Since I just joined a couple of months ago, I guess I should post my project. This is a replacement for my "T2K-CAR" (my avatar is the Virginia plate for it), a 1985 LeBaron Mark Cross convertible. Car was built with a 2.6L Mitsubishi engine with a feedback carb. I fought with computer problems from day one of acquiring it in 2003. System would stay in full lean mode most of the time in trying to accelerate, I finally got a non-feedback carb and used it until I developed the Mitsubishi curse, a cracked head, 3 of the 4 combustion chambers were cracked. After pricing a used, condition unknown head and an exchange head I was in the scrap it or powertrain swap it. I had traded an early Dell laptop for an Turbo engine and transmission from a 1987 LeBaron sedan, the salvage yard that had it thoughtfully wrote my name on the windshield with "no parts for sale" so I could take my time removing stuff from it.
When I pulled the powertrain, the engine was filthy, lots of oil all over the timing belt area, so I wasn't sure what I had, but have owned a turbocharged car previously I wanted the turbo setup. Upon cleaning, I discovered I had a rare beast, a 1988 Turbo II long block service replacement, block is dated 1-8-88 and has the unique to 1988 crank sprocket and pulley. After fixing the oil leak and doing a tear down and refresh on it and beefing up the A-413, it was "game on". A friend had given me a 1987 Turbo II 2 piece intake and fuel rail (no injectors) I score a 1989 Garret Turbo II turbocharger on eBay and found a set of 2.5L turbo injectors (same as T2). I drove the car, complete with a Mopar Performance program in the logic module until February 2009 when a Mercedes-Benz ML320 tried mating with it and destroyed the right rear corner.
I had purchased a 1986 convertible from the same yard the engine came from for parts, so I saved everything salvageable from the 1985 car. Between getting ready for retirement and moving to the Eastern Shore of Virginia, along with some major rework on my 1986 F350, the project got put on the back burner. It is underway now. I have adapted a 1989 LeBaron coupe dash as the K car choices were minimal gauges or a not super accurate digital unit, I have revamped the power distribution from fusible links to a 1996 Stratus PDC which replaced all the fusible links and the relays. In order to address a problem with adequate cooling for the A/C condensor due to the intercooler radiator, I have fitted a modified Ford Contour dual fan system in front of the condensor using the low and high speed fan relays and fuse in the Stratus PDC. My main problems currently are needing the floor replaced (found a pristine, blown engine Reliant as a donor) and getting the engine electronics straight (I going to a 1990/91 SBEC). I have apparently manged to get something crossed up in the wiring to the 60 way connector and damaged two of them. All wiring is sorted now, and a TBI SBEC will work the controls as far as turning on the system and triggering the coil, neither turbo SBEC will work, so I am searching for a good used one that I can socket for my custom programmed chip.
h34r:
