Ghetto Evo/B230F manifold build

[Beelzeboss]

G'day all,

I've just started fitting a TD05 turbo from an Evo 8 RS to my '91 240 brick with the genius (lol) idea of adapting the Evo twin scroll cast steel manifold to the B230F.

The port spacing is not the same between the engines so I've cut the runners way back on the Evo manifold, positioned the remaining manifold portion and turbo in the bay, then tacked in some temporary braces.





Now I'm 1 runner down, hopefully I'll finish it tomorrow arvo once I buy some more pipe.



Why? Well here in Australia I've been finding it hard to source a Volvo manifold/turbo for a reasonable price, these titanium wheel TD05 16G's are ~$150 with a proper OEM twin scroll manifold, and the turbo seems like it will be a good fit for the B230F.

I'll also be modifying a Golf GTI intercooler to fit, making a custom 3" stainless turbo back exhaust and fitting RX7 550cc injectors to go with the aftermarket standalone ECU already in the car... RIP AW70.

Anyway, let me know what you think, I'll post an update once it's all finished up.

[Nagrom]

proper hack job

[James M]

Normally when running EVO turbos I've seen people use the NA manifolds and build a J pipe, might have luck doing that.

Either way make that sucker spool, and not leak doing it and Ide call it a win

[Beelzeboss]

Originally Posted by Nagrom

proper hack job

Absolutely haha

Originally Posted by James M

Normally when running EVO turbos I've seen people use the NA manifolds and build a J pipe, might have luck doing that.

Either way make that sucker spool, and not leak doing it and Ide call it a win

I considered doing that but I want to make the entire setup hide underneath a stock-looking heat shield.

So here it is - some of the worst welding I've ever done, and that's saying something A proper rush job but when it's covered in a heat shield nobody will ever know, and I'm sure it will flow enough for my goals.





I need a new shield for my welding helmet, can't see ****, but the welds have great penetration. I actually burned through the 3.4mm thick pipe in a few places and had to turn it down.

I still need to die grind out the ports a little, clock the turbo, make the wastegate actuator bracket/rod, make the 3" exhaust, modify the intercooler, make intake pipes, make I/C pipes, fit injectors, oil lines, coolant lines... maybe I should start a proper build thread.

[K9 240]

Hi
Looks good so far.
I made a manifold for my TD05HR using weld L's. I had been going to do the J pipe from the n/a manifold but I didn't feel there was room to get the (oddly shaped) downpipe from the turbo past all of that. Space is limited on a RHD car because of the brake booster and I also have the hydraulic clutch in the way.
I tried to position the turbo in the middle of the engine and low enough for the compressor output to go under the pipe from the water pump. There is very little room in the 240 and the turbo position is mostly a compromise.
I'm glad you mentioned a heat shield as those things get really hot - I cooked my brake fluid recently resulting in no brakes and a badly smelling clutch. You probably need to wrap the manifold as heat soak is a killer too. Would also recommend protecting the ignition wires and any brake lines coming close to the manifold.
The only other things I didn't think about when making it were access to the turbo and manifold stud/nuts,acessing the spark plugs and leaving room for the water pipe that comes across from the back of the water pump.
It really is a great turbo and well worth the trouble to fit it.
Did you get the M90 gearbox out there?
Tim

[740atl]

I freaking love this. Rock on!

This is such a great idea. It's a PITA to cut and splice pipes to fit the evo 8 turbo flange. I've done it before and its functional, but it's basically a buggery welded mess. I have a second evo- 8v manifold in the works, but I might scrap it and give this method a try.... plus evo turbo manifolds are relatively cheap.

[oldschoolvolvo]

curious to see this mocked up in the car w/ turbo attached. I'm not envious of having to work around the steering and brake booster on a RHD car.

[permavirgin777]

Nice.

If not already, I'd weld the inside of the runners at the flange that mates to the head and then grind it smooth, but that may be overkill.

You likely know already but when done, this should flow enough to make well into the 3xx PS / 2xx kW range and have great response which translates into a fun ride. Might have to invest in a transmission cooler to keep that AW70 alive for a bit longer... ha.

Looking forward to further updates.

[kyote]

Love this!
Your AW70 will last seconds under boost, better have a replacement in line.

[K9 240]

Meant to also add that you can turn that steering arm upside down to move the bulbous bit lower down if it proves advantageous.
Tim

[Beelzeboss]

Originally Posted by K9 240

Hi
Looks good so far.
I made a manifold for my TD05HR using weld L's. I had been going to do the J pipe from the n/a manifold but I didn't feel there was room to get the (oddly shaped) downpipe from the turbo past all of that. Space is limited on a RHD car because of the brake booster and I also have the hydraulic clutch in the way.
I tried to position the turbo in the middle of the engine and low enough for the compressor output to go under the pipe from the water pump. There is very little room in the 240 and the turbo position is mostly a compromise.
I'm glad you mentioned a heat shield as those things get really hot - I cooked my brake fluid recently resulting in no brakes and a badly smelling clutch. You probably need to wrap the manifold as heat soak is a killer too. Would also recommend protecting the ignition wires and any brake lines coming close to the manifold.
The only other things I didn't think about when making it were access to the turbo and manifold stud/nuts,acessing the spark plugs and leaving room for the water pipe that comes across from the back of the water pump.
It really is a great turbo and well worth the trouble to fit it.
Did you get the M90 gearbox out there?
Tim

Cheers Tim, I also looked at the J pipe option but I want to keep this looking stock-ish, which means a sneaky a low mount with a heat shield. We didn't get the M90 unfortunately so I'll probably go AW71 accumulator mod when the AW70 shows signs of failing.

Originally Posted by 740atl

I freaking love this. Rock on!

This is such a great idea. It's a PITA to cut and splice pipes to fit the evo 8 turbo flange. I've done it before and its functional, but it's basically a buggery welded mess. I have a second evo- 8v manifold in the works, but I might scrap it and give this method a try.... plus evo turbo manifolds are relatively cheap.

Haha thanks mate, no point reinventing the wheel and the cast twin scroll merge in the Evo manifold is an absolute work of art.

Originally Posted by oldschoolvolvo

curious to see this mocked up in the car w/ turbo attached. I'm not envious of having to work around the steering and brake booster on a RHD car.

It's actually looking like there will be absolutely no steering/booster clearance issues at all.

Originally Posted by permavirgin777

Nice.

If not already, I'd weld the inside of the runners at the flange that mates to the head and then grind it smooth, but that may be overkill.

You likely know already but when done, this should flow enough to make well into the 3xx PS / 2xx kW range and have great response which translates into a fun ride. Might have to invest in a transmission cooler to keep that AW70 alive for a bit longer... ha.

Looking forward to further updates.

Thanks mate, I'll be grinding the inside a bit but probably not welding in there, I'll get a pic to show but there won't really be any need to add more material to the inside.

Originally Posted by kyote

Love this!
Your AW70 will last seconds under boost, better have a replacement in line.

Oh dear haha, I'll try keep my foot out of it until I can source an AW71. The box/car only has 125,000 km's (~77,500 mi) so should be in good nick... for now

Originally Posted by K9 240

Meant to also add that you can turn that steering arm upside down to move the bulbous bit lower down if it proves advantageous.
Tim

Cheers Tim, I'll keep that in mind but so far it looks like the downpipe will clear everything really easily.



The manifold/turbo has about 20mm clearance to the strut tower which isn't ideal, but with a little grinding I can get that to 25mm... might need to bash a sneaky dent into the strut tower in the one area of concern but I'd like to avoid doing that.



Downpipe looks like a literal straight shot out of the turbo (which has the flange tilted at 45 degrees downwards already) and then a 45 to run the pipe back and under the car - couldn't be simpler.

I'm currently about half way through making the downpipe flange so I'll finish that tomorrow and start running the 3" exhaust. The exhaust is definitely the part I'm looking forward to doing the most, it's been a long time since I made one and it looks simpler than the last 2 I've done (KL-DE swapped MX5 and an LS1 swapped S13 Silvia).

[Beelzeboss]

Got started on the 3" dump pipe, proper turbo placement has made this an absolute snap - the RHD steering column and oil trans cooler lines are no problem at all.





The angle it makes with the flange isn't as bad as it looks, it actually goes the opposite way to the angle of the flange of the turbo so really it's straightening out the flow a bit... anyway, I'm sure it will flow way more than I need for my goals.

After work today I'll add the wastegate portion of the piping and the merge, then continue on with the rest of the exhaust. I'm going for a 200 cell metallic core cat, straight through 30cm long resonator, under axle, then a 3" straight through half perforated-half chambered muffler like this:



Except the outlets are both offset to the same side so you can see straight through the muffler... I really hope it isn't too loud but it's the only 3" muffler I have on hand, hopefully the turbo muffles a lot of the sound.

[escoboy]

i saw some solid mounts (they did have a nice rubber bushing in them so dunno about "solid") on speeding.nu made by andersson steel speed (Swedish Co i think) that shifted the engine to the left and kept angle of motor unchanged. i think they made them with a couple of different offsets. since you have a RHD car, thinking there is some room to slide the motor over...

just a thought. ooops just checked and it was 50mm back, not left. still might work tho'. they do make a replacement mount for the 200 cars



escoboy

[Beelzeboss]

Originally Posted by escoboy

i saw some solid mounts (they did have a nice rubber bushing in them so dunno about "solid") on speeding.nu made by andersson steel speed (Swedish Co i think) that shifted the engine to the left and kept angle of motor unchanged...

escoboy

Thanks mate, I'll give it a look!

I didn't get any time to work on the car today, but yesterday I finished most of the downpipe.



I didn't get a pic of this part fully welded, but when it's installed look how straight a shot it is



I haven't done any TIG welding in 4 years but it's slowly coming back to me. Here's the V-band at the end of the dump pipe.



The dump pipe components are all made, I just need to tack them together under the car and then fully weld it before moving onto the rest of the exhaust.

[RoadRacer4Life]

I love everything about this.. That manifold is the tits.. Keep the progress coming.

-Sam

[Triebwerk]

Best ghetto project ever! :-)
I have 2 TD05 twin scroll laying arround since a couple of years and still waiting for a company who is building again manifolds. Also organized all materials for building one my own, but welding skills prevent this part...

[Beelzeboss]

Originally Posted by RoadRacer4Life

I love everything about this.. That manifold is the tits.. Keep the progress coming.

-Sam

Originally Posted by Triebwerk

Best ghetto project ever! :-)
I have 2 TD05 twin scroll laying arround since a couple of years and still waiting for a company who is building again manifolds. Also organized all materials for building one my own, but welding skills prevent this part...

Cheers guys! And Triebwerk just give it a go, the welding doesn't need to be perfect to be functional.

I ended up MIG welding most of the joins on the downpipe because my fitup wasn't good enough for a proper TIG weld. It's also all dissimilar stainless grades which is perfect for the 309L wire I have for the MIG.



Welding to the aluminized flex joint was not great, even with the 309L wire which is designed for joining mild steel to stainless, but I pushed through.





I ground out the inside of the merge as best I could with the 5" angle grinder, but my air compressor is under the house so no die grinder at the moment. I got it pretty smooth by folding the edge of the pipe over... once the Volvo is back on its wheels I can get the compressor into the garage and tidy it up with the manifold



The next section of the exhaust has the high flow cat, then there will be a slight kink after the pipe pictured into a 3" offset oval muffler, then straight back under the diff to a resonator and out.

I decided to swap positions of the resonator and muffler because it will fit a bit better without having to go across the back of the car and use up another 180 degree stainless bend ($$$)

[Beelzeboss]

Well the welding is bad (some of my worst work, I'd say) but it's sealed and won't break so... we'll call it good enough for this.





The bullet muffler/resonator is in the section of exhaust that kicks up after the axle. It actually fit better here than at the rear of the car (unless I was going to go across the back all the way). The tip is very tight between the tow bar and chassis but I'm going to fit a pretty stiff hanger to hold it in place. The only thing left to do on the exhaust is finesse the centre hangers so they work a bit better, then add a rear hanger.



Next up will be oil feed and return so I can fire it up and hear what it sounds like with the turbo in place, then proceed to intercooler stuff and that's all the hard parts done!

[90volvo]

this is awsome. i had the evo turbo and the na manifold etc. I built a couple of jpipe but abandon the set up. i like what your doing, I have a upgrade turbine wheel for your evo turbo if you ever want to upgrade. Its brand new. Keep us posted.

[90volvo]

looks great, keep us posted. Ive been kicking around welding up a close to fit manifold or merry two of them to make one but with turbo on top. I like your idea. Pure tbrick ingenuity. keep us posted on progress.

[Beelzeboss]

Originally Posted by 90volvo

this is awsome. i had the evo turbo and the na manifold etc. I built a couple of jpipe but abandon the set up. i like what your doing, I have a upgrade turbine wheel for your evo turbo if you ever want to upgrade. Its brand new. Keep us posted.

Thanks mate, I'll hopefully have a clip of how the car sounds this afternoon.

One of the reasons I searched hard for the TD05HRA model Evo turbo is that it comes with a titanium aluminide turbine wheel (the 'A' in the serial number) which is 33% lighter than the standard inconel turbine. Apparently this makes a big difference to turbo lag and spool-up time so I'm keen to keep that intact, but thank you for the offer!

The "HRA" turbo was only available in the top spec TME and RS versions of the Evo 6-9 in Japan, so it's harder to find than the standard "HR" versions.

[Hilding]

Wonderful work! These sort of solutions inspire and fascinate.

[Triebwerk]

Any update?

[Beelzeboss]

After a quick break to get married and a 2 week honeymoon I'm back working on the Volvo.

The exhaust sounds perfect, I took a quick video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRSGuYrQWbI

Now I am trying to do all the intercooler piping and discovered that 2.5" aluminium tubing is actually not carried by any of my local suppliers, so I bought some 60x2.0 in the hope of using one of those tailpipe expander things to bring it up to 63.5mm (2.5"). The expander broke the first time I tried to use it so I made up this press tool to create the 2.5" end stubs.



The tool has a 10 degree taper on the small end and is polished to 320 grit.



It worked perfectly, though better when I remembered to anneal the aluminium. Then I made this dodgy bead roller which somewhat works. It took way too long to make for the results and I don't think it will last particularly long, but I was in a hurry.



The main problem with it is the tubing I used to make it is thin and the 20x1.6 is not a tight sliding fit in the 25x1.6, but it did the job.



Hopefully it will do all the beads for the hot rod as well.



5 successful 60mm - 2.5" beaded pipe ends. Today's job is to weld one onto the intercooler and make the 2 intercooler pipes, as well as reattach the dump pipe with some sealant to fix the minor leak it has.

[Beelzeboss]

Well I've modified the Golf GTI intercooler and made the I/C pipes, but still needs an intake, injectors and tuning to make any decent trip.







Initial impression from driving up the driveway is that it starts to build positive pressure on the converter, which is crazy. This thing is going to be a hoot!