18lbs on race fuel. with programming, I am hoping for about 245-250bhp at the flywheel- 210 at the wheels.

well, the new turbo is in. I installed the t-bird IHI turbo in the escort exhaust housing, and it fits great! and it pulls a little harder too (with the same boost), but is capable of a lot more. When you install this, the stock turbo escort air box will not fit because the turbo intake side is a lot bigger, so you need to do some plumbing between the turbo and air meter. I am also currently changing the clutch for a Centerforce Dual Friction clutch, and pluming both the Mitsubishi Starion intercooler and the water cooling for the turbo-

well, the new clutch is back in, and it pulls even better. while the engine was out, I also plumed the intercooler by using copper piping (regular household piping) and soldering it together to route around everything. (picture soon). the air inlet temp has dropped a lot, and after driving it hard, the intake temp is a lot cooler than before.(14lbs, here I come), and I also did the water cooling lines for the turbo. I plumbed these into the lower radiator hose (with a copper t-connection) and the heater hose. I knew there would be water flow between these because the water either goes through the Turbo, or the oil cooler and heater core. I used dishwasher hose (steel braided high temp silicon core), so it looks great and will NOT burst. (I had to re-tighten these this morning because a heater hose blew off (oops)).All I need now is an alignment (due Monday) because I also replaced my steering rack while waiting for my clutch.

the alignment is great- I have no where near the traction problem I did before (I can only smoke 1st and 2nd now), so the tires will last longer. now to see how it handles.Now I have a clutch problem again. the Centerforce Dual Friction is not gripping when I hit full boost. There has to be something wrong with the setup. I am working with Centerforce with this problem.

OK. if any of you guys have a clutch problem and can't figure it out, swap out the clutch cable. I did today (and it cost ouch), and the clutch stays put. no slip whatsoever (so far). so now I am waiting for it to get cold so I can take it out for a run. tee hee hee. I also got a matched set of 35lb injectors (the ones I am running now are from two different cars), so these should be out in early next week. but I am now running 12psi of boost and loving it!! lets just say this- the scenery gets blurry very quickly

well, the escort has been running well so far- the clutch still slips but not as much as before, so the cable didn?t fix it. I really haven?t done that much work to it because I recently started a new job. last week I beat a 5.0 mustang (5 speed) and boy was he pissed. I still think that it should have more power than it does. I have done all this work to it and it just isn't fast enough (will it ever be?) so I am getting the stock cam re-ground by Schneider racing cams soon. I am getting it re-ground because the cam setup I have uses a billet steel cam and roller lifters, and I want to keep that setup intact. I still keep ripping up motor mounts, so I need to fix that by installing a torque strap or something.

Two weeks ago, I blew up my motor- I thought it was because I was running cast pistons (well, that helped it fail), but I tore the motor apart and saw that three of the four had no problems with them at all- all were a dark golden on top, and one had a hole in the ring land (on the edge). A turbo and Injection friend (who works at a turbo shop) pointed to injector failure as being the cause of detonation, and not the high boost levels I was running. I was thinking of building a new strong motor now, but I NEED a car to get to work, so I am just replacing the block and piston with another, and then building a good bottom end for it in the next few months...however, before I blew it up, (about a week before), I was leaving a traffic light, and shifted into second (kind of aggressively), and I heard this car rev up hard next to me. I looked in my mirror and saw this '96 Z28 camaro pick up speed. not being one to say no to a challenge, I nailed it, and kept on his quarter paned from 20mph to 85mph. I couldn't believe it. my little escort kept up with a Z28??? this shows that with a little work, I could be deep in the 14's (if I ever get traction- and my clutch working right). 11/25 well, last weekend, I got a replacement block. it is from a 1988 escort CFI 4 door, but it has no wear. I am just planning on running the CFI pistons and new rings/bearings and a new cylinder head (again), and hopefully new injectors (a friend of mine is selling me his 37lb injectors). I am also putting in a new centerforce clutch and SPS head bolts (from BAT), also a head gasket (ROL high performance one) from Movida Motorsports. I hope that holds my motor together until I build a bulletproof one. I will keep you all posted as to how the engine assembly goes.

well, the short block is all together- I used my crank in the new block. I cleaned the bores up with a stone, and stuck new bearings and rings in the thing. the head is also almost finished- I have ported the intake and exhaust with just a basic gasket match, and will be polishing the ports later this week. I also polished the combustion chaimbers to keep heat out of the head, lets hope it works well. I also recieved a new centerforce clutch and I also got head studs from BAT. These studs clamp the head onto the block tighter than the standard "torque to yield" head bolts, and will help keep my motor together. For the head gasket, I just got a graphite head gasket, because Movida is taking too long sending me a new catalog. I am also putting in the cam that I got re-ground for more top end power. I hope I dont have anything else to buy- this is getting expensive I also have a new intake- this one has a 65mm throttle body mounted to it- a friend of mine made it at a local shop. it uses a modifies mustang throttle body and an adapter plate that the shop is thinking about making. I should have a picture soon, and should also have more pictures of my blown up pistons and new motor.I also got a BIG aluminum radiator this weekend, from an air conditioned tempo- this should keep my motor a LOT cooler.

. well, the long block is back together, complete with a 60mm throttle body from a mustang (this takes a LOT of adapting). I should be putting the engine back in this weekend. I might have a hard time getting the intercooler to fit again- the Tempo Aluminum radiator is a little wider than the escort one. I'll have to see if it works (I am NOT running this motor without the intercooler).

last weekend I got the car up and running again. but I still need to adjust a few things, such as throttle position sensor voltage, and also adjust the timing. so far, the car feels good, but I am only running 6psi untill I break in the motor (I would like to get a few months out of the thing). I can't feel when the camshaft kicks in- I set it at 4 degrees retarded for top end power, but I thought it would make a noticable improvement. maby I notice it when I bring the boost back up to 15psi. I am also wondering if the intercooler hoses are restricting my air flow. they are no where near as big as my throttle body, and I feel that I could get more airflow, and not loose that much torque by making them bigger. I'll see what I can get made.

I had a 4-puck clutch fabricated, and installed it, but it still slipped. I then had a dual diaphram clutch made to give the clutch twice the clamping force. it works!!! no clutch slip!!! (but my suspention is still shot!). I used my G-Tech pro performance meter, and with a crappy 2-3 shift, and NO traction, it ripped off a 15.2 at 97mph! (I only made one run), so with a clutch and some programming, (and throttle body, ect) I lowered my ET by .5 seconds and added 10mph to my trap speed. but there is a lot more power to be seen with this setup- I can run more boost, get a bigger cam, get a good exhaust system, convert to mass air, extrude hone the intake, get larger intercooler hoses, ignition, and run nos. Using a little calculation (from the Corral web page), and assuming me in my car with gas, ect weighs about 2800lbs (I weigh a lot), and with a trap speed of 97mph, I estimate 203hp at the wheels, about 240 at the flywheel. cool, huh? the 300hp goal is getting closer all the time.

I did some work this weekend to my car, and on my GTECH-PRO meter, I ripped off a 14.59@107.6 ouch. that was with no traction in 1st or 2nd, and I missed 5th again (I can never hit that 5th). I am running 17psi right now with no detonation. cool.

a while ago, I ran at carlsbad. 13.89@107. the stang next to me was kinda mad. oh, well... I NEED SLICKS!!!!!!! I feel 12's are possible if I could only get out of the hole

upped the boost again, 22psi. same trap time, but trap speed of 112.estimated 305hp at the wheels.